Minimalist Charging Station

Minimalist charging station by Oakley Wood

For my final project I will be making a minimalist charging station for my desk. I was first inspired to make this project last summer at my internship. One of the other interns was planning on making a personal project and made a CAD mock-up of a charging station. He never ended up making it however, the idea stuck with me and I thought it was perfect for this class. When choosing the aesthetic I considered a few such as steampunk or rustic but felt that minimalist would best match the use case of the charging station. The idea is to keep my desk clean and uncluttered which is a key element in minimalism.

https://www.mr-beam.org/en/blogs/news/handy-ladestation-aus-holz-selber-bauen

After deciding on this project I went online to get some inspiration and general guidelines on how these are made. Most of the designs I saw were wooden which I loved and plan on incorporating. Another theme was an open layout with a central slab where the accessories would lie. While this looks like it is very functional I was envisioning more of a box design where I would place the accessories into it rather than lay them on top.

Wooden Docking Station Men – Amazon.com – Link incompatible

https://www.etsy.com/listing/910775033/apple-workstation-ipad-charging-station

In order to decide how I would lay out my station I needed to know what I would be charging. Some of the main accessories are my iPhone, AirPods, Watch, and computer. I don’t plan on having the computer sit on the charging station but will have a cable extend from the station towards it. As for the iPhone I like the sleek minimalist appearance of a wireless charger and found one off apple. There were cheaper options but I don’t want to run any risks of fires or overheating considering that I am using wood.

image reference

Another thing that I wanted to improve on from the online inspirations was where the accessories would sit. In most examples I have seen the accessory is placed directly on the charger making it fixed in place and possibly adding additional strain on the charging port. The way I plan on avoiding this is by using retractable cables hidden within the charging station. I found a cheap option on Amazon and just need to create the space within the station to accommodate it.

USB C to Retractable Lightning Cable – Amazon.com – Link incompatible

I have not reached the CAD stage yet as I am still figuring out scale and positioning but I have a general concept in my mind and a few sketches. The general vision is a box like design made of a light colored wood with no showing fasteners. This might be difficult but I know it will make a big difference for presentation. The box like shape would be hollowed out on the front face to reveal the ends of the charging cables. The plan is to hide all of the wiring and mess within the bottom of the box and have just a single cable leaving the rear which would funnel into a hole in my desk.

While thinking about the minimalist aesthetic I saw this bottle opener I had laying around. I instantly knew that it was the look that I am going for and may even consider adding some metal trim as seen in the photo of the bottle opener. I believe the material is Teak but I am not sure. The wood feels soft so I would like to find a ore sturdy alternative however the shade and texture is what I plan on using on the station.

Over the weekend I plan on ordering parts and putting the general design into CAD to solve any dimensioning issues that may arise. I also plan on doing all of my manufacturing at the woodworking shop at the IDEA Forge.