Startrek Borg Inspired Phone Charger with LED lighting

The goal of this project was to make a phone charger with LED lighting, which mimics a Borg Cube. The model consists of thirteen parts, that can be printed without support, of which eleven are panels with a Borg Cube-like motif. The printed parts can be assimilated...sorry...assembled according instructions given below (with or without LED or charging electronics). The electronics within the model are very simple (no soldering required), and comprise of (1) an USB-C to USB-A adapter (female to female), (2) a short universal phone charging cable (USB-A to USB-C), and (3) a 100 cm RGB LED-strip with USB-A connector (B.K. Licht €15,- to €20,-).

Print Settings

Printer Brand: Artillery

Printer: Artillery Sidewinder X1

Supports: No

Resolution: 0.2

Infill: 20%

Filament: BASF Ultrafuse PLA (black)

How I Designed This

The model was designed using the ‘Not for commercial use’ free version of Autodesk Fusion 360.

Assembled, the dimensions of the model are 11x11x23 cm (lxbxh). The model consists of a (Borg half Cube) base and a Phone holder.

The Borg half Cube consists of 7 printable parts, with a base with a 66 degree angled bracket for the phone holder and 6 panels with a Borg Cube-like motif. Most of the LED and phone charging electronics are stored in the base as well.

The phone holder consists of 6 parts, with an elongated stand (which fits in the bracket of the Borg half Cube base), and is the mounting part for 5 printable panels with Borg-like motif. The elongated stand is used as well to fit the LED strip for lighting.

Assembly instructions

1. Stick the back panel (02) and right panel (03) to the outside of the box (01) with double side tape.
2. Place the USB-C to USB-A adapter on the raised block (1.5 cm) in the top right corner of the base.
3. Slide the USB-C to USB-A adapter through the recess of the right panel (03).
4. Stick the USB-C to USB-A adapter to the raised block with double sided tape.
5. Feed one end of the LED-strip through the recess on the back panel (02).
6. Stick the LED-strip connector to the back panel (02) with double sided tape.
7. Place the Phone holder stand in the 66° angled bracket of the Borg Cube base (01 box).
8. Stick the LED-strip along the sides of the phone holder stand with double sided tape.
9. Stick the phone holder front panel (13) to the phone holder with double sided tape.
10. Connect a regular (short) USB-A to USB-C cable to the USB adapter.
11. Feed the USB-C connector through the hole of the front panel of the phone holder.
12. Connect the USB adapter in the right panel (03) to a USB charging cable and test charging.
13. Connect the LED-connector to the USB cable and test LED-lightning. You can cut excess LEDs.
14. Stick the rest of the phone holder panels (09 to 13) to the phone holder with double sided tape.
15. Stick the rest of the base panels (04 to 07) to the base with double sided tape.
16. Disassemble the model, glue parts together with proper glue, and test again. Resistance is futile!

Category: 3D Printing