Design and build a functional phone stand that holds your device at the perfect viewing angle. Learn about structural stability, hollowing techniques and cable management, real engineering skills for a useful everyday object!
Sketch a side profile and understand the ideal viewing angle
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Goal for this step
Understand the ergonomics of a phone stand and sketch a side profile before building.
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Parent note: Before jumping into TinkerCAD, it helps to plan on paper first. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil. This teaches kids that real engineers always sketch before they build!
Plan your design
1On paper, draw a side view of a phone stand. It looks like a backwards letter "L" with the back part angled.
2The ideal viewing angle for a phone stand is about 70 degrees from horizontal. This is comfortable for reading, watching videos, and video calls.
3Your stand needs three parts: a flat base (for stability), a back support (angled at 70°), and a lip (to stop the phone sliding off).
4Think about where a charging cable could fit, you'll need a slot at the back bottom.
5Open tinkercad.com and sign in. Click "Create new design" to start a blank workspace.
Three parts + one hole. A wide flat base, a back panel leaning at 70°, a small lip at the front, and a slot for the charging cable at the back bottom. That is the whole design.
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Why 70 degrees? At 90° the phone is straight up and hard to tap. At 45° it's too flat to see comfortably. 70° is the sweet spot used by most commercial phone stands!
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
What angle is best for a phone stand's back support?
A45 degrees
B70 degrees
C90 degrees
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Create the Base Plate
Build a wide, heavy base for maximum stability
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Goal for this step
Create a solid base plate that keeps the phone stand from tipping over.
Build the base
1From the Basic Shapes panel on the right, drag a Box onto the workplane.
2Click the box to select it. Use the dimension handles (the small squares) or the Inspector to set the size to 80mm wide x 60mm deep x 5mm tall.
3The base is wide and flat on purpose, a wide base means the stand won't tip over when you put your phone on it.
4A thicker base (5mm) adds weight at the bottom, which lowers the centre of gravity and makes the stand more stable.
80 wide × 60 deep × 5 tall. Wide catches tipping, and the extra millimetre of thickness (5 instead of 4) adds weight low down, so the stand plants itself.
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In engineering, stability comes from having a low centre of gravity and a wide base. Think about why a pyramid is so stable, wide at the bottom, narrow at the top!
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True or False?
+15 XP
A wide base makes a phone stand more stable.
A taller base makes the stand more stable.
A heavier base prevents the stand from tipping over.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Why do we make the base plate wide?
AFor stability, a wider base stops the stand tipping over
BTo make it look bigger
CBecause TinkerCAD requires wide shapes
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Build the Back Support
Create an angled back piece using the rotation handle
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Goal for this step
Add a back support angled at 70 degrees so the phone leans back comfortably.
Add the angled back
1Drag another Box from Basic Shapes onto the workplane.
2Resize it to 80mm wide x 3mm deep x 70mm tall. This is a thin, tall panel that will support the phone.
3Position it at the back edge of the base plate.
4Now for the key part: click the back panel and look for the curved rotation handles that appear around the shape. These are the three curved arrows.
5Grab the side rotation handle and rotate the panel to 70 degrees. Watch the angle readout as you drag, TinkerCAD shows the exact angle.
6Adjust the position so the bottom of the back panel sits right on top of the base plate's back edge.
Watch the angle readout while you drag, it snaps in steps, so ease off near 70. Leaning back 20° from upright = 70° from the desk, the comfy angle for watching videos.
✅Checkpoint: from the side (click a side face on the ViewCube) your stand should look like a backwards slash sitting on a flat bar, with the panel bottom touching the base, not floating or buried.
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Hold Shift while rotating to snap in 45-degree increments. For precise 70°, type the number directly into the angle field that appears while rotating.
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Code Challenge
+20 XP
Fill in the blanks for the back support settings:
Shape:
Rotation angle: degrees
💡 Hint: We're using a basic shape and the ideal viewing angle we learned in Step 1.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Which tool do you use to rotate shapes in TinkerCAD?
AThe dimension handles (small squares)
BThe Align tool
CThe curved rotation handles (curved arrows)
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Add a Lip to Stop the Phone Sliding
Create a small ridge at the front so the phone stays put
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Goal for this step
Add a small lip at the front of the base to prevent the phone from sliding off the stand.
Build the lip
1Drag a new Box onto the workplane.
2Resize it to 80mm wide x 5mm deep x 10mm tall. This is a thin ridge that sticks up from the front.
3Position it at the front edge of the base plate, sitting on top of the base.
4The lip needs to be tall enough to catch the bottom edge of your phone (about 10mm) but not so tall that it blocks the screen.
5The lip depth of 5mm is enough to hold the phone without making the stand look bulky.
Front edge, sitting ON TOP of the base. 10 mm is tall enough to hold the phone, short enough to stay clear of the screen. Slide it flush with the front so it looks intentional.
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If you have a phone case, measure the bottom edge thickness, your lip should be at least that tall plus a couple of millimetres for a snug fit.
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Fill in the Blanks
+15 XP
The lip height is mm and the lip depth is mm.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
What does the lip do on a phone stand?
AIt makes the stand look nicer
BIt stops the phone from sliding off the front
CIt holds the charging cable
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Hollow Out the Back
Use the Hole tool to save material and reduce print time
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Goal for this step
Hollow out the back support to use less filament and speed up printing, while keeping it strong enough.
Create a hollow back
1Select your back support panel and press Ctrl+D (or Cmd+D on Mac) to duplicate it. A copy appears right on top.
2With the duplicate selected, make it slightly smaller, reduce width by 6mm and height by 6mm (so there's a 3mm wall on each side).
3In the Inspector (top right), click the colour swatch and change the duplicate to "Hole". It turns grey/striped, this means it will cut away material.
4Make sure the hole shape is centred on the solid back panel. Use the Align tool (press L) to centre them perfectly.
5Select both shapes (click one, then Shift+click the other). Press Ctrl+G to Group them. The hole cuts into the solid, your back panel is now hollow!
Duplicate, shrink by 6 mm, make it a Hole, Align, Group. The middle vanishes, leaving a picture-frame back that uses less filament and prints faster with no loss of strength.
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Hollowing saves filament (plastic) and makes your print faster. A 3mm wall thickness is strong enough for a phone stand while cutting material use by about 60%!
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True or False?
+15 XP
Setting a shape to "Hole" makes it remove material when grouped.
The hole shape must be bigger than the solid shape.
Grouping (Ctrl+G) combines shapes and applies holes.
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
How do you turn a shape into a hole in TinkerCAD?
ADelete it from the workplane
BPress the H key
CChange it to "Hole" in the Inspector
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Add a Cable Slot
Cut a slot in the back so you can charge your phone while it's on the stand
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Goal for this step
Add a cable routing slot so you can plug in a charger while your phone is on the stand.
Create the cable slot
1Drag a new Box onto the workplane.
2Resize it to about 15mm wide x 10mm deep x 8mm tall. This slot needs to be big enough for a USB cable to fit through.
3Change this box to a Hole in the Inspector (just like we did in the last step).
4Position the hole at the back bottom of the stand, centred on the base where it meets the back support. The cable will run through here from behind.
5Select all parts of your stand (Ctrl+A) and press Ctrl+G to group everything together. The cable slot cuts through the base and back.
Centre the slot where base meets back panel so the charging cable runs straight through to the phone. After placing it, Ctrl+A then Ctrl+G cuts the slot and welds the whole stand into one piece.
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Measure your actual charging cable plug, USB-C plugs are about 9mm x 4mm, but the cable itself needs more room. A 15mm x 8mm slot gives plenty of clearance.
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Put It In Order
+15 XP
Click these steps in the correct order to add a cable slot:
Change the box to a Hole
Select all and Group (Ctrl+G)
Drag a new Box onto the workplane
Position the hole at the back bottom
Resize to 15mm x 10mm x 8mm
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Why do we add a cable slot to the phone stand?
ATo make the stand lighter
BSo you can charge your phone while it's on the stand
CTo let air flow through
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Round the Edges
Make the stand comfortable and safe with rounded edges
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Goal for this step
Round off the sharp edges so the stand is comfortable to pick up and looks more professional.
Soften the edges
1If your stand is grouped, click it and press Ctrl+Shift+G to Ungroup so you can edit individual parts.
2Select the base plate. From Basic Shapes, drag a Roof (wedge/prism) shape onto the workplane.
3Resize the wedge to match the base's front edge and set it as a Hole. Position it to chamfer (cut away) the sharp front corners of the base.
4Alternatively, you can use TinkerCAD's Round Roof shape or Cylinder shapes as holes to create smooth rounded edges.
5Group your rounded edges with the base. Repeat for the lip and top of the back support if you want a fully polished look.
6Rounding edges isn't just about looks, sharp edges on 3D prints can be uncomfortable to hold and can even cause small scratches.
A Roof (wedge) shape set to Hole is a corner-eraser. Sit it over any sharp edge and Group; the corner gets sliced off at a slope. Repeat wherever the stand feels boxy.
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Professional products always have rounded edges. Pick up any phone, remote control or mug, the edges are smooth. This is called ergonomic design!
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Fill in the Blanks
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Rounding edges makes the stand more and .
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
How can you round edges in TinkerCAD?
AUse the Smooth button in the toolbar
BChange the shape to a sphere
CUse wedge or cylinder shapes as holes to cut away sharp corners
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Test the Design
Use a phone-shaped rectangle to check angle and stability
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Goal for this step
Test your phone stand design by placing a phone-shaped proxy on it and checking the angle and stability.
Test your design
1Drag a Box onto the workplane and resize it to roughly phone size: 75mm x 8mm x 150mm. This is your phone proxy.
2Place the phone proxy on the stand, the bottom should rest on the lip and the back should lean against the back support.
3Use TinkerCAD's Ruler tool (press R) to check that the angle looks right. The phone should lean back comfortably at about 70 degrees.
4Check that the phone proxy doesn't extend past the sides of the base, if it does, your stand might tip sideways.
5Look at the stand from multiple angles (hold right-click and drag to orbit). Does it look stable? Would it tip if you tapped the phone?
6Delete the phone proxy when you're done testing, it's not part of the final design!
Build a fake phone to test with. A simple 75 × 8 × 150 box stands in for the phone; lean it on the stand and orbit around, if it looks stable from every angle, it will be. Delete the proxy before exporting!
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If the phone seems like it would tip the stand backward, try making the base deeper (increase from 60mm to 70mm) or adding more weight to the front.
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Predict What Happens
+15 XP
Your phone stand has a 40mm deep base and the back support is angled at 85 degrees (nearly vertical).
What will likely happen when you place a heavy phone on it?
AThe phone will sit perfectly fine
BThe stand will tip backward because the phone's weight pushes past the base
CThe phone will slide sideways
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Knowledge Check
+15 XP
Why do we test with a phone-shaped proxy before 3D printing?
ATo catch problems before wasting filament and print time
BBecause TinkerCAD requires a test object
CTo make the file bigger
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Export & Learn About Infill
Save as STL and understand how infill percentage affects strength
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Goal for this step
Export your phone stand as an STL file and learn how infill percentage affects the strength and weight of your 3D print.
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Parent note: Exporting the STL is the final design step. To actually 3D print, you'll need a slicer program (like Cura or PrusaSlicer) and a 3D printer. Many libraries and makerspaces have printers available for free!
Export and print settings
1Make sure your phone stand is fully Grouped (select all, Ctrl+G). The whole stand should be one piece.
2Click the Export button in the top-right corner of TinkerCAD.
3Choose .STL as the file format. This is the standard format that 3D printers understand.
4Save the file somewhere you can find it (like your Desktop).
5When you open the STL in a slicer, you'll choose an infill percentage. This controls how solid the inside of your print is:
620% infill = light and fast to print, but weaker. Good for decorative items.
750% infill = a good balance of strength and material use. Recommended for phone stands!
8100% infill = completely solid, very strong but uses the most filament and takes the longest to print.
Infill is the hidden lattice inside a print. Ask for 50% when printing this stand: it has to hold a real phone, so the decorative 20% default is not enough.
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Your phone stand is ready to print! At 50% infill, it should take about 1-2 hours to print and use around 15-25g of filament.
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Code Challenge
+20 XP
Fill in the blanks about exporting your design:
Export file format: .
Recommended infill for strong parts: %
💡 Hint: The standard 3D print file format has 3 letters. For a phone stand that needs to hold weight, we recommend a middle-ground infill.
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Final Knowledge Check
+15 XP
What does a higher infill percentage mean for your 3D print?
AIt prints faster and uses less material
BIt makes the print smaller
CIt makes the print stronger but uses more material
🛠️ Printed it and something's not right?
The stand tips backward with a phone on it. The back support is leaning too far back, or the base is too shallow. Check the angle is 70° (not 50°), and if your phone is big, stretch the base to 70-80mm deep and re-print.
The phone slides off the front. The lip is too short or too shallow. Raise it to 12-15mm tall, and check it actually merged with the base when grouping.
The back support snapped where it meets the base. Two fixes: print with 50% infill (step 9), and make sure the support overlaps INTO the base in TinkerCad so they fuse as one piece, not a butt joint.
My charging cable doesn't fit the slot. Cable plugs vary a lot. Measure yours with a ruler and size the slot 2mm bigger in both directions, a too-big slot looks fine, a too-small one is useless.
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You Built a Phone Stand!
Incredible work, you've designed a functional object with angled supports, stability engineering, hollowed walls, cable management and rounded edges. That's real product design! Ready for Episode 6?
