The first thing I wanted to address after a wobbly (but successful!) first run was placement of the control console computer. I didn't have a good place to set the tiny laptop down. The machine may not look like it would take up the entire table, but once machine's range of motion is accounted for, there's not a whole lot of space left. During the test run, the laptop was literally on the ground next to the table. It would be useful to have a dedicated computer shelf.

The shelf was designed in two parts. The right side could be bolted to the end of an extrusion beam, but the left side didn't have that luxury. I thought I would design it to clip on to the extrusion beam, but the first draft hooks were far too aggressive. I had to trim them back with a saw before I could fit the piece around the beam.

HAKCNC computer shelf overly agressive claws

Both hooks installed and ready to host the computer. The right hand hook was printed with the final filament from one spool and start of another spool of PLA. Even though I ordered from the same vendor (Monoprice) they have apparently changed vendors or specification and the new spool filament is visibly different.

HAKCNC computer shelf in place

At first glance this design may appear to be heavily cantilevered, with most of the weight on the front of the hook placing great stress on the mounting points. This is only true when the laptop lid is closed. When the lid is open, where this shelf mounts on the beams is actually very close to the center of gravity of the laptop.

It still needs to be able to accept some weight, though, since there'll be physical forces as I type on the keyboard and use the trackpad. But PLA is plenty strong for this application, with very little flex even when I rest my wrists on the computer.

This shelf is probably not permanent, but it is nice to have a convenient shelf to hold the laptop while I figure out how to work the rest of this machine.