Surface Pro 5 charge dock station

prusaprinters

<p>I was looking for a simple wall-mounted way to charge a Microsoft surface pro. I found one; the simple <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2773215">Surface Pro 4 (and 5) wall docking station by pingstnet</a>. I borrowed the very simple shape and loved the symmetric design. This is not a re-mix in the technical sense - I started from scratch - but I am going to tag it as such because the design is similar. I have changed a few things to better suit my needs:</p> <ol> <li>No screws. Makes for a very easy install and removal. And there’s no damage to the wall! I use a few of the velcro style 3M command strips and they hold the clips fine.</li> <li>Easily removable power cord. I don’t need to take the power plug with me often, but when I do, I don’t want to go looking for a screwdriver.</li> <li>An easy way to check the charge status. I intentionally left a few cm off the end of the bracket where the charge plug goes so the LED can be seen to confirm charge status.</li> </ol> <p>This has only been <em>tested</em> on the surface pro 5, but should work with any other model that has similar geometry. I don’t know which models share the same geometry, though.</p> <p>PrusaPrinters does not currently allow the uploading of <code>f3d</code> files. You can grab the Fusion360 “source” file from <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3653694/files">thingaverse</a></p> <p>Please keep in mind that I have no formal training on Fusion. <strong>constructive</strong> <em>feedback</em> is welcome!</p> <p>See the photos for the suggested print orientation and assembly.</p> <h3>Future work:</h3> <p>The shape and geometry are quite simple. It should be quite easy to change or modify this part as needed.</p> <p>Embedding magnets in the part might make for a more “magic” fit.</p> <p>A slight tilt backwards so the surface will rest against the wall rather than being held completely vertical. This will change the center of gravity slightly and should change how the forces act on the double-stick-tape.</p> <p>Size the part so 3m command strips fit perfectly. I eyeballed things while I was drawing and things work well enough for me. Spending another 3 hours on a print did not seem worth it.</p> <p>Add a light pipe or some other channel so it’s easier to see the charge indicator led when the charge connector is beneath the surface while mounted.</p> <p>Add a few fillets and round a few edges so the surface can slide in a bit better.</p> <h3>Print instructions</h3><p>The shape/tolerance of the curved troughs that hold the charge plug is really important. Print the part so that the curve is in the XY plane so make sure the curve stays as precise as possible. See the attached images for suggested print orientation.</p> <p>The precise shape and tight fit of the curved trough is critical because the charge cable is held in with a friction fit, and the magnetic force that attracts the charge cable to the surface is not always strong enough to properly orient the charge cable before the surface lands on it.</p> <p>Once the proper alignment has been figured out, the charge cable head should stay put and should reliably mate with the surface consistently.</p> <p>The part is intentionally simple to slice in the Z plane so you don’t need to use a CAD program to trim the piece for a more custom application. Many flat surfaces should make for plenty of faces to add text to or build new features from. The part is also symmetric so you can just print two to support the surface from any two corners.</p> <p>I was able print in about 3 hours using the <code>.2mm SPEED</code> setting in <a href="https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/releases">PrusaSlicer</a> on my MK3s. PLA is PLENTY strong for this part, but It may be a good idea to do multiple perimeters.</p>