Automating an electric standing desk with Arduino

IKEA sells – among many, many other items – a motorized sit/stand desk called the BEKANT. Although it seems like a nice item, creator “Hardware Unknown” found having to hold a button down the entire time that it goes from one position to another to be a bit inconvenient.

To remedy this situation, he cannibalized the stock PCB out of a spare control panel, then hooked up an Arduino Nano to emulate button presses to the board via a pair of MOSFETs. Four user input buttons were added, along with a 3D-printed enclosure for a custom controller.

– Werbung –

Two buttons are used for manual up/down adjustment as before, while the other pair make the desk rise or fall for a set amount of time, automatically moving it to a sitting or standing position.

More details on Hardware Unknown’s project can be found in his write-up as well as in his video below.