Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount Design Story

DESIGN STORY

The modern workspace is constantly evolving

Where it is, who uses it, and what technology it needs to support all have to be considered. A combination of laptops, tablets and hybrid devices is often necessary, and this can change rapidly as technology gets updated. We wanted to step up to this challenge and design a flexible solution that could provide optimum ergonomics for combined laptop and tablet use, wherever the work environment is and whoever it’s for.

The challenge
With a suite of industry-leading products to reference, we started by assessing our existing laptop supports. By taking the best parts of each one, we wanted to create a single, global solution that could be everything to everyone everywhere.

Because laptops and tablets need to be held in completely different ways, creating one product that could do both was going to be hugely challenging. And, because technology comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, our new product needed to be adaptable.

Designing a mechanism that could hold laptops up to 16” but was easy to pull in and out would also require some cunning engineering. And of course, we had to make sure the mounts were completely safe and reliable, offering easy-to-use, strong support without stressing the technology itself. We had our work cut out.

The process
To start with, we explored the most user-friendly way to mount a laptop or tablet to one of our existing monitor arms, Ollin.
We built test rigs and used rapid prototyping techniques to engineer and test through iterative processes. And we analysed various models to explore different clamping and securing mechanisms.

Our spring-loaded clamp proved to be the best solution for holding a tablet in place in either landscape or portrait orientation. But it would have been in the way for mounting a laptop. So we came up with a collapsible design that could be moved when it wasn’t needed, and used a different retainer to apply enough force to keep a laptop in place.

And after investigating different materials for the laptop platform, we settled on sheet steel, which could be stylishly thin and dependably strong at the same time. Finally, we carried out finite element analysis to make sure the parts we selected would be strong enough, and mould flow analyses for improved mouldings.

The result
Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount provides the ultimate workstation set-up for using one or more types of technology. And, being so adaptable, it will provide the same excellent ergonomics now and in the future, even if the technology itself changes.

Its sleek design gives the appearance that a laptop is floating in thin air, wherever it’s positioned. And tablets can also be mounted securely at just the perfect position, whether portrait or landscape.

Like all of our monitor arms, the Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount has been tested to last a lifetime and comes with a 12-year guarantee. And when it is finally at the end of its lifecycle, it can be disassembled and each component can be recycled.

Ollin Laptop and Tablet Mount

Ask a Question Buy Now