This easy project is great for anyone looking for a safe way to prop up your phone.

In the world of remote teaching, educators are having to record video lessons using our phones. This 3D project will teach you how to design and print a cell phone holder to help you record those lessons without having to ask a family member to hold your phone, or to precariously balance your phone while you teach to your students.

Supplies

Tinkercad - for making your own design. Or you can duplicate and edit mine.

Ruler

3D printer and filament

Phone

Step 1: Step 1: Design Your Phone Holder

Before we open Tinkercad you need to measure your phone and decide what kinds of angles you need your phone to be positioned in.

For my phone holder I wanted a variety of different angles to capture the variety of lesson I'd be filming. You want at least a 45 degree angle for filming down at a surface and a 90 degree angle so you can do a straight on view.

Here is a good right triangle calculator so you can figure out side lengths for a desired angle: https://www.calculator.net/right-triangle-calcula...

Before you move on - measure the width of your phone. It is important to know how wide you need to separate the wedges in Tinkercad. If the spacing is wrong, you either will not be able to fit your phone into the holder, or your phone will slouch and you will not get the angle you were looking for.

My phone with its protective case was 12mm

Step 2: Step 2: Build a Base

We don't want that cellphone toppling over in the middle of filming. Starting with a sold base is important.

I'm sure there is some mathematical way to calculate the area and weight of filament to counterbalance the weight of the phone...I used guess and check, and lucked out. You want a large heavy base to counterbalance your phone. If your base is too light, it will tip over and your phone will come crashing down.

My base is 100mm by 100mm with a height of 5mm

Step 3: Step 3: Add Wedges at Different Angles

To save you all some time, I made a youtube tutorial to watch. This is far superior to reading my written directions.

To make a 45 degree wedge:

Using the Basic Shapes menu -> select the Wedge. Adjust the length to 30mm and the height to 30 mm. To save filament I cut my wedge into multiple triangles rather than one large wedge. If you want the segment it, adjust the width to 5mm. Then raise the wedge up 5mm so it sits on top of the base flush with the corner. Move the wedge in 10mm from the edge. Duplicate the wedge and move the copy 20mm (so there is a 15mm gap). Repeat until you have 5 equal wedges.

Thats it!

Just repeat this process with the rest of the angles you want. If you are having trouble, I recommend watching the youtube tutorial.