yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
You're right, that a 1/4" magnet is a little stronger than a 1/2" for the applicable surface area. I went with 1/2" so I wouldn't have to have the phone perfectly centered every time, as the discs are almost 1/4" each. They may be strong enough to hold the phone if it isn't lined up perfectly, but it probably has less room for error. I wanted something I could stick the phone to without having to be crazy specific on the positioning. Also helps if my drilling is off a little.

I also tried doubling up the 1/8" magnets to get to 1/4" and the phone held really well, but I began to have issues with the coil being too far away. The 1/4" D magnets would still not have allowed the coil to sit real low as the largest circle I could inscribe in the space is 1 3/4", and the ferrite back of the coil is almost 2" in diameter(like 1/8" shy maybe). So the charger is just as far away as in my current design.

Maybe with some more material removal in the center the permittivity would've changed for the better and the charger would work, but I wanted to have something clean on the back instead of all these little holes to remove wood. The 1/4" magnets probably would sit in a If I had a CNC machine, then I probably would have a slightly better design. I probably would've gone with 1/2 x 1/4 in N48. I may see if there is a way to remove more wood from the center, cleanly, given my certain set of tools.

I'm going to build another one for my nightstand at home and plan on making a few tweaks. One is to use N52 magnets to give even a better hold. The N48s work fairly well, but if you push a little bit the phone will slide down. I'd like something that will work better through a wider range of cases. Also, my design can not currently hold the phone in landscape with the case on, only in portrait. Case off, it holds fine in landscape. The current distance of the magnet to the discs in the phone, phone case, phone back, wood, and all, is probably 1/10" or even a full 1/8". It doesn't sound like a lot, but magnetic force falls off so rapidly, that each magnet is only pulling with about one sixth to one seventh of the rated force. And, the wood surface and case back are both pretty slick, so I'm not getting a lot of friction to help me out here. A different case could work better, and the phone holds a LOT better when the case is removed.

So in summation...thicker magnets would be better, but more wood in the middle needs to be removed so the Qi charger can properly work with the phone given the distance imposed by using 1/4" thick magnets.

I'm curious to see other design that people come up with in the coming weeks/months.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Zurginator:
Coulda saved you some money if I had seen this earlier - I tried the whole NFC tag thing with my TYLT charger.

Thanks for the link to the Qi internals though - I have a few plans up my sleeve that could find it useful.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Thankfully the NFC tags are relatively cheap and I have other uses in mind for those.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] GHOSTIVVI:
Just curious what case is on your phone?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
The grey Ringke Fusion
[Nexus 5 Accessories] jonnyg1097:
Very cool. Does the phone stay up and charge while in landscape too?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
i dont know if 1/4 or 6mm magnets would hold through the case and wood. but if they do that's cool. the coil spacing shouldn't matter too much. i mean it does but it either works or doesn't. it would be hard for there to be a situation where the charge performance is lower since the receiver regulates the charge. since the combo did infact work there is no reason to change it.

the workmanship is very good. as a machinist by trade who owns my own knee mill, that would be simple but i have respect for people that do such clean work with a drill press, router, chisel and files, and other tools using fences and fixzturing and talent to get straight/parallel lines.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Thanks man!

The magnets, if strong enough would work in the 1/4" diameter probably but you're right about the Qi; either it will work or it won't. My only issue was having too much wood in the center initially, so the Qi coil LED would turn green, indicating it could detect the phone, but the phone could not detect the coil.

I could probably jig something up to spin the wood on the drill press and turn the drill press into a mill of sorts, but as a machinist, you would know that's a big no-no due to the taper in the drill press. From a tooling standpoint I might be able to get away with the lower speed of a drill press because it's wood, but I don't need a hunk of carbide and a chuck dropping out on me in the middle of an operation. I could also create a couple of jigs on which I could use my router, but that only makes sense if I was making more than a handful of these things. Would love to own a mill one day, but the realities of life make that a little unrealistic.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] auggie246:
I would so pay you to make 1 for me. Want a charging stand. VU cost 69.99. If this was for 49.99, I will buy it without thinking
[Nexus 5 Accessories] zuberio:
I'll update this thread when I get the magnets and coil :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Zurginator:
OK I have a few questions for the people with know-how.

1 - If I were to use thicker magnets, and move them slightly further out from the center of the coil (because of range issues), would they still work well? I'm talking these specifically.

2 - How much force can the device take before the magnets fail? I'm hoping to build a magnet-based car mount.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
yeah, the location is the biggest thing preventing most people from having such equipment. i mean between 3phase power, to concrete floors to support the weight, to an 8x8ft space just for the machine, preferably with high ceilings. it's not practical for many people, never mind finding a way to move it. the cost of the machine isn't too much because there are many used machines from closing factories and machine shops.. but the idea of a full sided knee mill just isn't practical for most individuals. they do make smaller ones, and bench top mills as well. just depends on the size of your work... a drill press can make a decent mill substitute for wood with an xy table but probably wont cut metal too well. the mill spindle doesn't spin as fast as you think. with a 1.5hp motor my machine does ~3000 rpm on 60hz power which may be faster than your press but it's not really high speed. a router spins like 6 times faster. with the vfd i can get drive it with about 100hz before the spin up and wind down time need to be adjusted so it doesn't over load the vfd. had i bought a 3hp or larger vfd i could go faster without compromise but the cost gose up significantly with higher hp drives. the drive can output 400hz but that's just not practical for a 60hx motor, 120hz is probably as high as i would go, maybe 180hz if i really wanted to push it.

---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 AM ----------

that's a good question. i'm sure there is a point of diminishing return with the thickess of the magnets but have no idea when that might be. i want to take on a similar project actually, with the car mount. i think my uncle may have left a piece of mahogany around here somewhere. i will gut a samsung qi charger that works extremely well. like i can put around 1/4" of space between it and the phone while the phone is in a case before it stops charging.

the holding force would have to do with the magnets, the material of the disks in the phone and the gap... it's really hard to say.even with a gauss rating on the magnets there is very little known about the metal disks in the phone. you may want the magnets to even be visible from the front. actually flush with the wood. it may just take some trial and error. you may want to put some kind of soft friction material in the center as well so the phone doesn't tend to jerk around. like one of those mats the sell for your dashboard to keep things like sunglasses and cell phones still.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Yeah, a full on knee mill would be a bit big. But I've seen the smaller mill-drills and such. Still pricey, but I do have my eyes on craigslist from time to time in the hopes of snagging something. The tooling and workholding is what really gets you though. Once you start purchasing spindles, cutters, vises, etc., the cost adds up quickly. You could easily spend half of what you've spent on the machine for tooling and work holding.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Zurginator:
I was actually planning on 3D printing a plastic shell, rather than using wood - which would enable me to get the magnets MUCH closer to the surface (as in just a hair to cover the surface). I'm more a designer than an engineer though (only 4 years of drafting + common sense), so your calculations went way over my head. I do understand the "don't use magnets" part though. :P

Incidentally that was my plan B. I just wanted the magnets because then I could have a completely blank face.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Oh, 3D printing. You can get away with a bit more then. You could almost definitely use the 1/4" thick magnets without issue. You won't even need any support structure for the coil, as the coil will stick right to the back of the magnets. Create a few cylinders with an ID of your magnets OD, glue em in, put on the coil, and you would be set.

What you could always do though.....is make a plastic plate that has 4 through holes in it, then affix a piece of wood veneer to the front. Veneer is typically 1/40" thick, and you can get peel and stick in a variety of wood types (https://www.inventables.com/technologies/walnut-wood-veneer among other species they have). Magnets go in the holes, coil rests on top, held by the magnets. Something kind of like this:

Can't wait to see your design!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] harri__s:
After seeing this thread, Im tempted to swap my chinese table charger in to something like this too. I can make the model and share it, just need all the dimensions, mainly from the wireless charger if someone has them in detail? Wouldnt want to sacrifice my current charger (again), best to get fresh charger internals and print or build from there.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Aldo Raine:
Amazing job. Really.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] malchyk:
So cool! Any chance we can get a link to the wallpaper you're using?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Sure thing!

http://theultralinx.com/2013/10/wallpaper-week-117.html
[Nexus 5 Accessories] 4569294:
Where could I find the wood?

First of all, great job! Posts like this are the reason I love this community. Second, where did you find the wood? I've checked on the Home Depot site and I couldn't find it. Thanks!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] TypoCorrecto:
I'm guessing you're not taking orders...If you are I would definitely be interested...
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
as much as i hate to do it, i get a lot of my tooling from china. measuring equipment come from ebay used, all american or japanese or swiss stuff like starrett, brown&sharp, mitutoyo, alina, i also have some new spi mics. collets and things are all imports. i also make what i can. things like fly cutters and form tools are all single point cutters i make myself. (helps to have a lathe too, mine is just a bench top sounthbend from maybe the 1940's, i still haven't checked the build date on it). if i need a specific reamer i will make "D" reamers from drill rod. i just get things one piece at a time, as i need them.

if the coil diameter is a problem because of overlap with the magnets it just appears to be an air core inductor. why not wind your own? a smaller diameter with equal turns if i remember right will have just slightly more inductance. there are all kinds of online calculators for inductor designs.

i was thinking about joining the wireless power consortium to get the Qi specs, or atleast buying the TI controller chip to get some parameters on inductors it works with. but the cost of diy is more than the cost of a pre made board.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Elzaa:
Hey man, your charger looks amazing! Since the official nexus charger *still* isn't available in Australia and will probably cost an arm and a leg once it arrives, I think I might like to try this. Any advice for hollowing out the wood without a drill press?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
a hand router and a circle jig. you may have to do some arithmatic and make a wooden ring the router gets guided inside of first. once you get the OD circle, you can free hand the middle.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Elzaa:
Sounds good, thanks mate. I don't have a router yet but hopefully I can borrow one - plenty of handy friends :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Kevinik:
You should make a few and sell it on EBay. I know they will go very high since this thread has been posted on Reddit.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
All you'll find at Home Depot is red oak, maple, pine, and some poplar. Maple could look nice if you want a lighter look.

This is from one of the local lumberyards around here that I frequent. I've got a bunch of walnut that I've used in the past for projects and this is just a leftover. Doesn't take much for a charger. Any halfway decent lumberyard should be able to supply wood in many varieties. You might be able to pick up some small pieces off of ebay or craigslist. Especially for something this small, you could use some really fancy woods too, like Zebrawood, Lacewood, etc. Expensive, but for this size it'd be around $10 or so.

Edit:

Here's a place near me that sells hardwood samples:

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/3_hardwood_samples.html

You would need 2 of those to make enough for a base. Obviously cheaper to source somewhere else, but this comes milled pretty close to final dimensions that you would wan.t

I might make a small batch (less than 10). Would not be ready for probably five weeks due to the lead time out of China for the parts. I may PM some of you guys that are interested if/when the time comes. They won't be cheap though, probably around the $50-60 mark.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Yeah, I've been thinking about it a bit more....

Larger hole in a piece of plywood that will guide a router that has a brass bushing in it like this:

Only reason I did the drill press was that for a one-off, it was much faster. I don't like making jigs....I prefer making stuff instead.

Heck, you make a few jigs and you can use the router bushings to plunge holes for the magnets and cut out the recess for the board.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Alright, now you're getting technical :)

I may be an engineer, but I'm an ME, not an EE...so I really don't know much about the coils. Also, almost all of the coils appear to be backed with a piece of ferrite. That may be necessary to help the things function properly. Really though, if there is less wood, the coil would probably work from a greater distance. The face of the magnets may be 1/32" from the front of the wood, but there is at least 1/4" of wood between the coil and the front face of the wood, plus an air gap of about 1/8". Hog that wood out to something like 1/8 or the same 1/32 as the magnet depth, and I wouldn't be surprised if the coil worked just fine.

I am looking forward to an adventurous soul to tear apart the official Google Qi charger.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] TypoCorrecto:
Cool, add me to your list. I'm interested and I'm fine with the price...
[Nexus 5 Accessories] NotoriousBEN:
I'd be into that, as well. Would love to be on the list. Great work!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] r00t4rd3d:
Finally something to add to my CNC made stands.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Lseven1eleven:
Interference question

From my understanding, the Qi tech uses induction to activate the receiver built into the phones circuitry. Would you or anyone on this thread be able to answer why the magnets aren't interfering with the Qi charger's mag field? Is the Qi mag field >> magnets'? Possibly the magnets are oriented to simply bend the induction field around the magnet's weaker field?

Or do I recall an imaginary chapter of Physics from years and years ago? haha.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] hapsters:
I'd think that this could go well with a Cards Against Humanity-like approach, where you release the how-to open-source, yet charge the lazy who want someone else to build it for them. Either way, great work.

This is where I would put my awesome Nexus 5 wireless charger.... IF I HAD A NEXUS 5! :p
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
Ahh. If its backed with ferrite im not sure the standard calculators would work. They usually assume you are wrapped around the core rather than just parallel to it...

Not to mention you don't know the permeability to use without knowing the exact material of the backing.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Nice!

I would imagine you could easily program the tool paths in an hour or so. It's a stupid simple design. The first one appears to be made out of paduak? That would make a real nice stand.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Technecium:
You should sell this.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] FrezoreR:
Holy banana! This is awesome :) I know I cant ask for it: But would you describe how you did it?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] joenathane:
You can add me to the list of interested parties, I'd be happy to pay for one :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kali113:
Thanks for the tut. just ordered 2 of my own, one for my night stand and one for my desk :D
[Nexus 5 Accessories] poczynek:
Incredible! I'd be very happy to pay for one too. Please add me to the list. This is much better than the tylt vu.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Further up-thread

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=47899040&postcount=6
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Not with the case on. If I take the case off it will. I believe this could be addressed by using 1/4" thick magnets.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Dani897:
a magnetic field has to move through a coil to generate current. in the case of a transformer or Qi charger it generates a field that then collapses because it has a pulsating signal. i guess if you could visualize the field, the magnets may distort it but have no effect on the energy it holds, nor the rate it would charge and collapse. the phone is ignorant of the shape of the field, it only sees the currents induced in the coil which would be unaffected.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Eluc:
I was looking to install small 0.5mm magnet disks on my Nexus 4 + larger magnet disks (2-3 mm) on my LG Qi charger (the round official one). The aim is to do a magnetic hold car charger, so I was wondering what is the best magnet size and position combination to avoid any drop of the mobile during driving. If I success I will do a new post with details.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Shaldy:
Kickstart this, please? :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] willverduzco:
This is amazing work, [MENTION=1760144]kidgenius[/MENTION] . Thanks for sharing instructions on how to do this. I've featured it on the XDA Portal. :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Thanks! :cool:
[Nexus 5 Accessories] tonyz3:
As a fellow wood worker. I wanted to say Great work...Love the Walnut
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gunnersslash:
nice work... i'm not so wood skilled so i'm thinking more on a 3d model to print based on your design :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Go for it and post your results!

If you look here, I posted a picture of what I imagine the 3D Printed version would look like, and I also provided a link to sticky-backed wood veneer that you could overlay to get a similar look.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Evostance:
I've got a desk with a wireless charger built into it. Exactly the same concept as you've used, but in a desk.

What is the diameter on the discs?

Ideally I'm looking for some the same diameter, but a lot thinner
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
The discs in the phone are 6mm (~1/4"), with the centers of each disc lying on the corners of a square that is 36mm on each side.

The magnets I used were N48 1/2" x 1/8". Any thinner, and the phone won't hold You could use other magnets that were thicker, like 1/4" x 1/4" and you'd probably get really good holding power.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Skyrocket2Paradise:
amazing craftmanship. you have great talent. thank you for the how to too!!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Evostance:
Brilliant. I'm not really look for the phone to hold as its a flat surface. More so that it is attracted to them just enough that I can put my phone on the charger in the dark :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Grondinm:
someone show manufacture these and sell them. I do not have the tools nor the woodworking experience to make one myself :(
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mb3030:
Really great work. I'm surprised though with all the effort, why didn't you cover the back with a veneer? Would it not fit or you just don't care if the back is open? Just wondering, and again, really great work.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] twistedvision76:
Taking orders? :) Nicely done.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Multiple reasons. I don't have veneer laying around. I also wanted easy access to the circuitry if I needed it. And, I didn't really care because it was the back. The lights give off a little glow that help indicate if the thing is working or not. The LEDs could be easily colored with a sharpie to block them out.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] DroidXAce:
If you sell (and the price is not too high), I'm interested !:p
[Nexus 5 Accessories] vasukinv:
Adding a reason which is fairly reasonable in tropical areas - ventilation will be better without veneer. Higher the temperature of the circuit, higher will be the resistance, which, in turn, results in higher heat generation.

Brilliant work by the way! :good:
[Nexus 5 Accessories] greenkabbage:
@OP: Also chiming in to say that if you ever make a batch for the people without the tools and the skills, I'd be happy to give my money to you instead of Google/LG for the inferior version they sell. I'm totally not pressed for time either, so ping me if you are ever interested.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Powerpuffman:
Amazing job, OP. Add me to the list of interested buyers if you ever decide to sell these :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Sathed:
Magnets?

What kind of magnets did you use? Neodynium? And how did you know where to place them? I'm assuming there's only certain points on the back of the phone that are magnetic...
[Nexus 5 Accessories] n1kolaa:
can this work for n4?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
Yes, I used the rare earth magnets. I knew where to place them based on the FCC photos where they had the back off next to a metric ruler.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Sathed:
Oh, cool! Thanks!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gierso:
this!!!!!

i would be interested too :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kamranhaghighi:
pleaseeeee make a guide and stuff how u made it!!! oh and if it was on market i would toughly buy it its so beautiful!!! more than ones on the net!!! and it stands in awesome angle
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kachaffeous:
I would buy one or just the wood peices also.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] freakvu:
can i use this charger that you use, for other phones?

its awesome tutorial :)

nicely done
[Nexus 5 Accessories] snake2332:
I love your creation! I got an LG G2 and was thinking about doing a funny-but-cheesy Lego dock like this:

However, after seeing your creation, I might do something like what you did. I don't suppose that you've ever tried putting a Verizon LG G2 on your dock. I believe the G2 has magnets in it to hold it to wireless chargers, but I don't have mine yet (should be delivered to me in the next hour). I am guessing that the G2 magnets are similar in position and strength to the Nexus 5, so I am optimistic that your dock would work.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kidgenius:
The Lego dock is cool in its own right.

I don't have a G2 to test, so no idea if that will work.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] shengovind:
Brilliant work.. Amazing.. Awesome creativity..

You certainly are worthy of the name kid genius

Xda has brilliant stuff..

Keep it up.. You can start a business..

Sell this..
[Nexus 5 Accessories] HughesNet:
I would pay ya $50 Plus parts and shipping. Let me know if interested. Heck I would buy 2 of them $50 each plus parts and shipping.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] chadalu:
Can i use this on my Nexus 4?