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Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

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Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#71

Post by kev009 »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #48

For those who can afford it, the Uplift Desk[0] is the best desk I've ever used -- very sturdy and there's even a reclaimed wood option. Huge sizes available (if you're into lots of table space) and the resale value is pretty decent (to other nerds/people who want lots of nice looking desk space). Also never had a problem with the motor/setup. You can often order them through local office supply mom & pops IIRC -- wa…

Agreed, buy once cry once. I expect mine will last me my professional career.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#72

Post by pbhjpbhj »

DataInSolutions wrote: post #18
dbcurtis wrote: post #9

Well, on the one hand, it is great to have a replacement for the original controller. At a previous employer I had a Bekant with the stock controller, and those darn things are dreadfully unreliable. We had enough of those desks to get good reliability statistics... and the statistics are awful. So an open source replacement is great. That said: Who the heck needs a motorized desk????? When it came to spending my own…

I also have a Skarsta. I got tired of hand cranking it and cut the crank's shaft to approx 12" length, then attached a $10 electric drill to it. Works great but the cheap drill is a bit noisy. At some point I may upgrade that.

Another alternative, but I like your drill idea, motorise a Skarsta:

https://hackaday.com/2019/01/23/motorizing-an-ikea-skarsta-t...

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#73

Post by smilekzs »

strig wrote: post #38
whalesalad wrote: post #28

Ikea's standing desks aren't that great. They wobble a lot and then anything attached to it wobbles too. Still looking for the perfect heavy-duty standing desk and heavy-duty VESA arm combo. I don't want anything on my desk moving unless I am moving it myself. To put it this way: if a desk is $500 and wobbles slightly (meaning if I touch the desk or type, my coffee jiggles and waves are seen) or is $1000 and the desk…

I just picked up one of their new Idasen desks. It's a lot sturdier than their previous ones that I've seen. I get minimal wobbling of the desk surface at full height, but my monitors do still wobble a bit. At normal desk height there's no wobble. I think most of the wobble comes from the cheaper VESA mount, if I'd gotten a more rigid one it would be better but I wanted more flexibility in arranging the monitors.

Can confirm the sturdiness of Idasen. I used to be convinced that IKEA particle/paper-filled boards can never be as good as solid wood, but apparently the new leg/underframe combo worked wonders to prop up the whole thing, and it now serves as the base of my main EE workbench.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#74

Post by jamescontrol »

whalesalad wrote: post #28

Ikea's standing desks aren't that great. They wobble a lot and then anything attached to it wobbles too. Still looking for the perfect heavy-duty standing desk and heavy-duty VESA arm combo. I don't want anything on my desk moving unless I am moving it myself. To put it this way: if a desk is $500 and wobbles slightly (meaning if I touch the desk or type, my coffee jiggles and waves are seen) or is $1000 and the desk…

We are shopping for desks right now, and we went to IKEA to look at standing/adjustable desks, and all of them were way too wobbley, so I agree.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#75

Post by xenophon »

I'm the co-founder of an office furniture startup called Bureau (www.bureauwork.com) and thought I'd chime in here.

By far the most frequent complaint that came up in our research about cheaper standing desks is their tendency to wobble, along both the front-back axis as well as the side-to-side axis.

Generally, there are four reasons a standing desk will wobble:

1) Frame materials: I'd highly recommend a steel frame for stability. You trade off against weight and some added complexity in assembly, but the desktop will be way more stable across both axes. 2) Lift columns. A three-stage lift is more stable than a two stage lift for a given height--the stages overlap and support each other through a greater portion of the length. 3) Fasteners. The frame-to-feet connectors are most critical, and DIY installations are often under-torqued here. If you're building a standing desk yourself, tighten that bolt as much as you can. 4) Adjustable feet: Most floors are slightly uneven. A quality standing desk will let you screw the feet up and down to compensate for your floor.

We sell our standing desk for $850. Def more expensive than many of the options discussed here, but the incremental cost flows through directly to design, materials and ultimately stability, which we felt was a trade worth making.

Beyond our line, we're big fans of the Herman Miller Renew, which is unfortunately priced well beyond reach for most but a really great piece of furniture. If you have any questions about choosing a standing desk, feel free to DM me.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#76

Post by tpetry »

sorenjan wrote: post #54
tpetry wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An esp32 would enable so much cool features. Like control by bluetooth/wifi, apple homekit integration, ...

I can't think of any reason to control my desk over the internet or via Bluetooth. If I'm not at my desk I don't care how high it is, if I'm at the desk and want to change it a button is much more convenient than using my phone.

Think about a button on your desktop to move the desk at a predefined height for standing. It‘s more easily comfigurable than the hijacked ikea bekant buttons to support more logic by different type of presses.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#77

Post by lurker213 »

The standing desk I have is super solid, I went onto alibaba and ordered two frames directly from the manufacturer, in total I paid about NZD$300 including shipping for each of them, I bought a benchtop, put a nice edge on it with a router and then oiled it. currently have a 27" imac and a 27" monitor on a vesa mount and no wobble whatsoever. I highly recommend going this route, far cheaper than a premade product. The electronics are a bit chinese, but they work fine.

edit: just looking at the uplift desk, I think it was the same manufacturer they use, as my frame looks exactly the same, and the weight loadings are the same.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#78

Post by mswiss »

kev009 wrote: post #71
hardwaresofton wrote: post #48

For those who can afford it, the Uplift Desk[0] is the best desk I've ever used -- very sturdy and there's even a reclaimed wood option. Huge sizes available (if you're into lots of table space) and the resale value is pretty decent (to other nerds/people who want lots of nice looking desk space). Also never had a problem with the motor/setup. You can often order them through local office supply mom & pops IIRC -- wa…

Agreed, buy once cry once. I expect mine will last me my professional career.

yup i have one its amazing! I did the same thing with my chair, bought a herman miller aeron. They were both expensive but make working so much more comfortable and should last a long time.

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#79

Post by conradk »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #48

For those who can afford it, the Uplift Desk[0] is the best desk I've ever used -- very sturdy and there's even a reclaimed wood option. Huge sizes available (if you're into lots of table space) and the resale value is pretty decent (to other nerds/people who want lots of nice looking desk space). Also never had a problem with the motor/setup. You can often order them through local office supply mom & pops IIRC -- wa…

Somewhat similar is FlexiSpot [0] desks. Have you tried those ? if so, I'd love to hear how they compare to Uplift.

Myself, I have a FlexiSpot height adjustable desk and it's great. The price was 430€ (frame only) new (and I've seen it cheaper during events like Black Friday).

[0] https://flexispot.com/

Re: Open-Source Controller for the IKEA Bekant Standing Desk

#80

Post by gcormier »

tpetry wrote: post #76
sorenjan wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any reason to control my desk over the internet or via Bluetooth. If I'm not at my desk I don't care how high it is, if I'm at the desk and want to change it a button is much more convenient than using my phone.

Think about a button on your desktop to move the desk at a predefined height for standing. It‘s more easily comfigurable than the hijacked ikea bekant buttons to support more logic by different type of presses.

While I agree Wi-Fi would enable other methods of control, the megadesk is designed to do exactly what you suggested.. store and load pre-defined positions by different types of presses :)
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