iPad Drawing Stand for Cased Tablets – Low-Angle Wedge With Pen Tray, mini / 11-inch / 13-inch

A solid, low-angle drawing stand for an iPad that stays in its case. The wedge supports the whole back at 15° (20° and 25° with two drop-in risers), stands on two grip lines with about 9 mm of air under a vaulted underside, and curls down at the rear into a pen tray right behind the tablet's top edge. The case's lower edge rests on a small ledge blade that you pick for your tablet + case thickness - change case, reprint only the blade. Sizes: iPad mini, 11-inch iPads and 13-inch iPads (the 13-inch as a split kit for 220 x 220 mm printers).

Validation status (please read): checked in CAD (fits, ledge height, clearances, calculated stability and friction) and in the slicer (no supports). It has not been physically printed or tested - please print the fit test first and report how the fit feels. Images are renders of the CAD model, not photographs; the tablet-in-case slab, stylus and props are simplified stand-ins, and the picture on the screen is a generic sketch, not any app.

Features

• Whole-back support with the case on; no hinge or moving joint (mini and 11-inch: one solid body; 13-inch: two solid halves pinned together at one fixed joint).

• Case fit by a small ledge blade for the total thickness T of tablet + case: S 5-8 mm, F 8-12 mm, R 12-18 mm. The blade top stays at least 1.0 mm below the case's front face at the thinnest case of its range (calculated from the CAD). A blade is 7-14 g (13-inch: two pieces, 10-16 g).

• 15° as printed; 20° and 25° with two drop-in risers (located by shape and held by weight - no rail, no hinge).

• Only TPU touches the case and the desk: four press-in grip strips (or 10 mm rubber tape in the same grooves) and the optional TPU risers.

• Low, wrist-friendly front: the blade top is 13.4 / 16.3 / 20.2 mm above the desk (S / F / R).

• The tablet's top edge overhangs the slope by 1-3 mm, so a magnetically attached stylus hangs free; a cove at the back holds a round stylus up to 10 mm.

• A short fit test checks the blade and strip fits (13-inch: also the joining pins) before the long print.

Which iPads?

Landscape only. Sized for: iPad mini (A17 Pro); iPad Air 11-inch (M4), iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad 11-inch (A16); iPad Air 13-inch (M4), iPad Pro 13-inch - each in a case from 5 to 18 mm total thickness. Not sized for the older 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. Measure T with calipers: the tablet in its case, cover folded behind as you use it, from the back to the screen plane.

Dimensions

• 11-inch: 195 x 210 mm footprint, 55 mm tall at the rear; the tablet ends stay 18.8-19.8 mm beyond the body ends (ports and speakers free).

• mini: 154 x 170 mm, 44 mm tall; 12.7 mm beyond the ends.

• 13-inch split kit: 231 x 242.8 mm (two 121.4 mm halves), 65 mm tall; 18.9-19.4 mm beyond the ends.

• Pen tray: floor 5 mm and lip top 12 mm above the desk.

Which files?

Easiest: open the ready-to-print PrusaSlicer project for your size and case range, plus the grip strips, and slice. Every project was sliced and checked (all parts present, on the bed, no supports).

• 11-inch / mini: casefit_wedge_11in_bladeS/F/R_complete_PETG or casefit_wedge_mini_bladeS/F/R_complete_PETG (body + blade on one PETG plate), the _grip_strips_TPU project, optional _risers_20deg / _risers_25deg TPU projects, and casefit_wedge_fit_test_PETG.

• 13-inch: two files for your blade - casefit_wedge_13in_bladeX_complete_plate1of2_half_A and _plate2of2_half_B (one half + one blade piece each) - plus casefit_wedge_13in_fit_test_and_pins_PETG (print it even if you skip the fit test: it holds the 3 joining pins), the 13-inch grip strips and optional risers.

• STL files of every part, prefixed 11in_, mini_ and 13in_.

• model.py - the parametric CadQuery source: tablet family, angle 8-20°, length, case bins, strip standoff. Other tablets need their side length, long side and mass.

Print settings

• PETG for the body and the fit test; TPU 95A for the grip strips and the optional risers (or use rubber tape for the strips). PETG or PLA are fine for the blade (or TPU for a soft nose). PLA for the body only on an indoor desk out of the sun.

• 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.2 mm layers, no supports.

• Body standing on one end with a 5 mm brim, 3 walls, 10 % gyroid. The 11-inch body is 210 mm tall: it needs at least 215 mm of Z. The mini body is 170 mm tall. The 13-inch halves are 121.4 mm tall and print standing on the joint face, turned 34° on the bed so they fit a 220 x 220 mm bed.

• Blades flat on the case-contact face; strips crown down at 100 % infill; risers flat; pins flat at 100 %.

• Print time (PrusaSlicer 2.9.6 estimates): 11-inch body 19 h 35 min / 284 g on a slow generic profile (7 h 48 min / 281 g with the Prusa MK4S 0.20 mm SPEED preset); mini body 11 h 56 min / 169 g (generic); 13-inch halves together about 432 g and about 2 x 15 h (generic). Fit test about 29 min (13-inch about 1 h 4 min).

Assembly

1. Print the fit test first. Press the coupon blade's tongue into the coupon's slot: it should need a firm push and then hold. Press the coupon strip into its groove (thin crown out). Too tight or too loose: adjust flow / horizontal expansion before the long print. 13-inch: push a pin fully into the pin gauge - it should go in by hand with light friction and stand about 11-11.5 mm proud; if it stands more than 12 mm proud, clear the holes with a 6 mm drill bit or a small file before joining.

2. Measure T and pick blade S, F or R.

3. 13-inch only: put a drop of CA or epoxy in the three holes of one half, push each pin fully home, then push the other half on until the joint faces meet. Pick any brim strands out of the slot and groove mouths first.

4. Press the blade's tongue into the front slot until it sits flat on the slope (13-inch: one piece per half).

5. Press the two slope strips and the two desk strips into their grooves, crown out (13-inch: two pieces per groove, ending at the joint). No TPU: 10 mm wide rubber or EPDM self-adhesive tape, 2.5-3 mm thick.

6. Optional: two risers under the rear land, one near each end.

Use: place the tablet in its case on the slope with its lower edge on the blade. Peel the strips out from one end to wash them.

Limitations

• Not physically printed or tested; fits, the tall on-end print, friction and stability are calculations and CAD checks.

• Stability is calculated, not measured (assumed lightest case of each range): pressing square to the screen at the very top edge tips the 11-inch stand at about 3.7 kgf at 15° (13-inch about 5.2 kgf); the tablet can see-saw off the ledge at about 2.0 kgf (11-inch) / 1.5 kgf (mini) in the worst case, and pressing an outboard corner lifts the far corner at about 1.7 kgf (11-inch) / 1.3 kgf (mini).

• Sliding: at 25° a push square to the screen is only 1.29x inside the calculated friction limit (assumed μ 0.6 for TPU on a desk) - on smooth or dusty desks it may slide; test with light pressure first. 15°: 2.24x, 20°: 1.65x.

• 13-inch split kit: the pin joint is checked in CAD only; the blade and strip pieces do not stiffen it. Lift it by both halves.

• A solid desk tool: it does not fold. Camera bumps are not modelled - trim a strip where a bump lands. The cove is sized for round styluses up to 10 mm.

iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro are trademarks of Apple Inc. This design is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple. Images are renders of the CAD model, not photographs; the tablet-in-case slab, stylus and props are simplified stand-ins, and the picture on the screen is a generic sketch, not any app.