Small "legs" or "perches" for my OWC 14-port dock

[ramathorn11]

I have a 16" MBP and recently purchased OWC's 14-port thunderbolt 3 dock. So far it has been great. I have a single cable to my MBP. The dock takes care of:

• power for the MBP (~85W; enough being that there are not power hungry peripherals)
• mini display port to standard display for for my 34" monitor
• thunderbolt for a secondary side screen
• my mouse, keyboard
• speakers

The only thing I would like, is a clean and stable way to slightly elevate the dock off the ground via low-profile 'perches' or stands (of some form), to help a bit with heat management and make it a bit easier to access.

I have a bit of a vision for this setup where the MBP rests on either "The Curve" stand or Grovemade's wooden stand, shifted back toward the rear monitor arm pole (see below), with the laptop essentially resting below the display (laptop closed).

The OWC dock will move forward and be underneath the stand, with only the front face/ports visible, and accessible from my seating position.

Does anyone know what might work well as something to slightly elevate the dock?

Right now it's just on a tiny piece of wood, and the Macbook is elevated on stacked drink coasters until a stand arrives, pretty cheezey.

EDIT: Having the dock below the MBP (which would be elevated ~ 6" at the rear on a laptop stand); is that going to create heat issues for the laptop? It doesn't seem to give off a lot, but it's slightly warm to the touch. Guess only one way to find out...

 

[Stephen.R]

I'm a little confused, do you want a stand where the laptop is closed, and held vertically (like the grove one) or sits open, so the screen is usable (like the 12 south one)?

 

[ramathorn11]

I'm a little confused, do you want a stand where the laptop is closed, and held vertically (like the grove one) or sits open, so the screen is usable (like the 12 south one)?

What I actually need is a home-made or basic solution to elevate the OWC dock ~ 0.50" off the ground so there is airflow underneath it. It will still need to rest underneath the stand that I use (which yes would just elevate the laptop off the ground, with it in its closed position, underneath the main monitor)
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Just imagine it looking something sort of like this...

The dock here IS elevated, but it's using cheezy wood that slides around, it's not very good. The laptop would be on a stand in a similar orientation to what's pictured.

 

[Stephen.R]

given that (one of) your main concern is temperature dissipation I would instantly discount anything made of wood, and aim for aluminium.

If you're a bit handy, you could probably DIY the shelf you want (while gaining some thermal mass to dissipate the heat) using Aluminium extruded profile aka 2020/2040/etc (think meccano but strong enough to build CNC machines and the like).

If you want a pre-made solution, maybe using something like this from Bestand combined with the 12 south backpack?You'd need to check the sizing though. I actually have one of those Bestand units (sitting in a cupboard unused actually), so if someone else has an iMac to measure the width of the 'arm' (or if 12 south will tell you) I'd be happy to measure the stand to give you an idea of whether it would work.

 

[konqerror]

What about simple self-adhesive rubber feet?

 

[wardie]

Maybe you shouldn’t have bought one outright? You could have got one on higher perches instead. (Sorry)

 

[ramathorn11]

given that (one of) your main concern is temperature dissipation I would instantly discount anything made of wood, and aim for aluminium.

If you're a bit handy, you could probably DIY the shelf you want (while gaining some thermal mass to dissipate the heat) using Aluminium extruded profile aka 2020/2040/etc (think meccano but strong enough to build CNC machines and the like).

If you want a pre-made solution, maybe using something like this from Bestand combined with the 12 south backpack?You'd need to check the sizing though. I actually have one of those Bestand units (sitting in a cupboard unused actually), so if someone else has an iMac to measure the width of the 'arm' (or if 12 south will tell you) I'd be happy to measure the stand to give you an idea of whether it would work.

Thanks Stephen, appreciate it. The approach with the 12 south backpack could look very clean. I'll see if I can dig up the measurements.

Small metal feet I make myself could work too, I'll do a bit more research on that. I could attach them with 3M adhesive maybe.

What about simple self-adhesive rubber feet?

This could work well, too (also with 3M, and little rubber 'cylinders', so to speak, that maybe elevate 0.25" or so)

Thanks guys, this should be pretty straight-forward.

 

[ramathorn11]

I've decided I'll just go with something like these: https://www.amazon.ca/Startech-4-Inch-Self-Adhesive-Rubberfeet-4-RUBBERFEET/dp/B00032Q30Q/r