Drop-Gate Under-Desk Power Brick Cradle

A screw-on cradle that hangs a laptop or monitor power brick under the desk, with a drop-in gate so the brick comes out without unscrewing anything.

Date: 2026-11-12 Category: Desk and Tech Modeling difficulty: Beginner Estimated print: ~4.9 h total · ~67 g PETG (estimate) Suggested price: $12–$22 printed · $4 digital file (estimate) Status: Concept

Description

A flat plate, 112 × 80 mm, with a pair of walls under it that form a 52 mm wide, 28 mm high channel. The brick hangs from two inward lips along the bottom of the walls and slides in from one end. A small gate drops into slots in the walls at the entry end and stops it sliding out. Pull the gate and the brick slides free.

Four wood screws through the plate, set outside the walls, fix the cradle under a desktop. The closed end has a 12 × 12 mm notch for the cable and the gate has the same notch, so the cable can leave either way. The channel fits bricks up to 99 × 52 × 28 mm, which covers many laptop and monitor supplies, but measure yours first.

It prints plate-down with no supports. The gate prints separately, flat.

Why it sells

Desk organisers and cable management are an established category. One seller-side guide, InsightAgent, puts "Desk Organizers & WFH Accessories" at $10–$55, with medium-high demand and medium competition. It also says "Work-from-home search volume has remained elevated since 2020." That is a qualitative guide, not a sales count. PrintPal lists cable management and desk accessories as sellable categories, but gives no figures and promotes its own generator. SaleHoo shows relative interest for desk accessories at an average price of $16, with a $10–$23 range, and says that is not sales volume. Power brick holders already exist on MakerWorld. A search turned up a model titled Under-Desk Cable Management & USB Hub Holder, though the page returned a 403 when I tried to read it, so I know only the title. The gap, from what search snippets showed: many are fixed to one brick size or hold the brick with no quick release. This one has a removable gate and a parametric channel.

Who buys it

Home-office and gaming-desk owners tired of a power brick on the floor, and people with standing desks who want cables off the carpet. They shop on Etsy and MakerWorld, and a local market stall works for a $15 item.

Design overview

• Plate 112 × 80 × 5 with four counterbored Ø4.5 screw holes at (±40, ±34.5).
• Two 3 mm walls, 32 mm tall, forming a 52 mm wide channel; 5 mm inward lips at the bottom hold the brick's edge.
• Closed end wall with a 12 × 12 mm cable notch; the gate has the same notch.
• Gate 3 × 53.6 × 30 slides into slots in the walls, with a 0.5 mm detent bump on each side that snaps into a dimple.
• Channel length 99, width 52 and height 28 are parametric, so a different brick means changing three numbers.
• The one feature that sets it apart: the gate gives a quick release without unscrewing the cradle.

Dimensions

Parts list

Hardware and non-printed parts

4 × wood screws, pan or round head, 4 mm shank, 8 mm head, 20 mm long (into a desk of at least 18 mm thickness; choose a length that does not poke through the top). A particleboard desk takes these directly. No other hardware.

Fits and tolerances

• Gate in slots: sliding fit, 0.2 mm per side (gate 53.6 wide in a 54.0 slot; 3.0 thick in a 3.4 slot).
• Detent: 0.5 mm bump into a 0.7 mm dimple, a snap fit with 0.2 mm of play; walls are 3 mm and flex by the bump height.
• Screws: Ø4.5 hole for a 4 mm shank, 0.25 mm per side, clearance.

Modeling guide

Origin: centre of the plate bottom face. +X along the brick (toward the gate end), +Y across the plate, +Z up from the plate (walls rise from z = 5). When mounted the part is upside down.

Cradle body

1. Sketch on XY: rectangle X −56 to 56, Y −40 to 40. Extrude 5.
2. On the plate top sketch rectangles X −56 to 56 at Y −29 to −26 and Y 26 to 29. Extrude 32 (to z = 37).
3. Sketch X −56 to −53, Y −26 to 26. Extrude 32 (end wall).
4. Lips: on the plane z = 33 sketch X −53 to 44, Y −26 to −21 and Y 21 to 26. Extrude 4.
5. Cable notch: cut a box X −56 to −53, Y −6 to 6, Z 25 to 37.
6. Gate slots: in each wall cut X 46 to 49.4, from the inner face to Y = ±27, Z 7 to 37.
7. Detent dimples: cut X 46.5 to 48.9, Z 9.8 to 12.2, deepening the slot floor to Y = ±27.7.
8. Screw holes: Ø4.5 through at (±40, ±34.5), then Ø8.6 × 3 counterbore from the z = 5 face.
9. Fillet the four vertical corners of the plate 3. Chamfer the open wall edges 0.8.

Drop gate (origin at the centre of its bottom edge)

1. Sketch on YZ: rectangle Y −26.8 to 26.8, Z 0 to 30. Extrude 3 along X.
2. Cable notch: cut Y −6 to 6, Z 18 to 30.
3. Add 0.5 high, 2 × 3 half-round bumps on both Y edges at Z 4.
4. Chamfer the lower edge 0.5.

Print settings

Assembly

1. Hold the cradle under the desk with the open entry end toward you. Mark the four holes and drive the screws.
2. Slide the brick in from the entry end onto the lips, cable end toward the closed wall.
3. Push the gate down into the slots until it clicks into the dimples.

Variants and upsells

• Three fixed sizes (small phone charger, standard laptop brick, large gaming-laptop brick) through channel_length, channel_width, channel_height.
• A 2-brick twin with a shared plate.
• A colour pack: black, white, wood-look.
• A cable comb add-on clipping to the end wall.

Selling and distribution

Etsy and MakerWorld both suit the item. Print and sell it finished on Etsy ($12 to $22), and sell the parametric file on MakerWorld or Printables. Price from material (about 67 g PETG), machine time (about 5 h) and margin, which is why the estimate sits at $12–$22. The market lists comparable holders at $10–$55 in the InsightAgent guide, though that range covers many accessory types. Use a personal-use licence on the free file and a commercial licence on the paid one.

Keywords: power brick holder, under desk cable management, laptop charger mount, desk cable organizer, power adapter holder, under desk mount, cord management, standing desk accessory, home office gadget, 3D printed desk accessory.

Risks and IP notes

• Heat: bricks run warm and PLA softens. Mitigation: PETG, and the channel is open at the bottom for airflow.
• Weight: a heavy brick hangs off four screws. Mitigation: screws into solid wood or the desk frame; do not mount to thin laminate.
• Saturation: several brick holders already exist. Mitigation: removable gate and parametric sizes.
• Brick size varies. Mitigation: ship three sizes; state the 99 × 52 × 28 mm limit in the listing.
• Not a safety device. Mitigation: no claim about fire or electrical protection.

Resource links

• Popular 3D printed items on Etsy (InsightAgent) — Guide rating desk organizers at $10-$55 with medium-high demand and medium competition; qualitative
• Top 3D models to sell in 2026 (PrintPal blog) — Lists cable management and desk accessories as sellable categories; no figures; vendor blog
• Desk accessories market trends (SaleHoo) — Relative interest, average price $16, range $10-$23; not sales volume
• Under-Desk Cable Management & USB Hub Holder (MakerWorld) — A comparable under-desk holder; title seen in search results, page returned 403 so contents not read
• Best selling items 3D print (Etsy search page) — Etsy's own search page for the category; seen in search results, not read in full