The makerspace is a 360 x 300 cm room that also has to work as a guest room. So the main workbench is modular: four Dexion units that stack as a bench and lie flat as a bed base.
Two modes
As a workbench, the four units stand as a 2 x 2 block. The top two carry the work surface and the bottom two hold the heavy drawers. As a bed, the upper frame comes off, turns 180 degrees, and stands on its own 110 mm legs next to the lower frame, which sits on 110 mm casters. Both end up at 480 mm, so the mattress lies flat.
| Layer | Workbench | Bed |
|---|---|---|
| Top | 150 mm drawer modules | 80 mm mattress |
| Upper frame | 370 mm | 0 mm, moved beside |
| Lower frame | 370 mm | 370 mm |
| Casters or feet | 110 mm | 110 mm |
| Total | 1010 mm | 560 mm |
Bed slats, 70 x 18 mm at about 100 mm spacing, sit between the frames. M8 bolts with star knobs or cam levers join the two frames, so switching modes needs no tools.
Top drawer modules
The top is three identical 600 mm wide modules, built from reclaimed 15 mm OSB with a reclaimed 19 mm MDF surface. Each has one shallow drawer sized for Gridfinity:
- Width: 600 mm outside, minus two 23 mm sides, two 12.5 mm slides and two 12 mm drawer sides, leaves 505 mm. That fits 12 Gridfinity units of 42 mm (504 mm).
- Depth: 400 mm slides, minus 12 mm front and 12 mm back, leaves 376 mm. 9 units need 378 mm, so the drawer box is 402 mm.
- Height: 90 mm inside fits 12U bins (2 mm base plus 12 x 7 mm = 86 mm).
That gives 108 grid units per drawer. Two inset toggle clamps join neighbouring modules and pull the surface flat; side clamps hold the row to the frame. In bed mode the modules stack and two ratchet straps hold them on the caster base, with the 3D printer on top.
Lower drawers
The bottom units get heavy drawers on 50 kg, 400 mm slides. The drawers are 550 mm deep, so they never come all the way out, and concrete or steel blocks in the back 150 mm act as counterweight.
| Drawer | Use | Inside height | Total height |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1, B1 | Small materials | 57 mm | 65 mm |
| C1, D1 | Medium materials | 62 mm | 70 mm |
| A2 | Bits and blades | 80 mm | 88 mm |
| B2 | Power tools | 160 mm | 172 mm |
Cut list for the lower drawers
| Part | Material | Size | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sides | 15 mm OSB | 140 x 600 mm | 8 |
| Fronts and backs | 15 mm OSB | 140 x 730 mm | 8 |
| Faces | 15 mm OSB | 400 x 890 mm | 2 |
| Bottoms | 8 mm OSB | 760 x 600 mm | 6 |
The supplier cuts nothing under 100 mm high, so some 140 mm strips get split into 57, 62, 65 and 70 mm pieces for the small and medium drawers.
Casters
Six casters sit under the lower frame: three fixed at the back and three lockable swivel casters at the front. The 110 mm clearance is enough for the robot vacuum to pass under.
Specs
- Frame
- 4 Dexion units, 900 x 700 x 370 mm each
- Top
- 3 drawer modules, 600 x 800 x 150 mm, reclaimed OSB and MDF
- Height
- 1010 mm as a bench, 560 mm as a bed
- Storage
- Gridfinity, 12 x 9 grid per top drawer