AFC Industries U-Shaped Standing Desk Review

[Editors’ Note – This product is no longer available from the manufacturer. We will keep this review up for future reference and comparison.]

This is a preview of the AFC Industries U-Shaped Standing Desk. Because this is not a popular e-commerce option this product is not currently slated for a full lab review like so many other standing desks on the market but is included here because the search for a sit-stand U-desk still comes up with very few options for the buyer. If we get a lot of reader interest for this product we will slate it for a full lab review, but unless AFC changes their sales model this is probably unlikely. Don’t want to miss any of our new reviews? Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news.

The AFC Industries U-shaped standing desk highlights the exact issues that come up when trying to find a standing U-desk online. If you’re used to building your desk, picking options and seeing how the price changes, this desk probably isn’t for you as it is one that you’ll likely only get a quote on if you’re in need of a fleet of desks for building out a control room or dispatch center. (Check out our round-up of height-adjustable u-shaped standing desk reviews if you’re looking for something you can configure and buy online.)

Companies like AFC Industries generally sell to hospitals (e.g. radiology), command and control centers (military, police, security), dispatch and network control. These situations have lots of monitors, communications equipment, etc., that’s usually very heavy. The desks often have ventilated cabinets for large computer equipment. They’re often extremely expensive and not generally sold one-off to consumers.

To the degree that most software applications have been moving to the cloud over the past decade it’s unclear how long we’re going to continue to see demand for a lot of ventilated CPU cabinets as part of a “console desk” design. A key factor in selecting such a desk in the past has been its ability to lift a lot of heat-generating computing power right there at the workstation.

Nowadays the ability to lift a lot of large monitors and keep them at an ergonomically-tuned height for the specific user standing (or sitting) at that workstation is far more important. So the AFC offering is a bit yesteryear, but it is one of a few that has been around a long time in this very narrow market.

About The Shape

⁣The AFC Industries U-desk, a semi-circle style.

Full-surface standing U-desks can be straight-edged (like the iMovR Lander U-Desk) or semi-circle style, like this desk from AFC Industries.

The biggest advantage of a semi-circle desk is that it aids ergonomics by making it easier to mount multiple monitors while keeping focal depth the same, and generally creating more of an “ergonomic arc,” or “cockpit” around the user. That said, there are some very capable monitor arms that can essentially produce that same kind of consistent focal depth around the user regardless of the shape of the desktop. 

The biggest advantage of a straight-edged U-desk is maximizing desktop real estate, particularly against corner walls. If you want the most space you can get from a standing desk, this is your better bet. The largest configuration of the Lander U-Desk comes in at just under 45 sq. feet of desktop area. You can accomplish the same focal depth magic of a semi-circle U-desk using an electric monitor arm setup and overall have a much more tech-forward, state-of-the-art setup. Not to mention the ability to buy one desk at a time instead of a fleet, and at probably half the price.

The AFC Industries U-desk only comes in one size, 93” wide and 46” deep, so it isn’t going to fit into as many locations as more configurable height-adjustable u-desks can.

The desktop comes in eight colors: Pure White, Achron Black, Gentle Gray, Speckled Gray, New Pine, Hard Oak, Rich Cherry and Cream. While this is fine, and probably sufficient for the console market, other sit-stand u-shaped desks come in many more finish options

About The Base

The height range for this standing desk is 28”-47”, which is the smallest stroke we’ve seen for a desk with dual-stage legs in many years, and falls well outside of the ANSI/BIFMA G1-2013 Ergonomic Guidelines. The positive is that the height range leaves plenty of overlap at the ends of the three tubes of the lifting columns, which should help with stability. The negative is the height range is too tall for shorter users to sit ergonomically and too short for tall users to stand ergonomically.

No information is provided about transit speed or weight capacity, but we’d expect weight capacity to be robust as the desk does use four lifting columns. It is thus probably in the range of 440 to 720 lbs, minus the weight of the desk. The desk has four height memory presets.

Features

The desk comes with five 4” casters, two of which lock. It’s equipped with a CPU cart, also on casters. It comes with a robust-looking monitor holder that can hold five monitors. No details are provided about adjustability or weight capacity. It also comes with a retractable keyboard tray, but again, there are no details provided about size.

Warranty

The product page says the desk has a full product warranty but doesn’t mention the length or any other details.

The Takeaway

The AFC Industries Semi-Circle standing desk is a solid desk but not the best option for an individual user. It has very limited configurations as compared to other, more modern designs on the market (e.g. the category-leading Lander U-Shaped Standing Desk that can be configured in nearly 15,000 different ways.) The website provides few details and you can’t even see the price without calling or emailing the sales team. We do like that the entire surface rises as one piece and the semi-circle design should help your ergonomics slightly.

Be sure to check out our full roundup of U-shaped standing desks.

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