TOS-1 tank charging dock: from a 3D render to a desk toy that charges four devices

A 140 W GaN charger is a great little brick: four ports, enough power for a laptop, a phone and a pair of earbuds at once. It is also a plain white box that slides around the desk and hides behind the monitor. We wanted it to sit in plain sight and look like it belongs to the toys around it. So we gave it a tank.

The TOS-1 is a Soviet rocket launcher built on a tank chassis: a boxy launcher tilted on top of a tracked hull. That box is exactly the shape of a charger. Swap the rockets for USB ports and the design draws itself.

Concept first

Before touching CAD we rendered the idea in a few finishes to see whether the proportions worked: bare grey, a camo version in the woods, a stylised toy look. The grey one convinced us. The launcher has to sit high and tilt back so the ports face you, and the hull has to be wide enough that the whole thing does not tip when you yank a cable.

CAD on an iPad, in a café

The model was built in Shapr3D on an iPad. The hull, the launcher cradle, the road wheels and the tracks are separate bodies so each can be printed in its own colour and swapped later. The cradle is modelled around the exact outline of the MoveSpeed 140W: the charger drops in from the back and is held by friction, no screws, no glue.

Shapr3D can place the model on a real table through the camera, so we checked the size in AR before printing anything. It is a cheap way to catch "that is way too big for the desk" before spending filament.

Printing

We printed it in PLA on the Lab's FDM printers: mint green for the hull and launcher, dark navy for the tracks, orange for the wheel hubs and the turret ring. The badges on the launcher are printed separately and inlaid. The hollow cradle lets the charger's own cable run out the back of the turret, so the only thing you see from the front is the row of ports.

The result

Four ports pointing at you, a tank that stays put, and a charger that finally earns its spot on the desk.

Want one for your charger?

The cradle is the only part that depends on the charger. Send us the model you use (or just the brand and wattage) and we will fit the launcher to it. Pick your own colours too. Details and a quote: lab@lightning-studio.org or the Lab page at lightning-studio.org/lab.