iTab

I always wanted a tablet screen, but Wacom Cintiq is too pricey for underpaid Malaysian designer like me. My google pointed me to a DIYer who built a tablet screen combining a LCD screen with wacom intuos pen tablet. This mean it is possible to build one too. Some of you might question why build one when there's already many tablet pc that came with pen input, a screen and on top of all fully working PC. Firstly the level of sensitivity those tablet offer have nothing close to a Wacom tablet. You can use those pen to replace mouse for some simple input. But you can't really do a painting or re-touch a photo nicely with it. Secondly, they don't come with Mac OSX.

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Overview :

My mod also has a few points I would like to highlight:

• I started with nothing, research, planning and study is the key and be creative. Remember, I'm not a technical guy (well, at lease before this).
• Fully make-use of what availalbe. Don't force or limit by what un-available.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle!
• Reversible (everything are not permenantly sealed or soldered, they can be reverse for futher upgrade in the future.
• Uses hand tool most of the time. Economy & good for some muscle building (or muscle pain).

I've actually tried to build one last year (early 2007), but things doesn't went well as the LCD causing too much interference to the tablet. The photo below was taken when I did a test with my best effort to add on aluminium foils as shielding. Hoping to reduce the interference.



This is what I get as a result:



Mouse pointer jumping and random left & right click (will refer this as "jittering" on the rest of the project). I abandoned the project, sold the Intuos. But I never gave up. The idea was brewing in my mind for about a year now. As you can see, my early planning does not involve a Mac laptop. It was my luck that I manage to purchase a MacBook with faulty LCD. Which is just nice for my project.

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Specs :

MacBook
CoreDuo 1.83GHz
1GB RAM
250GB 7200RPM HDD
UXGA 15" LCD (1600 x 1200)
iSight, Combo drive and other standard spec from MacBook

Supplies	Tools
Wacom Intuos 3 9x12 BOE HV150UX1-101 UXGA panel DVI + VGA LVDS driver kit MacBook (with faulty screen) 2mm Alunimum sheet (customised with air vent holes) Grille sheet Ikea TIARA wall sconce (as the stand) Ikea OBSERVATÖR Cross-brace (as the add-on v-stand) thinner (roughly 1L). spray paint can.
	1. Solder gun & solder 2. Hot glue gun 3. Screwdriver 4. A soft rubber with tape. They call it window strip. I use it to pad the gap of Intuos casing. After install the LCD, there should be extra 5mm gap 5. Tapes, loads of them, masking tape, double side tape, strong double side foam tape you name it 6. Hacksaw blade (can't afford the saw handle...lol) 7. Hand drill. Wanted to get a power drill, but over budget on buying other parts. 8. Not sure what they call this, it's a tool with grid line use to sand off rough edges on metal/wood. 9. Plier 10. Metal sheet cutter 11. Skid stopper (use it for the stand) 12. Sand paper (for sanding rough edges & making the skull logo) 13. Lastly and most important, a pair of hand that not afraid of getting cut, burn & electric shock.

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Process

Part 1 - Planning (May 8th)

Bought my 2nd intuos3 9x12 from a lady, excellent condition. Good buy I would say. Nothing else was done besides of planning.

My plan for this round will be using laptop LCD panel. My research show me that:
• Take less power (might not bother much for now, but when I convert it to a tablet mac it does)
• Slimmer (also easier to break, ouch)
• Using single CCFL (yeah, less cable, less things to shield)
• No need FCC extension (funny that I only see a horizontal circuit sticking out of the LCD, no vertical one)
• External power ready
• Cables are already long enough
• No need for take apart (component come in individual parts, ie driver board, panel, lcd control buttons, power supply)

I've tested with a 12" LCD from an iBook, it works nicely with very minor/ close to no jittering, without any extra shielding. Best thing of it, the video cable and circuit was on top of the tablet when I did the test. A good start indeed. Further study show that the laptop panel are usually using good quality LVDS cable which are already shielded. Where by normal LCD monitor uses PVC/rubber protected cable. But 12" is rather small, since I already got the intuos, my goal will be a 15" LCD like most of us. I have a choice of what type of LCD panel to use. I've decided to go with UXGA LCD panel, which come with DVI, VGA & RCA video-in driver board. Good enough. I've also specifically not to pick Samsung panel, due to the last failure. But this is still a gamble, it was proven that at higher resolution, the greater the interference.

I'm planning to split this project into few stages:

Stage1 - the cintiq
- I will try to keep the Intuos3 casing as it is, I think it's good enough.
- The LCD driver board, will have to stick at the back of the intuos. To protect it, I plan to use aluminium sheet (more on this later).
Here's a rough idea, sizes are not to scale:



Stage2 - the mac tablet
I might be able to pick up a 1st gen MacBook with a dead screen. Planning to integrate on to the back of the Cintiq. Might also want to power the LCD driver board with the MacBook (will go in details later, if I'm able to get the macbook).

Stage3 - the cosmetic
The last part should be tidy up here and there, spray paint. While waiting for stage1 & 2 take place.

Part 2 - Ordering Parts (May 29th & 30th)

Made up my mine and ordered the UXGA panel with DVI + VGA driver board. Now waiting for salary to pay for it. Item should arrive in 2 weeks. That should be sometime mid June. Meanwhile have engage a company in US that provide metal furnishing about getting the customise Aluminium panel. Will see how it goes and hope it won't cost me my arm & leg.
I have to go for alternative if that doesn't go well.

The helpful seller sent me a photo of the LCD panel and driver board. Looks exactly what I wish it will be. BOE HV150UX1-101 UXGA panel no need for FCC extension. DVI + VGA LVDS board that's in small form factor. External power. All cables are long enough for the project!



Part 3 - Aluminum Fabrication (June 3rd)
Found a fabricator for aluminium sheets, been talking with them for pass 3 days to get the drawing done correctly. The aluminium sheet will be my back cover where the LCD driver board located. Here the finalised design:



Part 4 -  LCD Panel arives  (June 5th)
The LCD panel kit arrived yesterday. Done initial test, still get a bit jittering. But considering very good as I done no shielding. Just overlap the LCD on top of the Intuos.

Part 5 - Intuos Disassembly (June 7th)
To do a proper test meaning I have to take apart the Intuos. Starting is fairy easy... turn the Intuos over and there's only 6 screws (red circle) + a few clipping (one shown in green circle, the rest are in one row of 2 at the top).



The shortcut buttons are in one piece of plastic/PVC material. The scroll strips are stick on to the face plate, linked to the circuit with a very thin and narrow FFC with a ZIF lock. It is really fragile, please be careful if you ever to work on one. Here's a rough view on how a Intuos 3 in exploded view:



After exposing the Wacom sensor circuit, a shielding are required to avoid shorting it. I used cling film. The LCD panel was placed on top of the intuos and a test was done.

Screen test very successful, I get close to no mouse jittering. But when the pointer get too close to the CCFL & LVDS random click appear. I can still improve that with shielding or tweaking the driver. I have to positioned the screen upside down as in order to fit. No worry on that as OSX support screen rotation.



I've also cut a hole on the inner plastic of the Intuos with hacksaw blade. Carefully sand away extra edges to fit the LCD nicely top and bottom.



Next is to cut a hole or make a "window" to reveal the LCD while covered with top casing, time for some brainstorming. I always like the design of the original casing. I will find a way to reuse the casing. The thickness of the LCD panel fit just nice in between the circuit & casing. But there will be a few millimeter gap. That will be fine-tuned later.

Part 6 - Getting the MacBook (June 8th)
After weeks of bargain, I've finally bought the MacBook with faulty screen. Test on the spot to confirm it booted fine. VNC over from an iBook to confirm everything is working. Good deal. The seller even gave me the box and stuff.

Part 7 - Testing the Intuos and Cleaning (June 9th)
Success!



I've discovered a way to reuse the casing as I wanted. The top casing was painted at the underside. So the top remain clear. If it is painted meaning it can be removed. I've spend whole afternoon experiment with different type of liquid to wipe off the paint coat. Alcohol, spirits, nail polish you name it. Finally get a successful wipe with thinner. Careful mask the edges with masking tape before begin. Apply thinner on clothe, do not spill directly onto the casing, it will leave a permanent marking on it. I would say wiping off the paint is a longest process in my mod. Took me a whole Sunday (roughly 15hr). When you work with thinner please make sure air flow is good, I have a fan blowing all the time.

Here's a closer shot:



As you can see, the edges are not strait as thinner seems to went under the masking tape when I apply too much on the clothe.
I've temporary fixed the LCD driver board at the back with tapes and reusing some clear packaging as protection.



Here's another view:



Next I should be tidy things up when the aluminium back cover arrive.

Part 8 - More Testing & a name. (June 11th)
Further test was done with various Mac with different configurations:
- Mac Pro, Full resolution at 1600x1200 I get fast random mouse jumping in 0.5cm radius, not very usable. Acceptable at 1280x1024. Still some slow and small jumping.
- iBook G4, only support VGA at 1024x768, but very good result, but no screen rotation, I need 180 degree rotation. Close to non mouse jumping.
- MacBook, similar as Mac Pro but better result. I can still use it with full 1600x1200 resolution.

Next, I've decided to call this project iTab (short for Wei DIY Tablet).

Planning ahead for the stand.

Part 8 - Cleaning up the Intuos (June 15th)
Repainted the cover today after the failed attempt to remove the wacom logo. Thinner slip under the masking:



That's it? Nope, decided to go all the way, I'll repaint it. First I need to clean off all the remaining original paint coar. And here's how it looks like when I'm done cleaning:



Have to seal the die cut hole with tape before spray paint.

I've hand drawn the "iTab" wording with silver ink. Decided to spray paint it to black. And here's the result:



I've also removed the faulty screen from the MacBook, thanks to ifixit.com for the detail take apart guide. Leaving the display, iSight & antenna cable attached. Booted up the MacBook with external drive (internal drive was return to the previous owner) & hooked up the screen for some test:



Part 9 - More Planning and Waiting and Testing (June 16th to June 21st)
Stage one are more or less complete. Stage two involve planning to house the MacBook together. Here's what to be done:
- Holding the MacBook, facing the keyboard side to the aluminium plate (better heat transfer?), but I wont be able to access to the keyboard & track pad (which I don't need). But I still need the power button...
- Power button relocation, this is a bit tricky. Planning to recycle scrap from faulty powerbook if I can get one.
- Extending the ports. I will allow the CD-ROM slot facing out. Where all the ports facing inside, which I need to extend to allow access to them (sound, firewire, USB). Might need to DIY, but should be simple enough.
- iSight camera & microphone. Have already tested this, need to reroute to the front side. And drill a hole on the clear case in order to get a clearer image.

Just done my shopping for some final parts on eBay. Adapters, cables, grille for the last part of the project. Hopefully will received them in 2-3 weeks. I've also decided to remove the combo drive and replace with a 2nd internal hard drive.

Aluminium back casing arrived at airport today 11am according to USPS tracking system. Hope to received it this week. Else it will be next week.

Wow, this is really fast, the item was cleared from airport custom should be on its way to my house. High hope to get it today or tomorrow

With some adjustment to Wacom driver, I manage to reduce to jitter to very minor. Only obvious when pointer near the bottom & side of the screen.

Here's roughly how my current jittering at 1280x1024 resolution:

I've drilled a hole for the iSight camera, right on top of the Intuos status LED. Hand drill once again.

Part 10 - Positioning (June 25th)

The aluminium plate arrive on Monday, done a very rough tape test. I'll let the photos tell the story.

Front view:


Back view:


The air vent holes is off. I'm not sure what went wrong during the production, the holes should be in equal size. It is clearly not what I expected. Also I've noticed some scratches on the plate. I've contacted the fabricator. They're ignoring my question about the air vent holes, while only answered me about the scratches, Oh well, it's not like I can afford to return it and ask for replacement. This is the thing I doesn't like with online dealing. Will stick with what I received, was still acceptable because the rest of the measurement are what I wanted. So it fit nicely.

The stand:


Bought this while I'm doing my shopping at ikea the other day. The idea hit me instantly I saw it. This supposed to be a vertical wall vase holder (see photo). It's cheap and hey it's aluminium


I've bend the tip upward and the the back to be tighter to fit my iTab. The process was done by using table clamp and slowly bend it by pushing gently till I get the shape I wanted. I've temporary put on some tape to avoid scratches when I put iTab on top.



The logo:

This is simple, print out the logo in actual size, put it on top of a clear masking film. Cut out the logo. The remaining masking film is what I need. Stick it on the location I wanted to brush. And start brushing gently with sand paper in circular motion. As you brush more, sand/ dust will start to collect around the surface, don't blow them away. Use them to rub on finer corners with finger. Sand paper can't reach small surface. I did not take any photos during the process as my hand are covered with dust and sand. Here's the result.



The MacBook:


Temporary held with masking tapes. Will position the optical slot face out, ports face in. When facing in, I will have to extend some of the ports that's not connected internally, like the ethernet, sound, mic, USB & firewire. (note, I'm planning to get +12V from the FireWire port to power the LCD, have to do some cable splicing later).

Part 11 - OSX updates & apps installation (June 27th)

Part 12 - Aluminum grill (July 7th)
Aluminium grille sheet arrived today. Mark the size size and cut it with steel sheet cutter. And then bend it with hand.

Fit everything in for testing.

Part 13 - Final assembly (July 8th)
Finally it's done.

Optical drive slot facing out.

The ports.

All port you see here are extended or repositioned. I've extended the FireWire and stealing the +12V from it to power the LCD panel. I've splice the cable and route the +12V & ground cable to the driver board. Pin 1 of FireWire are +12V (usually red), pin 2 are ground (usually black). One USB port connected to the intuos internally and another one was extended. Another one are the audio jack, Both using male-female cable available in the market. Top back connector are the DVI out from MacBook, bottom are connected to the driver board. This cable was actually a DVI - HDMI cable, given free as a gift with my LCD purchase. So I have to use a HDMI - DVI converter to connect to the LCD.

The reason why I keep the DVI cable external as it is because I will can have a choice to use the MacBook with other display, projector for instance. And a choice to use the UXGA LCD panel with my other Mac as second display. Flexibility is always good. I think.

The back.


Clearly showing the grille in place. The tape you see at the upper right and lower left are the power-on button for both MacBook and LCD. Planning to relocate them once I get the button I wanted.

OSX and iSight in action.


And here it is!


Part 14 - Minor Updates (July 25th)

Some minor update:
- I've relocated the bluetooth & airport antenna. Getting the signal what I should expect from a MacBook (but still not as good as the old iBook).
- I've also added rubber shield to cover the rough & sharp edge of the grille. Especially optical drive slot. I don't want to have scratched disc. Reusing the extra cable I trimmed off the earlier from the firewire. Just cut open the cable in parallel. And warp the rubber on the grille edges, sealed with super glue.
- I've done the power-on button by reusing one from a faulty powerbook. Big thanks to a buddy who passed it to me.


- I've made another detachable stand to rise the iTab to a vertical mode. Bending one of the ikea OBSERVATÖR Cross-brace into U shape.


Long screw with nut was use with the stand. Slot them into the grille and I have a vertical stand. Useful


- I've recycled the magnets of the faulty display, where the the MacBook use them to close up firmly without a latch. There're 2 of them, both located few centimeter away from the iSight camera. I've use one of them to trigger the sleep switch, this will turn off the internal display. Saving some processing power. The second one was used to hold the Apple Remote like those on iMac.

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Final Thoughts

- I still get jittering when the iTab run hot. Air-conditioned room FTW.
- I get 2 horizontal black line on top of the screen where OSX menu bar located because I accidentally pressured the LCD circuit, have to live with that.
- In order to get constant 12V from firewire I need to keep the magsafe adapter connected and powering the macbook.
- Won't do battery power at the moment but if I have the need, I can. I just need to add a regulator chip to get steady 12V.


Thanks for reading my lengthy mod guide! Cheers.

wei