KBR1 desk mount

[darthdomo]

Now that I’m back, here’s a little (and yet overly lengthy) project writeup. This one only took an hour or so of work, but I thought I’d post it.

So, yesterday I got a new desk. I finally replaced the one with the peeling desktop seen in the background of my photos and videos, with a black modern one with just a wooden tabletop. That’s it.

I like the new desk, but it left me with an issue: where to mount my KBR1? Even when mounted on my old desk with dual-lock, the dual-lock I used was very weak, and it fell off frequently. Plus, this desk has no wide flat portions, so I would have to use dual-lock to mount it to one of the thin poles. It would inevitably get knocked off this way.

With a ton of credit to @simon_beer, I decided to make a mount specifically for my desk. He had already made the desk organizer holder, and because he’s absolutely amazing, he published the .ipt files as well. This allowed me to basically chop off the rest of the model, and use the (very well designed & measured) KBR1 slot that he had designed. The tolerances are absolutely great, and the KBR1 fits like a glove. Thanks again.

I decided to design mine to fit mostly flush to the underside of my desk, with the reader facing forward. There was already a bolt roughly where I wanted the reader, with plenty of thread to it. I just had to measure all of the offsets for each angle, and design a slot for it to fit into the bolt, to be clamped down.

Here you can see an awful photo of the profile I was trying to match, and the bolt I was using.

10 minutes of measuring and 25 minutes of design later (with special care to have the logo facing correctly)…

I double checked the measurements, and to the printer it went. 5 hours (and some sleep) later, and I had this:

The PLA I used is like 3 years old and super moist (I could hear it crackling), but it’s all I had for black PLA, and this was a non-critical project. Print quality was overall fine-ish, considering the support needed for the underside of the mount (you can see the not as flat surface there on the side of the mount). It’s not perfect, but I didn’t need it to be. Didn’t bother fine-tuning much for this filament.

(please ignore my dust and overall clutter)

The overall fit was great, and it mounted just like I had expected. Super secure, and in a great position for reading.

In case anyone has the same desk, I’m going to upload the STL here.
holder v2.stl (701.6 KB)

Now, I’m actually going to upload a STEP file and an IPT file for just the holder slot piece, using @simon_beer 's design. This should make it super easy for others to make their own similar mounts, while only having to do a fraction of the work. For using this in your own designs, the thickness of the backing plate is only .5mm. This is intentional, with the point being that the designer can make the thickness whatever they want, without having to remove part of the model.

@simon_beer if this is something you don’t want posted, just DM me, and I’ll remove it.

http://levi.pink/kbr1.step (might try to open as plain text, just to ctrl+S to save it.

http://levi.pink/kbr1.ipt

I tried to upload both to Google Drive, but it isn’t happy with me today for some reason. Wouldn’t upload.

Again, massive thanks to @simon_beer . Saved me a TON of work for a small project.

[APartOfMe]

At the risk of completely derailing the thread, what cube is that on your desk? Looks almost like a valk to me, but I can’t tell from that picture.

Cool project though! I’ve been meaning to do something similar for a while now.

[darthdomo]

It’s a Moyu MF3RS2. It’s my second best 3x3, with my best being a YJ MGC. I haven’t really tried to speedcube much in the last few years, but it’s still fun to solve when I’m bored.

I’ve got ~40 twisty puzzles in total, but a lot are in storage right now. Need to remember how to solve 4x4 and 5x5, so I can start solving my 7x7 again haha.

[ashsh]

Nice mount, been wanting to build something similar but settled for just using a little blu tack to stick it to my desk… nice for when I need to quickly remove/move it. My desk has some cable routing holes that I don’t use and thought about converting but they’re too far away to be convenient.

[simon_beer]

this is awesum and i have no problems with it in any way

it looks really good that way

[Athro]

Nice work. I have recently been thinking about building myself a mount for my KBR. How comfortable is that position for you? Looks to me like you really have to cock your hand sideways to get a read.

The idea I’ve been mulling over in my head would be a desk-top version with the reader facing downwards; feels like the most comfortable way to get a read IMO, give your reader a thumbs up and good to go).

Figured I’d 3D print as well. So once I actually acquire a 3D printer… and learn how to use it… and learn CAD… mmmmmight have something decent in 6-8 months, haha

[darthdomo]

It’s not uncomfortable at all, at least for me, I’ve got loose joints haha (one of the only positives of joint hypermobility syndrome). I’ve found the sweet spot on it, so it just takes a tiny tap.

The position you described would definitely be more comfortable, if it worked for your setup. I had thought about a similar design, but it wasn’t practical for the shape of my desk, and increased the risk of breakage (I’ve already hit mine several times, and it’s held up).

One of the big parts of designing for 3D printers is layer shear. Basically, if you aren’t familiar, prints are much weaker in the Z axis than any other, due to the bonding between layers being worse than the actual tensile strength of the material.

Given, some materials can mitigate this a lot (especially PETG and polycarbonate), but you still have to be careful. When I was trying to figure out a downward mount, I couldn’t figure out a good way to avoid either the reader bracket or the actual bolt-on area being weak due to layer adhesion. You also have to deal with designing for supports, which was another nightmare with the downward facing design I was thinking of.