I was under the assumption that 5v was just the standard output for wall chargers to a device like a phone, calculator, controller, etc.

I had my guesses. I am probably just going to stay at 5V, and/or hook it up to a usb cable .

The power supply that comes with the CE is indeed 5V. The actual charging circuitry is built into the calculator, so you need not worry about overcharging the calculator by using a different power supply. Iirc, the calculator includes a voltage regulator, so it should be able to accept voltages somewhat higher than 5V, but this would not make it charge faster, and could potentially damage the calculator. If you could add a mini or micro USB port, then the charging stand would be able to easily interface with a wide variety of 5V phone chargers.

The note on overcharging being built into the calc is good to know. I am probably going to stick to 5V, but I will hopefully be including a micro USB female port (as you suggested) for USB cables that allow for the use of an existing cable and power supply.

Update: I am about halfway done (thanks to the meager time I am allowed with school and exams ) with the new model of the stand! Just to recap, the differences between it and the old model include:

* A slanted base (so it doesn't fall forward with the weight of the calculator),
* Less volume so it is cheaper to print,
* A more exact spot for the hardware to go

Edit: Here it is, almost done! just need to add in the spots for the micro usb female port and the charging connectors.
Edit: pic removed to save scrolling and unnecessary large images. See below for the Finished product!

I use Inventor, and I know a lot about inventor. So if you have any questions, I'm right here.

Alright! v2 is finally done, complete with the features seen in my last post, with the added bonus of looking cool.
Download the STL file here!
If you want to check it out online, use http://www.viewstl.com/

Some Pics:

The final product:

A side view, check out the curves, fillets, and slanted design!

Here is a view of the back ,to show where the hardware will go. The hole in the very back is for a Micro USB female cable (I am getting This One), and the holes where the calc's ports will be are for wires, paper clips, or some other conductor to transfer power to the calc. Of course, if you download this, you can set it up any way you want. I'll post a pic of my setup once I get it printed and assembled.

Finally, I added some text to make it mine on the top (usually the best place to print fine details like text, unless you have a really high-end printer).

Here is a download of the file if you don't want my pretty name on it.

Thanks to anyone for supporting this project and providing feedback to get to the design I have now. Feel free to download and print this yourself. Good Luck!

For some reason this still looks really massive in my slicer when I import it with units=inches. Are they supposed to be centimeters instead? It looks really cool, though; nice job iterating it!

Thank You! The size issue must still be on your end, it is working fine with the www.viewstl.com/.

It looks fine, yes, but look at the size listed on the right side of that page when you load the model. Perhaps see if your 3D program can export with units=mm?

Shouldn't the export be inches if it was modeled in inches and is best seen in inches?
Plus, the dimensions on the side look fine when I set both the file dimensions and view dimensions to inches. I exported it in inches, everything should be in inches, unless I am missing something.

It is fine for me with these settings:


I also did not have any problems opening it in CatalystEX or SOLIDWORKS.

That looks much much better, but the left and right front corners still seem a bit bulky to me. I was also thinking making the frame a bit shorter might look a bit cooler, but it's your design

As for the powering, will you be cutting open the cable and putting the data+ and data- wires to ground (this only seems logical to me)? And for charging, will you have metal strips held in place that are attached to the power and ground that will slide onto the calc? It looks like your frame currently doesn't have anything like that to hold them in place.

Yea, the wiring set up will be similar to what you described. I will be attaching the correct wires to metal strips and using some hot glue to secure it in the perfect spot to connect to the calc on the bottom.
Ill post some pics next week when I have everything setup.

I've just taken a look at it in 3d. I'm noticing that the snap clips inside it that make the calculator snap into place aren't filleted, but perhaps that won't affect it that much. I was also wondering how the 3d printer is even going to print something fairly complicated. And what type of printer is it?

Also, you probably know this already, but the ports on the bottom of the calc are about 3mm wide. Just something to keep in mind

Here's a suggestion for the contacts

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/connectors-interconnects/contacts-spring-loaded-and-pressure/1442508?k=pogo+pin&k=&pkeyword=pogo+pin&pv69=713&FV=fff40016%2Cfff802cc%2C1140050%2C11402c9&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25

They're spring loaded pogo pins with solder cups, so if you get the housing right, you can solder these to the wires, then pop them into the stand and you're set. No messing around with hot glue and hoping things make contact.

Thank you so much! This perfectly solves the problem. I will probably buy this one, since it is long enough for stability, but the right shape. These will work perfectly.
Thanks to the accurate drawing, I can modify the 3d model to house these devices.↓

Other thoughts, it turns out that my model wasn't actually printed (my friends printer wasn't calibrated and he didnt realize until it was too late). This is fine though, because I want to implement some changes, including taking out some of the material in the front supports, which won't need to be as thick because the calc is leaning back. I might also add some holes in the bottom for rubber grip pads (I may even buy some replacement pads for a Ti 84 plus!). Ill post more when I get this all finished.

Edit: I have implemented the resized holes into the back, probably gonna resend the stl file for printing.
Here are some pics of the holes.
They have just the right amount of space to let the metal connectors in, and some sloped room in the back so I can secure them with just the right angle.



After I send the stl file to be printed, I will do the following:

1. test out the fit of the calc in the stand,
   
2. modify the stand (using files, knives, glue, etc.) to make it fit perfectly
   
3. modify the file so that it fitsperfetcly for anyone else who wants to print it
   
4. order and install the metal connectors
   
5. connect the final wiring and stuff
   
6. SMASH WHOLE PROJECT WITH 5 lb HAMMER
   

I will keep you updated!
Note: the last bullet is a joke, although it would be funny.