MakerBot Industries

iPhone Hook for Airplanes by jgrout

MakerBot Operator jgrout must be a real road warrior — he has been printing out a number of the iPhone stands and accessories up on Thingiverse for a while now.¹ Well, his practical research has paid off – his iPhone hook that clips onto the back of a tray table on an airplane is something of a killer part for this function.

Having a MakerBot and some digital calipers, MakerBot Operators have no difficulty creating accessories and mounting gear to fit their gadgets. Jgrout studied designs for other useful iPhone stands like juniortan‘s iPhone Universal Stand, and then scaled his design for the iPhone hook down to only what he needed for both back of seat hanging and propping up on the tray table.

I wonder if jgrout is at this very moment leaning back in his seat on a transatlantic flight, watching Objectified: A Documentary Film, arms comfortably in his lap, deeply satisfied.

iPhone Hook for Airplanes by jgrout

Iphone hook for airplanes by jgrout

When I watch movies on planes I end up holding the phone for 2 hours or having the tray-table down and using the Mini stand for iPhone & iPod Touch by MakiYoshida (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2205). There are worse fates, but having the tray table up gives me more freedom of movement for my long legs. I wanted an iPhone hook for the tray table in the up position, so I designed and built this. It clips over the tray table when up, and props the screen up when placed on the tray table so you can keep watching while you eat your snack (with the tray-table down). This is similar to the iPhone Universal Stand by juniortan (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2426) but more for a specific function.

This thing brought to you by

1. For Android users, check out these. [↩]

Latch by loonix23

Loonix23′s geared latch could have easily been a much more simple mechanism – something like a sliding bolt.  I love the inclusion of the gear driving the bolt back and forth.  It’s evocative of a rotary phone and has a vaguely steam-punk feel to it. ¹

Being able to print mundane objects, such as drawer pulls, door latches, and door knobs reminds me of a short story from Bruce Sterling where the protagonist sits in an empty² apartment with a large home 3D printer, a metric ton of plastic, and some kind of near-future-Thingiverse. ³  And, really, how cool would that be?  Never moving again.  Just show up in your new residence, queue up a few tables, chairs, door knobs, bookshelves, and come back in a few days to a room full of parts that have tumbled out of your gigantic printer‘s automated build platform.

Latch by loonix23

A small latch to lock rooms from inside, like a bathroom. The gears use the involute gears thingiverse.com/thing:5505 . The bolt travels for 2cm. I tried to make the openscad script configurable for the thickness of the bolt. This will be quite usefull, because after taking the picture I destroyed it while testing.

This thing brought to you by

1. Without much work you could probably add a second toothed bolt that would get driven in the opposite direction, like you might see on a vault. [↩]
2. Post-divorce [↩]
3. It’s a quick fun read.  You’ll like it. [↩]