Charging station - DIY or recommendations

[plangevin]

Hi all,

I do IT for a large company and I was in charge of the IT help desk during an event. During this event, they brought out these charging stations for the guests to charge their iPad Pros because there weren't plugs on the tables. These charging stations were standard USB and couldn't even keep the charge of the iPads, let alone attempt to charge them! But they sure were pretty with our company logo slapped onto it, which apparently is important...

Anyway, I want to replace those with an actual charging station that will be beneficial. After researching, it seems that the latest iPad Pro car charge upto 36w so I was considering buying a bunch of 45w or even 60w, to future-proof, USB-C chargers and put 8 of them on an extension cord and stick it in some sort of nice enclosure and slap our business logo in it. They care about esthetics, I care about performance, so I seeking advice on how to go about this.

I am looking to get a wow effect all while keeping the cost at 200-250$ per charging station of 8 plugs.

Any advice is appreciated

Cheers!

 

[Eximo]

Well, things like this exist for classrooms. Only about 10W per device though.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/sho...XrvKktmglutJz3C8RdUclx7ldX-gT2R8BMXYtgqBqSU2G


Here is this tablet holder by itself:
https://www.newegg.com/belkin-b2b074-store-and-charge/p/1N8-0004-00006?Item=9SIAFVFEDZ6924

https://www.tripplite.com/10-device...-station-tablets-laptops-e-readers~CSD1006USB


If you want full speed charging to 8 or 10 devices, your plan is probably as good as it gets. Let me check one more place.

 

[USAFRet]

Looking for "usb charging station" on Amazon and Newegg shows dozens of them.
$20-$30 each, for 6-8 plugs.

Print up a sticker with the company logo, done.

 

[Eximo]

Well this is pretty cool, just add your charging bricks:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1637619-REG/luxor_lott12_12_port_charging_station_for.html

 

[Eximo]

Looking for "usb charging station" on Amazon and Newegg shows dozens of them.
$20-$30 each, for 6-8 plugs.

Print up a sticker with the company logo, done.

But they all suck at charging, 10W or less.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, remember not everything is USB-C. or even USB.
Some people will need an actual plug in.

 

[Eximo]

I saw a very expensive, probably outside your budget, option in a video a few weeks back, but I'm having trouble tracking it down. It was made for professionals recharging camera batteries and the like.

 

[plangevin]

Well this is pretty cool, just add your charging bricks:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1637619-REG/luxor_lott12_12_port_charging_station_for.html

Oh wow that looks absolutely amazing! Great find, thanks.. I can absolutely use this thing and hide all of my power blocks under... The one we have right now has all the wires plug from the outside of the casing on top and nothing to manage the actual iPads/iPhones so it looks sloppy with the wires hanging off the edges, like some kind of octupus. Now I need to see if they sell fast cables that allow USBC on one end, for the charger, and a split between USBC and Lightning on the other to give people the choice.

Alright this is definitely the front runner so far. If anyone else has any good finds, I'd love to see them too.

 

[plangevin]

Also, remember not everything is USB-C. or even USB.
Some people will need an actual plug in.

That's a good point but the purpose of these is for our events and we provide the equipment. As of now, it's iPhones and iPads. I know lightning will disapear off iPhones starting next year but I need to retrofit too

I appreciate your comment, thank you.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Oh wow that looks absolutely amazing! Great find, thanks.. I can absolutely use this thing and hide all of my power blocks under... The one we have right now has all the wires plug from the outside of the casing on top and nothing to manage the actual iPads/iPhones so it looks sloppy with the wires hanging off the edges, like some kind of octupus. Now I need to see if they sell fast cables that allow USBC on one end, for the charger, and a split between USBC and Lightning on the other to give people the choice.

Alright this is definitely the front runner so far. If anyone else has any good finds, I'd love to see them too.

You could buy a bunch of chargers with USB-C and USB-A port (like https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Compact-Foldable-MacBook/dp/B09C5RG6KV/ ) and offer a choice between Lightning or USB-C at each station.

Just make sure to warn that they can use only one or the other. Or maybe buy a multiport USB-A charger and provide Lightning based charging that way.