HP 2511x VESA Adapter

I have an old HP2511x monitor that I wanted to mount on a movable VESA arm. Unfortunately, HP chose not to add VESA mounting holes on many of their monitors, this one included. There are adapters available commercially, but the cheapest one I found was around $30. Since this monitor is several years old and not exactly state of the art, I didn’t want to invest that kind of money it.

Looking at photos of the commercial adapters, it seemed like it shouldn’t be too hard to design my own and 3D print it for a lot less than $30. This model is the result.

You will need three M4x25 cap head screws to attach the adapter to the monitor and four M4 hex nuts to for attaching the VESA plate to the adapter. My VESA mount came with M4x12 screws for mounting the plate to the adapter, hence I just say nuts. Some mounts might even come with screws long enough for attaching the adapter to the monitor, so check the included hardware before you go buy any. If your mount doesn’t come with the M4x12 screws you’ll need to get four of those too.

The model is sized to use screws and nuts from the “assortment” packs readily available from Amazon or eBay. You can probably find these at your local hardware store too, though they may not fit properly in the holes defined in the model and you may need to make some adjustments. If you can’t find cap head screws, 30mm button head or pan head screws may work too. If the nuts don’t fit snugly in the hex holes, try adding a dab of super glue on the outside to keep them in place. Be careful not to get it in the threads!

In order to install, you will need to remove the factory stand. This is done by pushing the button on the inside of the riser and sliding it down. (see photos, previously removed from monitor for clarity) There is a plastic cap over the hinge which must be popped off to give access to the mounting screws. Remove the hinge, then put the adapter in it’s place and secure with the longer M4 screws. With the nuts in the hex holes, attach the VESA mount to the adaptor. The holes are spaced for a 100×100 pattern.

I’ve had the monitor hanging on it for about a week now and so far it is working perfectly. It seems plenty sturdy. It does allow the monitor to “droop” a little forward, but looking at the commercial designs, they are just sheet metal and probably droop a similar amount. It’s due to the weight of the monitor having a lot of leverage against the small off-center foot print where the mount connects to the monitor.

I used filament I had laying around that I paid < $15 a roll for and I already had the screws and nuts on hand, so total investment was probably around $3-4. If you have to buy hardware, that could be another $5 at the big box stores. Still well below the $30 commercial price.

NOTE: While I think this mount is plenty strong and I trust my own monitor to it, I accept no responsibility should you print one and it fails and your monitor breaks or injures someone. There are way too many factors with 3D printing and your results may not be as good as mine. Use at your own risk!

Update 2/13/21:

It’s been about 6 months since I put this in use. It has sagged a little which causes the monitor to tilt forward some, but that is to be expected with PLA. It is easily compensated with the VESA mount itself so no big deal. It doesn’t show any signs of fatigue like it will break, and the sagging seems to have maxed out. I suppose if I really wanted to keep it straight I could bolt a couple strips of metal across it, but I haven’t seen the need yet.

Another option if you don’t like the lean might be to make a spacer and use double sided foam tape to stick it to the back of the monitor near the top. A good quality tape allowed to properly cure before adding a load to it would probably give just enough reinforcement to keep it straight.