Check out this heavy duty iPad stand made by Steve Kesler of Kesler Customs. It’s CNC-machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminum and can hold your iPad or any other like-sized tablet in either portrait or landscape orientation.
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There’s a Kickstarter funding project that runs through June 9th, 2013, with a couple of anodized color options for additional durability and pizazz. Shipping is free within the US.
$45: one aluminum stand, natural silver finish
$50: one matte black anodized aluminum stand
$60: one matte anodized aluminum stand in your choice of color – red, neon green, hot pink, or blue
$100: two aluminum stands, your choice of finish
$250: six aluminum stands, all colors
The machine screws are made from stainless steel, so they cannot be anodized.
Steve designed the tablet stand for his wife, who wanted a kitchen-friendly stand to use for viewing recipes while she cooks.
Although it is described as a countertop iPad stand, I see this as a heavy duty workshop tablet stand.
Order Now(via Kickstarter)
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Kesler Customs plans to produce these stands in the USA.
New to Kickstarter? It’s a fundraising platform that is easy and safe to use. You back the project with the amount that corresponds to the product reward you want. If the project does not exceed the funding goal, everyone gets their money back. If the project gets funded, your order gets fulfilled.
An early rendering shows the same design but with shorter axles that better fit iPhones and other smartphones. This version isn’t available (yet?), but I like how it shows off all of the design’s sleek bevel and contour details.
I first learned about this project via the Garage Journal forum.
Carol
Now this is my kind of stand!
Allen
I am a frequent supporter of Kickstarter projects. I view it as my charitable contributions, I think someone starting up a business and generating employment is a worthy thing to support. Most will be USA made, not all however.
One clothing company I supported is now a going concern, all USA made clothing.
Steve R.
Stuart–Now that’s a freakin’ stand! I like things like this that are over-built for their purpose. One question I have, though, concerns the bolts; stainless steel and aluminum don’t get along well, do they? There’s a list of noble metals and, if I remember correctly, these are not compatible. You might be able to prevent corrosion by slathering dielectric grease all over the bolts before installing them (kinda messy), but a better solution might be to make them from aluminum or (white) nylon. The tablet is not that heavy, so substituting either of those materials shouldn’t be a problem. Anyway, just a thought.
Stuart
You are right, galvanic corrosion is certainly possible, but to me it seems unlikely given the types of usage environments this product is intended to be used in.
Nylon fasteners would completely eliminate the chance of corrosion, but it’s probably not necessary. I wonder of blue threadlocker would suffice as an insulating measure, along with an O-ring or washer for the screw’s head.
Just going by stainless steel and aluminum (I believe 6061 is used) isn’t enough to tell, as the rate of corrosion really depends on the exact alloys of materials used. But even if the stand gets wet, it could (and should) be disassembled for cleaning and drying.
Yours is a very valid concern, and something I hope the maker thinks about when planning future iterations. If the base material is switched to stainless steel, pricing goes up and the option to anodize in different colors goes out the window. Based on this, I would agree that nylon would be the best choice for usage in very humid or salty environments. Seems like a quick and easy drop-in replacement as well for those who want it.
Kyle
Or just use nylon washers under the screw head – eliminating metal-to-metal contact while still using a real fastener that won’t strip out too easily.
That being said, I very much doubt most people would experience any significant corrosion issue with these parts as currently designed, assuming at least a reasonable quality 18-8 or 316 fastener which most socket head cap screws will be.
Jerrick
Looks way overbuilt. I like it.
mike
Looks nice,but as a machinist hard not to say that. looks very simple to make 🙂
mike
The bolts will be fine if the aluminum is anodized,or clear coated on the natural ones.
Mike
I like it but only 2 angles. I’d like to see some adjustability.
Stan
So Stuart, do you know if this product was ever created? I would like like to buy one for a friend if these were actually ever made. I checked the kick starter link, but I am not exactly sure.