📐 Ergodock

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Ergonomics are cool

In 2020, for some reason, I started to stay home a lot more all of a sudden.

I was back visiting family at the time beginning an oral history project with my grandmothers 👵

I went down the rabbit hole on ergonomic desk setups, setting out to make the long hours in the digital cockpit less taxing on my corporeal form.

I discovered proper monitor height and angle, I discovered sitting styles and posture methodology. I discovered the split keyboard and the angled keyboard, like the beautiful and solid Ergodox EZ

I learned about the proper angle at which the wrist begins to strain, and I discovered that there were even ergonomic mice that were vertical to reduce strain.

The only problem is that I do not use a mouse. I use a trackpad. The Apple Magic Trackpad in fact, a standalone trackpad that works super seamlessly and wonderfully with my MacBook and that I love dearly with all of its many gestures and fine control.

I started quick and dirty by leaning it up on things or sticking stuff underneath, but this isn't really reliable or pleasant as a workspace accessory.

So I began shopping for an ergonomic solution to using the Magic Trackpad but what I found was nothing. One project here or there from someone with a complicated 3D printed solution online that was never actualized perhaps.

Ergodock (working title) is born

Thus was born the Ergodock: a single piece of anodized metal in a pleasing shape, designed for the Apple Magic Trackpad to nest into and of fine quality that will look right at home next to your MacBook Pro.

The market for such an artifact strikes me as ergo nerds like myself, fancy designer types, or maybe serious CAD modelers, people with permanent and artful desk setups that use the Magic Trackpad regularly and would invest in a stationary dock.

This is a somewhat wealthy market, so I figure a premium, small run, finely produced artifact may be the perfect solution and in fact aligns conveniently with my interest in learning how to take just such a physical product through its whole lifecycle.

As for design, I took inspiration from Apple products themselves of course, and from some projects I admire in the "fine consumer objects" game. The brands or studios I admired seem to share an uncompromising taste in materials and thoughtful simplicity without sterility.

I've been taking inspiration from the noble cresting wave as well, I've always seen one in the swoop of the vertical mouse

My non-exhaustive inspiration list for how to bring objects into the world so far:

Benjamin Edgar benjaminedgar.com
Walden walden.us
Apple (thanks Jony)
Ergodox ergodox-ez.com

Progress So Far

I worked with a 3D designer via Upwork to produce V1 and I had it printed by a friend in Denver. It's huge 😂

This was to get the basic angles and experiment with the wrist rest. What I learned is that I'm definitely gonna want a separate wrist rest like the inspirational Ergodox EZ keyboard (shown above)

Then I worked with the lead engineer at my company in 2022 to refine and evolve the design for v2, which we printed in the office and was used by the CEO who swears by it! Mainly I removed the wrist rest (giving him one of my ergodox rests to use with it), and moved from a sort of slot that you slide the trackpad into to a simple recession that the pad can be dropped into.

v3 I updated with new (really weird) angles and printed recently and is in pilot use: I expect to sand it down over time to find the right angle.

The angle needs to enable you to simultaneously reach the whole surface, press against the pad firmly with multiple fingers, and line up with the wrist so scrolling and panning doesn't send you off at unexpected angles.