An overengineered car phone charger cradle

thingiverse

This cradle holds a phone over a wireless charger in a car, an intriguing design challenge that can be had for pennies on the dollar. It's specifically designed to fit snugly into a cup-holder and provide maximum freedom of movement for the cradle/phone orientation. I share it because the mechanisms enabling numerous degrees of freedom while offering secure support for the phone are quite ingenious. Video footage of it in action is available at https://youtu.be/S5Fj1XJor38. The design files are provided in native Rhino3D and AutoCAD, as well as Sketchup, Lightwave, and Renderman formats, allowing you to potentially utilize the innovative pivot mechanism in other projects. Only with the advent of high-quality 3D printers has it become feasible to manufacture the complexity of the pivot without breaking a sweat. I couldn't have imagined machining this myself – what a testament to modern technology!