Xu Nan, a DIY enthusiast and frequent business traveler, designed the Palm Dock, a portable graphics dock sized 160×80×43mm (0.55L). With Xometry's CNC machining, he produced a custom aluminum alloy enclosure through multiple design iterations within one week. The palm-sized device enhances gaming performance on portable PCs, with the project documented on Bilibili, gathering a community of DIY enthusiasts.
Industry
Consumer GoodsElectronic
Country
China
Use case
Prototyping
Technology
CNC Machining
Materials
Aluminum Alloy
Product
Palm Dock Portable Graphics Dock | Custom Aluminum Alloy Enclosure
“Xometry’s engineers took the initiative to help me solve technical problems and provided plenty of professional advice on optimizing the manufacturing details of the shell design. They responded to my feedback and solved issues in the first place, which is truly rare in this industry.”
Everyone needs moments to please themselves and make time for what they truly love. For Xu Nan, creating and making things is the perfect way to enjoy life and follow his passion. Driven by personal interest and a pursuit of quality living, he keeps exploring and crafting on his own.
Driven by Interest and Passion
Frequent business trips are part of his daily work, so Xu Nan is particularly fond of ultra-portable devices. He even uses an 8-inch Windows handheld console for daily office use. After a busy workday, gaming in the hotel has become his favorite way to unwind.
However, he found that the integrated graphics of most portable PCs lack sufficient performance to run the latest game titles smoothly. To enjoy a better gaming experience within limited leisure time, a portable graphics dock became a must-have.
He originally planned to buy a ready-made portable graphics dock online, but found the price far too high. Then he had an idea: why not design one by himself and find a manufacturer to build it?
Fueled by pure interest and enthusiasm, he created the Palm Dock — sized 160×80×43mm, only 0.55L in volume, palm-sized and pocketable.
Meeting the Right Partner at the Right Time
Building the Palm Dock required three core components besides the graphics card: main control board, DC power supply board, and custom outer shell. Limited by internal layout space, his options for circuit boards were restricted. As for the enclosure, he lacked manufacturing experience and needed
professional support in production, material selection, surface finishing, drilling and other processing work.
After several setbacks, Xu Nan found Xometry.
“Xometry’s engineers proactively helped me solve problems and offered valuable suggestions to optimize the structural and manufacturing details of the shell design. They always responded and handled feedback promptly, which is quite rare in the industry.”
— Xu Nan shared high praise for the cooperation.
In the following days, Xu Nan completed multiple rounds of shell iteration together with Xometry.
“The whole process involved constant design tweaks and improvements. It was an emotional journey from excitement to frustration, and finally back to hope. After seven days of iteration, the shell design was finally finalized.”
“I was genuinely surprised by Xometry’s cost-effectiveness, production speed and product quality. I contacted some cheaper manufacturers before, but eventually gave up. In the end, those suppliers cost me huge time and energy arguing over inconsistent product quality and repeated delivery delays — the overall comprehensive cost turned out much higher.”
Now Xu Nan is still refining the Palm Dock, aiming to make it even smaller, more powerful and more portable. For him, this portable graphics dock is only the beginning of his next creative journey.
Delight Yourself, Inspire Others — Building a DIY Utopia
As someone who loves sharing creations, Xu Nan documented the entire development process of the Palm Dock and posted it online. Unexpectedly, his personal DIY project quickly sparked a wave of orders on Bilibili. He also gained a large group of followers and formed a small like-minded community.
Today the community has gathered numerous DIY enthusiasts. Some contribute design ideas, some offer optimization advice, and everyone communicates purely out of shared interest, finding small happiness in hands-on creation.
Through constant communication, members polish their designs bit by bit, pour emotions into their works, and temporarily escape the stress of daily life.
“I love this relaxed atmosphere — free communication, few restrictions, mutual support and trust. I believe our community will grow into a mature, self-sustaining platform for DIY creation and sharing in the future,” said Xu Nan.
“As a one-stop on-demand manufacturing service provider, Xometry has served over 60,000 clients globally. Our partners include well-known enterprises such as Bosch, Dell, BMW and General Motors, as well as individual makers, university students and small startups like Xu Nan.
We maintain an open and inclusive platform, delivering reliable manufacturing capacity for clients of all sizes.”— Zhang Xianren, Vice President of Xometry.
“At Xometry, we always uphold the philosophy: Great ideas are refined here. Creative concepts are as precious as jade, and only through professional craftsmanship can they shine brilliantly. Helping makers and enterprises turn ideas into reality is also a journey that brings joy to ourselves and others.”
About Xometry
Xometry is the world’s leading one-stop on-demand manufacturing service provider with a massive global manufacturing network. Customers can get instant, cost-effective online quotations effortlessly.
With more than 10,000 verified manufacturers worldwide, Xometry delivers fast lead times and reliable production. It supports a full range of manufacturing processes, including CNC machining, 3D printing, sheet metal fabrication and injection molding.
Trusted by enterprises across industries, Xometry serves many Fortune 1000 brands including BMW and Bosch.
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