The mouth of each slot features tapers that guide the item on entry
Rearward shelf taper prevents items from slipping forward
Back channels for cable routing and strength
Back channels for cable routing and strength
Multi-part design for easier printing
Tapered holes allow access to screw the unit to the desk shelf.
Human Factors Design
Ergonomics
Additive Manufacturing
CAD
User Journey
See my workspace supports two computers in regular use, a Windows Desktop and an Apple laptop. Both machines connect to a single monitor that switches sources. But the Desktop requires a keyboard and mouse while the laptop manages just fine with its built-in keyboard and trackpad. I didn’t want to commit the laptop to being docked at all times as I enjoy the additional screen real estate from keeping the main screen active and often use it without the external monitor at all. So, how can I keep the Desktop keyboard out of the way while I’m using the laptop? And inversely, it’d be nice to have a spot to put the laptop when it isn’t in use. As well, with this new Desk design my Wacom Tablet has been hanging out on the monitor shelf. For as intermittently as I use it, it’s hard to justify that prominent placement.
So I need a solution that reduces the clutter and designates a clear spot for each of these items to go. Additionally, my brain adheres very strictly to the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. So, setting something in a drawer may as well be cold storage, not an option when stopping to search for something so easily derails my creative flow. So, I need a place where my Keyboard, Laptop, & Wacom Tablet could be stored. It needs to be both prominent and easily accessible while paradoxically remaining out of the way and easy to ignore.
Enter the monitor shelf. When I designed the 2022 Sliding Desk I took inspiration from Studio Desks with integrated rack space, so I set the monitor shelf several inches above the desk surface. I could store a dozen keyboards in that gap! So I set about designing a hanging Keyboard Tray to be mounted to the underside of the monitor shelf.
I created a series of prototypes to test fit and strength. My initial designs aimed to be modular, but the costs to strength were too great so I settled on an all-in-one design. The final part geometry contains a strong mix of ergonomic, structural, and aesthetic features.
Curved interior corners = Structural + Aesthetic: Each side of the tray is 3d printed vertically with the front being the top. As a result, the shear force from the weight of the tray’s contents is applied on the part’s strongest axis (perpendicular to the layer-lines). Rounding the interior corners improves the rigidity of each shelf by increasing the cross-sectional area and creating an arc to distribute the shear force. While curving the corners does set the weight of the contents further out from the corner itself, the rigidity gains far outweigh the additional leverage applied by the contents.
Swept draft angles = Ergonomic + Structural + Aesthetic:
The tray has two prominent angular features: the vertical draft angle in its cross-section & the draft angle along the depth of each shelf. Beyond pure aesthetic value these features provide structural and ergonomic benefits. The vertical draft angle serves a dual purpose, tapering the width of the bottom shelf better accommodates the narrower keyboard while reducing leverage applied to the interior corner (and resulting in lesser bending forces applied to the material furthest from the top mounting). The Keyboard, Laptop, and Tablet are all plenty rigid and have no problem supporting their own weight for the span between shelf halves.
Similarly, the shelf draft angle moves the front corner of each shelf closer to the interior corner in order to remove the least well supported corner of the tray. The additional ergonomic benefit comes in the form of much more forgiving affordances; the user has more surface area to grip the Laptop, Tablet, or Keyboard when placing them on or removing them from the tray.
Tiny tapers for Affordance sake:
The mouth of each shelf has an upwards and inwards taper that guides the contents slightly into the opening (auto-registering). And there is a subtle front to back taper along the length of the shelf (~1*) offering some additional resistance to slippage.
Keyboard Shelf Rev 1
Keyboard Shelf Rev 2 (pictured)