Dell WD19TB Dock Stand with 120mm fan by jppowers

Last crawled date: 3 years, 8 months ago

Dell WD-15 USB-C dock with 120mm Fan
Design Goal
This is an updated version of my WD-15 USB-C dock (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4335172). I picked up a WD19TB to address some other upgrades I made, and decided to take another stab at this idea.
The design goal was fairly simple: Minimize the foot print of the dock and laptop while still providing cooling to the laptop's bottom. I usually leave my laptop closed while docked so, if I stand everything up it should be fairly easy to keep the foot print down significantly.
It's designed to fit a XPS 13 9370 and Latitude 7390, but also fits my new XPS 15 9500 without any real issue.I did have to move the cables coming out of the dock a bit since the XPS 15 is wider and the cables interfered with centering the new laptop on the fan, though.
By standing the WD19TB dock on it's side, with the cable running up and back, I can put the laptop with it's back facing the other direction, feed the USB-C cable thru the front, and have a fan blowing against the bottom of the laptop. The dock does have a fan blowing thru it so does require some grating on the bottom to allow air flow.
Design wise it's really quite simple. The "left" slot is for the dock, there's a slot on the middle separator to feed the USB-C cable thru, and the laptop rests on the right. The cutout for the fan is for a standard 120mm computer fan (I have a few laying around). It includes cutouts for nut on the "inside," but using more traditional case fan self-tapping screws should work. Even standard M4 screws are held in place without nuts somewhat securely (depending on your printer's tolerances that may or may not be true for you). There's a little cubby under the fan with a cutout to route the fan's cable. There's a little cutout where the dock's power button is as well so you can still hit it (albeit with a bit more difficulty). The bottom side of the dock's slot has further slots cut thru it so it allows airflow as long as the dock stand is lifted off the table (I use 3M Command Strips to keep it in place, which provides enough lift off the table). Since the WD19TB is so much taller than the WD-15, I also added a small bracket to the back side to help it not tip backwards and a small lip to the top and bottom to help the dock "float" a bit better, providing a better fit I found.
Bill of Materials
Required:
3D printer and filament (inb4 someone points it out in the comments)
120mm 3 or 4 pin fan
3/4pin fan to USB (for providing power)
4 screws M4/case fan tap screws for mounting fan
Optional:
120mm case fan dust filter
4 screws for mounting dust filter (if using above)
4 to 8 M4 nuts (4 if using M4 screws to mount fan, 8 if using M4 screws to mount fan and filter)
Note on the 3/4pin fan to USB power adapter:
I used the following from Frys.com:https://www.frys.com/product/9085057?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
It's cheap, easy, has a long cable, and chief for me: A power adjustment knob. Absolutely not a required feature, but a nice to have. You can easily wire up something yourself, look for a similar product elsewhere, etc., just pointing out the option I went with it and linking it for easier consumption.
How to use it
The STL is already oriented for printing. In case your slicer imports it wrong, the "back" side should be on the print bed. This will mean the dock side with the grating is on the left, the fan cut out on the right. Obviously, rotate how you will and the left/right won't be accurate anymore, but live your life. If your printer has solid cooling you can print without supports. I used PrusaSlicer support enforcers to get a cleaner top of the fan hole cutout, but otherwise nothing.
Mount the fan as you wish. I used M4 16mm screws and M4 nuts because I have bunch laying around. I also mounted a case fan filter to the fan itself with more of the same screws and nuts.
Put the dock on the left, standing up so the the side opposite the USB-C cable is facing the bottom. Feed the USB-C cable thru the back side of the cable route so it comes out the front of the printed part.
You're basically done. Drop your laptop on the right with the underside of the laptop facing the fan, back (where the hinge is) facing the bottom of the part, and plug your USB-C cable in.
Optional, but I used some Command Strips to mount the dock in place on my desk. Some rubber feet or something would probably help, too. I suggest the command strips or similar products to "fasten" the dock in place so the weight of the cables that plug into the dock don't tilt it around too much.