Varifocal Triple Monitor Stand

Intro: Varifocal Triple Monitor Stand

I spend a lot of time in front of my computer and often get a sore back and head from changing position trying to focus on things after some time. I also found that the shelf I had my monitors on was taking up a lot of desk space so I build this rig to solve these problems. This set up is extremely useful in the forward position for having your tabs open on all screens to compile a report or in the pushed back position for playing games or full screen applications. It was much easier to build and cheaper than going to the opticians! It is constructed from old bed slats! I am sure you could use slats from pallets, old floor boards or anything you have available.


The resulting product increases useful desk space and allows for longer endurance in front of the computer by allowing a comfortable and adaptable seating position for the user. To buy a similar stand could cost you up to £200 and I have not found one yet with this function.

STEP 1: Materials

The monitor stand was built, like many project should be, with materials I had lying about. The wood I used was pine bed slats from an old bed. They are roughly 15 mm thick and 60 mm wide with varying lengths roughly 6 metres in total.This is probably the minimum dimensions you can use without compromising strength and sag.

I used 14  M8 x 80mm coach bolts, roughly 40 M8 washers, 14 wing nuts and several M8 nuts. This would cost roughly £6.00 in your local hardware store.

The orange elastic straps came from a pull up bar I bought but I am sure you can find an equivalent material to act as a spring such as a bungee cord. The idea came from my work lamp. It has 4 lengths of metal on 4 pivots to make a parallelogram, there is a spring diagonally across the frame. As the light is pulled over into position the downward force is increased, this is compensated by the spring resisting the deformation of the parallelogram. I have incorporated this feature into my design.

The main components are put together with the M8 coach bolts but the base and hanger are screwed together using 30 mm countersunk wood screws.

I used various tools throughout the build and I will highlight what I used and how I used it on each step.

STEP 2: Dismantling the Monitor Stand

The monitors I have didn't have any mounting points for a bracket so I had to dismantle the stands and adapt them to be mounted.

The stands came away from the monitors by pushing a button and sliding them out. The stands them self consisted of a galvanised metal frame encased in a plastic faring. This was removed by unscrewing the screws with a philips screwdriver and levering the plastic away with a flat head screwdriver shown in the photos.

Once the plastic casing was removed I was left with a pivotal metal mount that could be adapted.

The parts that I removed were not used but the screws and bolts removed were stored as they could be useful for another project.

STEP 3: Adapting Monitor Mount

The metal monitor mount has tabs formed into slits to restrict its movement back and forward. To be mounted the tabs have to be bent out of the road. To do this I used a set of pliers to lever them out of the way- shown in the second picture. When the tabs have been bent out of the way the mount can be straitened out.

I then measured the 60 mm (the width of the wood) from the pivot point and made a mark with a marker. I then drew a cut line using a square for accuracy and clamped it in the vice to be cut. Note in the picture I have made sure the line to be cut is as close to the vice jaw as possible to reduce vibration when cutting.

I used a hacksaw to cut the excess material off but if you have an angle grinder this will be much quicker. Once cut it is a good idea to use a file and remove any sharp edges left after cutting.

To allow mounting of the brackets to the wooden frame with the M8 bolts an 8 mm hole must be drilled. On the brackets here there was already a hole that could be widened. If there is not you will have to measure and mark the centre before using a smaller drill to make a pilot hole. Once you have a pilot hole you can then drill it out to 8 mm. I have a small press drill but a hand drill would to the job fine.

STEP 4: Construction of Bracket Hinges

When making the wooden hinges the sizes were not predetermined but measured as I was constructing it. Each monitor was 520 mm wide. For the side hinge pieces I made them 260 mm plus twice the width of the wood ( 380 mm). I measured and marked the line with a square again before clamping the piece in the vice. Using a tenon saw I cut the piece to size. This design requires 4 parts like this.

When the parts were cut to size I used the metal bracket adapted from the monitor stand to mark where holes have to be cut for the bolts. I used the drill with an 8 mm bit in it again.

Attaching the wooden hinge pieces to the adapted bracket is done in a certain order. The bolt goes into the wood with a washer on top, then metal bracket is placed on the washer with a nut to hold it in place. By tightening up the nut you can press and secure the coach bolt into the wood. On top of the nut I put another washer then another hinge piece with a washer and finally a wing nut to secure it in place.

With the hinge section secure I set up all three monitors to gauge an angle and required length of the main centre mount for the hinge parts. As you can see in the last picture I determined the size of this by placing a rule in place of the wood. From centre pivot point to outside hinge pivot was 295 mm. I doubled this and added the with of the wood (650 mm) for the size. 2 pieces this size are required.

STEP 5: Main Centre Mount

As before I measured and marked the centre and ends to be drilled. Once marked I drilled 8 mm holes as before.

When duplicating the three pieces for the main centre mount I found the easiest was to use the original piece as a template and take sizes from it.

Once you have the 2 side hinges constructed and the 2 centre mounted pieces, they can be bolted together in a sandwich construction. Note: at this point I turned the centre mounting bracket upside down to make the monitors sit level once constructed.

As before with the side brackets I used a coach bolt in the bottom piece with a washer, a nut and then the bracket. After the bracket another washer and the final piece of wood is screwed on the top with a washer and wing nut. The side hinges are attached in the same way.

This completes the hinged hanging bracket.

STEP 6: Main Stand

The main picture shows the parts needed to construct the actuating frame. As the process is repetitive I will give a brief explanation of the sizes and general direction.

For the sizes of the 4 long slats that act as the riser I sat at my desk with a tape measure and made my best judgement of the optimum height that would work in this particular situation. As before, this was not predetermined and was decided upon during construction. The size I chose for the long vertical slats was 500 mm end to end. On each end I measured 30 mm in and 30 mm across to make the holes necessary for the bolts to make the pivot holes.

There are 2 chassis consisting of three pieces of wood screwed in a U shape, one at the bottom bolted to the desk, and one at the top to hang the hinged hanging bracket (this is the longest one on the right).

The bottom chassis that bolts to the desk is 200 mm long and the top hanging chassis is 280 mm long.

STEP 7: Base

The three 200 mm pieces as mention in the previous step are shown in the main picture. Like the main 500 mm vertical slats I measured in 30 mm and across 30 mm at each end  of the outside parts to mark and drill 8 mm holes suitable for the pivot bolts. The centre piece has 2 x 8 mm holes positioned further to the back that will be used to bolt it to the desk. **Please ignore the slots cut into the 2 outside pieces this was an iteration**

This part was fixed together with the wood screws. I held one of the outside pieces along the edge to mark where the screws were needed. Using this as a guide I marked screw positions roughly 25 mm apart. I tried to fit as many screws on as possible without sacrificing strength. Each hole was countersunk using a 3 mm drill bit before being screwed together.

Note: In the picture I have inserted the coach bolts for the vertical frame before screwing it together as there is no way to insert them when it is constructed.

The final part of the base is a square off cut of wood 60 mm by 60 mm screwed on with 6 screws marked out in the same way as above. This is for the elastic tubing to wrap around.

The base can now be situated on the desk, holes marked and drilled. It is fixed using 2 x M 8 coach bolts with washers as before. Make sure at this stage you horse the wing nuts or bolts right up as the whole weight of the rig and your monitors are held by these bolts.

STEP 8: Top Hanger

Similar to the base, the top hanger part is screwed together with enough wood screws to make a solid secure structure. It is obviously longer (280 mm) but the main notable differences are is the removal of excess material and the 4 holes for the elastic tubing. The 4 holes are 10 mm in diameter and are at the front of the frame.

Note: Similar to the base, I have inserted the coach bolts before screwing it all together.

STEP 9: Assembly

You can now bolt the vertical slats to the base with with washers and wing nuts. Each piece of elastic tubing must be slotted through the top hanger, round the base piece and secured to the top before it is bolted to the vertical slats.

STEP 10: Finish

To finish it i cut the bolts with excess down to size, removed sharp edges and sanded any pen used in construction.

As this was a quick project I did not treat or finish the wood but think a gloss paint or varnish would look good if you had time.

In this picture hopefully it is clear how this mechanism works. As the monitors are pulled forward more force is applied, the distance between the diagonal pivot points increases which stretches the elastic creating a counter acting force to keep the frame in position. What ever sort of elastic material you use it may need some fine tuning, I think i was just lucky that mine was the right tension.

Enjoy.

Comments

[Malkaris]

Thanks for the idea, I'm getting a 34" curved monitor, which should be enough, but I expect I'll want to tack on an extra view. I like the arms, I'm thinking about doing the stand in a "scissor lift" so the height is not coupled to the depth. But then I suppose the depth will be fixed.

[RoeyLeon]

very very good work.

Very motivating :)

[Ambles]

Really like this instructable. Very well presented and well implemented. Super idea.

[Hiyadudez]

Very nice! Im looking to do something like this for my dual monitor setup.

By the way, how did you get one taskbar to stretch across all of your monitors? All of the programs I found just put a new taskbar on each screen, thanks.

[dandeman31]

there is a program named display fusion the is a free and a pro and a trial but you really only need the free to get the taskbar to stretch

[alasdair.robertson]

Thanks, I am in the process of redesigning it so I can get it machined. Ill post the CAD model when I am finished. New features will include level monitors across the horizontal plane, variable height adjustment and a refined look.

The task bar is across all screens is a feature of the graphics card. It is Eyefinity enabled. Not sure how you would do it if you didn't have a dedicated graphics card.

[Tango-Oscar-Mike]

Very good idea, love it how you worked it out, I might apply it to make a wall mount for my screens later on. Thanks for sharing.

[TyrleY]

projects such as the one I like the most. great ideas and functional

[repetemini]

I have a suggestion for an improvement.  I am so anal, I could not stand to have my monitors misaligned in the horizontal plane.  Take the bottom outrigger arms for both the left and right monitors and move them "underneath" the bottom arm of the central monitor.  Get longer carriage bolts for the outboard brackets and add appropriate nuts & washers.  Now, adjust the mounting bracket down to be horizontally co-planer with the central bracket.  All monitors are now aligned.  That reverse camel hump arrangement would bug the "H" "E" "Double Hockey Sticks" out of me. ;-)
 It would be like passing by a crooked picture everyday that I couldn't fix.  Otherwise, awesome ingenuity and execution.  Two thumbs up!

[alasdair.robertson]

Believe me I have not overlooked this problem! I am sure there is a combination that would have the monitors aligned horizontally. I did try several combinations during the build. I had it clamped to the table while I screwed around with it.

The problem I had was time, when I cut the original individual stands there was no going back! I needed my computer up and running asap so I made the sacrifice of having them slightly out of line. There is only a problem from this when running full screen applications where you definitely see the continuity error from monitor to monitor. I mainly use my desktop for research, writing, media etc. so each monitor is allocated its own application and the alignment isn't a problem. In a way it is incentive to stay of battlefield and actually work!

I appreciate the input though and will try something like you suggest when I get a chance.

[espdp2]

Referring to step 5, last picture, add an intermediate "elbow" on each side made of three pieces sandwiched around the two. 130mm long should be about right. Holes are still 30mm from each end, so this should space the inner and outer arms apart by about 10mm so they can swing without interference. You will have a double elbow system for adjustments and your mounts will all be level!

[diykiwibloke]

I gotta tell you alasdair - that's a damn fine instructable. Beautifully photographed and laid out with clear simple "how to" steps. I imagine a tutorial like this is not accomplished in 5 minutes. Thanks for taking the time and energy to share it with us.

[richardroles]

Only issue I have with the design is that to two outer monitors are at a different height form the center, not sure about you but this would drive me nuts. Overall a good design.
I would have mounted the brackets a bit differently to allow for them to be the same level.

[EvilBunnySlipper]

hahaha...My OCD would also drive me mad ...but not like my friend Greg who had a three screen setup and one of the screen blew and because he he couldn't find the exact smae screen again...he went out and bought three new ones...

[chuckyd]

I sit at a computer most of the day and half the night. Early on, I was getting pains in my neck and across my shoulders. I sought out the help of ergonomic health advisors and found that the best position for your monitor is for the top of it to be at eye level. Also, the keyboard and mouse should be set on an articulated keyboard extender so that the line from the forearm to the palm of the and is straight, and the arms should rest gently on the chair arms. I tried all this and the pains went away within a day.

[jtharkness]

Very nice - well thought out, used existing and inexpensive common components, and well documented. I am thinking of making this for my post-graduate son as he is doing a lot of research via the internet with multiple monitors. Are you sure the wood you used was pine ? I ask because the wood in some of the photos appear oak-like. For myself, I would be inclined to use a hard wood like oak to lessen my concern about the wood splitting eventually at the elbows. But that is just me. I may also adapt it for wall mounting. I'll let you know how it works out if you are interested.

[alasdair.robertson]

Thanks for the comment. As the wood comes from an old bed and it is very light in colour I presumed it was pine as it is a popular inexpensive wood. Now I have had another look it could possibly be beech. I am not exactly sure because it is not heavy and is quite easily worked.

That is the reason I love this website, you can look at ideas and projects other people have submitted and adapt them for yourself. Id definitely be interested to see what you come up with to wall mount your version.

[rnore]

Nice Job!

[andrewgilmartin]

Impressive. I would worry about the torque around the attachment of the horizontal arm to the vertical leg. And especially so if the desk sways with use. Where's a mechanical engineer when you need one?

[alasdair.robertson]

Cheers Andrew, Yeah I think you are right, there is only a single bolt and the horizontal frame hangs from it so there is a lot of strain here. I don't think it is a major problem though. The point of failure would be the bolt and I think it would take a lot of swaying to sheer it. If had any worries I would not have monitors on it.

You do have a good point though, I were to remake it I would have the horizontal frame in a slot so it would be supported from the bottom and the top.