This is way old news now, but back when the iPhone 5 was released, not a single charging dock option existed. As a long-time iPhone dock user, I didn’t know what to do without one. So as someone who makes physical things for a living, of course I had to make one. I wanted something a bit cleaner than Casey Neistat’s solution and I’d been meaning to try out some consumer-focused prototype houses, so I decided to run one in SLS.[^1]

The design took all of 15 minutes in Solidworks, and although it’s far from perfect, it’s been working great for me these past nine months.

Just in case there’s interest in this design, I’ve made it available for purchase on Shapeways and i.materialise. As of this writing, i.materialise is a bit cheaper (especially if you’re in Europe), but Shapeways is faster. I’ve tried both companies, and they’re both great. I only make a dollar or two on each sale; this is just a quick experiment, not a business!

Also, here’s the STL file if you’d rather run it yourself.

[^1]: Selective Laser Sintering, one variety of additive rapid prototype machine (or 3D printer in today’s lingo).