Laptop Stand
A full course load of ZoomU this summer meant sitting at my computer all day, and that lead to neck pain. Here's what I came up with to mitigate that.
The Process
This isn't comfortable
You know it's not. You might even be sitting like that right now thinking, "Boy, am I tired of reading through intern applications. This would be a lot better if I had a more ergonomic home office set-up."
This isn't great, either
My temporary solution was to raise my screen height with a fruit bowl. Now it's closer to eye-level, but having excess pressure on your wrists can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Still not ideal
Instead of bearing the brunt of the pressure on my carpal tunnels, I now have my arms out like a zombie. It's pretty awkward and my arms got tired in this position quickly.
Now we're getting somewhere...
The ideal solution is one where my wrists are straight, and the elbows, which are relatively far less sensitive, support the weight of my arm.
Rhino mock-up
I designed a lightweight, portable laptop stand that is measured to my exact bodily proportions and the heights of average desks and chairs.
Prototype 1
I use this stand every day, and it undeniably helps me sit up straighter and reduces my neck pain. However, there is still room for improvement. My next steps will be to make cuts in the side supports for charging cords and headphones.
Takeaways
What I learned
After identifying the problem I sought to fix with this project (my neck pain) and deciding to make a laptop stand as the solution, I started by researching similar products that already existed, as well as ergonomic home office equipment in general.
I created the plans for this project on Rhino, and also learned how to convert my drawings into a file that could be read and cut on the CNC machine.