My MacBook Pro always heats up very quickly, and I wanted a laptop stand that can reduce the heat and improve ergonomics. I believe that a product can perform at its optimal level while remaining a subtle form. By utilizing the amazing material attributes, the laptop stand acts as a passive heat sink and dissipates heat into the air. It is CNC milled out of a single block of aluminum, sandblasted with an anodized finish. Without the use of fans, the design doesn’t require power and remains quiet.
It started when my MacBook Pro heats up very quickly, and I wanted a laptop stand that can reduce the heat and improve ergonomics. I chose metal as the main material as it has the highest thermal conductivity. As I imagined this design caters to power-users, I've decided to add subtle yet complexity to the design to accentuate the engineering aspects of it.
I first used Solidworks to create a base model for basic dimension and minimum clearances. After I got the base modelled out, I created foam core models to test for fit and ergonomics. This process goes through a few iterations until I'm satisfied with the result and sent it to a vendor to manufacture it.
I think there's a certain beauty within analog designed object that can't be replaced by software, lines of codes. The beauty is simply place your laptop on the laptop stand and it'll do the rest for you, automatically and instantly. My main design approach for this project was a continuation of my previous project, Material Justice. I strongly believe that by utilizing material's unique material properties, it accentuates the design while keeping it simple and subtle. Aluminum is honest, it has amazing material properties and can be recycled infinitely. After going through the anodizing process, it creates a smooth surface finish on the aluminum, making it scratch resistant. By utilizing aluminum’s amazing material attributes, the laptop stand acts as a passive heatsink and dissipates heat into the air without the use of fans or power while remaining silent.
