Custom mobile phone holder...

[ptruman]

If anyone is interested, I'm in the process of putting a few bits together to make a DIY phone holder that sits in one of W212 cup holders AND lets the sliding cover shut when the phone isn't in.

So far this involves a low profile USB charger for the 12V socket, rotating the 12V socket cover, a bespoke (but available from eBay) USB lead, a low profile phone dock (USB-C) and a bit of custom 3D printing (outsourced to a friend).

If all goes well I shall post the results...

 

[ptruman]

Righto, here we go

We start with our good old W212 centre console, with the sliding cover back as far as it will go, to expose the 12V socket, with it's pesky cover....


I have discovered you can rotate the cover, and it has "notches" every 45 degrees, but basically you want to rotate it 90 degrees to the right, so the hinge is at the bottom, thus:


Now we bring out the custom weapon - a 3D printed stand. 81mm diameter and 35mm high....printed by my friend who has two 3D printers. In black of course! Here is the side view, which shows two cut outs for cabling...


And a better view, which shows the larger void to stash some cable


Here is the stand in place. It keeps the spring clips up, and they hold it in place....


I've then added an Aukey Usb Car Charger Dual Port 24W Flush Fit Car Adaptor, which is small enough that the 12V cover can still close when it's in situe, if nothing is plugged in. The reason I bought this is because is has two USB sockets, and when you use the lower one, the protruding bit of the USB cable is still low enough it doesn't foul the sliding cover...but still keeps the 12V spring-loaded cover open

I've also used a 25mm right angle USB connector (LEFT USB angle). I actually got this wrong, and should have ordered the RIGHT USB angle, as I wanted to use the left cup holder, but either way, it works in the right one.

As you can see below, the cable fits in the channel where the sliding cover goes - but (with a bit of sticking material) is kept left enough that it doesn't foul the runner The cable drops into the cup holder and into the foremost cutout on the stand, and then can loop backward in the void, and up from the rearmost cutout, to route into...

...the last bit of kit, that is a low profile USB-C desk charger, which fits in the cup holder, on the stand. I've added some more sticking material on the back to stop it lifting when I pull the phone off it, and it's good!


...and here we are with the upper half of the slider closed. Minimal cabling on show. If I could find a USB-C connecting cable that dropped straight down, I could have amended the design a bit, but they were all >= 1 M long, and that's not going to sit anyway tidily!

The key objectives were that the sliding could still function and close fully without fouling the cable OR the protruding USB connection. Snug!


And last but not least, with the phone plugged in. Mission accomplished.


Printed Stand : £4.00 (for plastic material)
Data Cable : £4.50
Charger Dock : £9.99
AUKey 12V socket adaptor : £11.37

Total cost : £29.87

Not bad for a mostly tidy bodge Can now just get in the car, plug phone in, drive off, and grab it when I get out, and hide it all away

 

[Deletedmember130310]

Very impressive!

 

[Zakkz]

Great work! Looks really tidy

 

[Abb]

When are these being offered for sale??

 

[ptruman]

When are these being offered for sale??

I did warn my friend there may be some demand....
(although if there were serious demands, I'm sure he might be interested - although he may up his prices as it would tie up his printer a bit)

 

[Abb]

I for one would be interested in purchasing one.

 

[ptruman]

I'll enquire. Just the stand, to order the rest yourself?

 

[Abb]

I would require all bar the USB var charger.

 

[ptruman]

I'd suggest you order the other bits yourself to avoid me having to add on postage. Also, you'd need to be sure your phone is USB-C connected and no wider than the charger dock. My phone is 75mm, and as the charger dock puts the phone at the edge, it's snug getting the phone in. Any wider and it wouldn't fit.

 

[ptruman]

Righto, he's up for printing some more (although I'd have to collect and post them on). Is anyone else interested?
(I'd have to figure out which size jiffy bag would be sensible and then add on postage)

Also, for those with Micro-USB phones, this appears to be the Micro-USB variant, along with the (likely) requisite micro-USB cable (although I've not checked the main USB end direction...but it looks correct...

 

[moonloops]

All very nice, but why not just stuff some bubble wrap in there and save all the hassle and money

 

[clk320x]

With the vibrations/movement while travelling, wouldn’t this put a lot of strain on the phones usb C port?

 

[ptruman]

With the vibrations/movement while travelling, wouldn’t this put a lot of strain on the phones usb C port?

I did think that, but so far it's not moved once the dock has been anchored down. USB-C also seems to be a very snug fit. I suspect any form of impact (which clearly is to be avoided) might not result in a good outcome, but so far, I've done about 30-40 miles with it in, driving normally, and it's been ok. As noted above, the charge connector is actually at the front of the dock, and the width of the phone means its sides are against the cup holder sides - so it gets a bit of bolstering. Also the charge connector does allow a bit of movement (it has a slight hinge)

An alternate idea would be to take one of the existing "Thingiverse" designs where you shove your own cable into your own 3D printed thing, but that would imply a consistent stock of cables and bloody good fitment - and I suspect clamping it in place would be a pain.

Still, this is V1.5 of something I wanted to do. V1 had cut outs for the dock to sit in, and an expectation the cable could run up the rear, but I realised the dock end of the USB cable would probably not fit on first go, and I didn't have a channel for the cable to route into, so I took them out. This is much simpler and works.

Mind you, if I post soon going "****", you'll know why

 

[ptruman]

All very nice, but why not just stuff some bubble wrap in there and save all the hassle and money

Whilst Much Bubble wrap does meet a certain MB criteria, it wasn't the one I wanted Not overly stable, or aesthetic

 

[moonloops]

Not overly stable, or aesthetic

Just like most merc owners