IEBPROJECT CASE STUDY
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A walnut desk in a bedroom corner with a curved monitor on the left, a second monitor on an arm on the right, a laptop on a printed desk mat and a tablet beside it

Product ventureDrawing 17 of 47

Complete
DSK

A desk with ports machined into the top and a bolt grid underneath, so a lamp, a shelf or a monitor arm drops in without replacing the desk. It's built now, and my brother liked it so much that it became his everyday desk.

Sheet 02 of 05/The idea

Why people replace desks

People usually replace a desk because what they need at the desk changed. Most of the time the old desk hasn't worn out.

CAD view of the small desk top with two rectangular ports
PL 05Small top, two ports.
Brown outline logo with three rounded slots in a row above the words Complete DSK, inside a rounded rectangle
PL 32An earlier version of the logo, with three slots over the name.

Sheet 03 of 05/Parts

Issued as separate drawings

I split this project into parts. Each part below has its own page, with its own sections and pictures.

Sheet 04 of 05/Built

Built and in use

The desk is finished. My brother liked it so much that it's now his everyday desk, with two monitors, a laptop and a tablet on it. One port holds the monitor arm and another holds a power strip.

The top was cut on totes in a garage, before it had legs.

The walnut desk seen from the side, with the curved monitor by the window blinds, the second monitor above, and a laptop and tablet on the desk mat
PL 14The same setup from the side, by the window.
The cleared walnut desk top with a white monitor arm standing in one port and a power strip set into another, under two monitors
PL 15The desk cleared off. The monitor arm sits in one port and a power strip sits in another.
The walnut desk top seen from above, with three rectangular ports along the back edge holding wooden uprights, the monitor arm base and a power strip
PL 16From above. The three ports run along the back edge.
The walnut desk top from the front corner, showing the wood grain and a power strip set flush into a port near the wall
PL 17The top from the corner, with the power strip set flush into its port.
A walnut desk top resting on storage totes in a garage, with three identical rectangular ports cut along one edge
PL 10The top with its ports cut. Each pocket takes the same module, and the desk is designed around that.
The walnut top seen end on at a low angle, the three ports lining up down the far edge
PL 11The same top from the end. It's one drawing cut three times, so any module fits any port.
The walnut desk top laid across two plastic storage totes in an open garage, with a driveway and ladder visible behind
PL 12Built on totes in a garage with no shop, and the tolerances still had to hold.
A board wrapped in blue painter's tape with three rounded rectangular openings marked #2, #3 and #4, lying beside a walnut panel over yellow storage totes
PL 18A template covered in blue tape, with its three openings numbered in marker, next to the walnut top.
The walnut top resting on two stacked black and yellow totes in a garage, with three rectangular ports cut along its left edge
PL 19The top on two totes, looking down at the three ports.
The walnut top seen from its long side, balanced on stacked totes, with three ports along the far edge and a bookshelf behind
PL 20From the front, with the three ports along the far edge.
The walnut top seen from one end on a stack of totes, with three ports running down its right edge and a red tool chest behind
PL 21From the end, with the ports down the right side.
A low close view across the walnut top toward three ports, each with a lighter stepped lip around its opening
PL 22Up close, you can see the step around the inside of each port.
The walnut top, darker in tone, seen from one end on three stacked totes, with three ports down its right edge and a shoe rack behind
PL 23The same end in another set of photos, where the walnut looks darker.
The darker walnut top seen from a corner on stacked totes, with three ports along the far edge and a shoe rack and a door behind
PL 24From the corner, with the three ports along the far edge.

Sheet 05 of 05/Order

The order I did it in

I designed a whole product line, a brand and a storefront before I cut a single port into anything real. If I restart it, I'll begin with one port and one module.