Laptop to Tablet-pc Conversion W-I-P / Acer Travelpad
by 123cardigan in Circuits > Computers
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Laptop to Tablet-pc Conversion W-I-P / Acer Travelpad
i have been looking for a nice new tablet to work with, access and control my big 8-core server
android and ios dont have the productivity suites i want or need
so i started looking at windows 8 tabs and to be honest they are all to expensive or not powerful enough
i then thought "hey why not build one myself"
so i went and got my old travelmate and thought if i can mod this into a nice tablet yes a little underpowered atm but i could buy a new laptop and perform a gutswap in a while and have a custom built tab
that noone else has
i will apoligise now i toke weed all day while i strip and refurb or mod desktops, laptops and consoles
the only time i have is balanced between my 9 month old daugther, my pregnant girlfriend, and a myriad of projects ranging from micro web servers all the way up to high-end quad-copters for surveillance and photography
also the photos in this intro will be updated as i make progress
LEGAL
I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ACER(tm)
This is a personal project/prototype using an old laptop
android and ios dont have the productivity suites i want or need
so i started looking at windows 8 tabs and to be honest they are all to expensive or not powerful enough
i then thought "hey why not build one myself"
so i went and got my old travelmate and thought if i can mod this into a nice tablet yes a little underpowered atm but i could buy a new laptop and perform a gutswap in a while and have a custom built tab
that noone else has
i will apoligise now i toke weed all day while i strip and refurb or mod desktops, laptops and consoles
the only time i have is balanced between my 9 month old daugther, my pregnant girlfriend, and a myriad of projects ranging from micro web servers all the way up to high-end quad-copters for surveillance and photography
also the photos in this intro will be updated as i make progress
LEGAL
I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ACER(tm)
This is a personal project/prototype using an old laptop
Parts & Costs
Laptop - (i went with an old acer travelmate 2350 cuz it was laying around with a smashed screen) less than £50 on ebay
new front bezel - ebay £10 or less
usb touchscreen panel kit £35
new lcd panel £17
xbox wireless adaptor £27
Total currently - £139 so far
still need to buy:
wifi card - ebay £10
dvd-rw upgrade - ebay £10
1gb ram upgrade - ebay £10
pcmcia compact flash adapter - £5
64gb compact flash card - £40
new front bezel - ebay £10 or less
usb touchscreen panel kit £35
new lcd panel £17
xbox wireless adaptor £27
Total currently - £139 so far
still need to buy:
wifi card - ebay £10
dvd-rw upgrade - ebay £10
1gb ram upgrade - ebay £10
pcmcia compact flash adapter - £5
64gb compact flash card - £40
Tools
phillipps head screwdriver
soldering iron (this will be used for extending the power button onto one of the side edges also for plastic welding some peices together)
solder
a tray to place all the screws in
a safe clean surface to build on
common sense
and finally time which in my house is getting harder to find (9 month old baby and a 3 month pregnant partner)
soldering iron (this will be used for extending the power button onto one of the side edges also for plastic welding some peices together)
solder
a tray to place all the screws in
a safe clean surface to build on
common sense
and finally time which in my house is getting harder to find (9 month old baby and a 3 month pregnant partner)
Disassembly and Component Harvesting
i started by removing the power strip cover
i have chopped that up for the power button and some spare plastic for space filling if neccasery
i then removed the old lcd panel
i then removed the keyboard and dissconected the mouse pad (i will be removing that later)
i have chopped that up for the power button and some spare plastic for space filling if neccasery
i then removed the old lcd panel
i then removed the keyboard and dissconected the mouse pad (i will be removing that later)
Finding Your Layout
this bit is basically working out where each component goes
i will be leaving the internals alone except the dialup modem (removed)
pcmcia slot ( being removed but i might attach a compact flash reader and a 64gb card)
i will be leaving the internals alone except the dialup modem (removed)
pcmcia slot ( being removed but i might attach a compact flash reader and a 64gb card)
Assembly and Modifications
the first pic shows all of the plastics and buttons from lid, power-strip cover
i then mounted my busted screen for testing my layout to make sure it still works
it is still the same way up as it was but it has been flipped 180% so it faces outwards when closed
in the previous step i also removed all of the screw points from the lid and attached them to the corners of the palm rest to hold the screen back in "tablet-mode"
ok the bezel no longer fits perfect so i am going to be modifying it to fit on perfectly
then i am going to start plastic welding the rest of the bezel so that it meets the main body of the tab with-out a gap
I have just ordered the touchscreen and lcd replacement just gotta wait for those to arrive then I will be finishing the project and complete this "ible"
05/09/2013
i have decided that because i enjoy playing older pc games and using emulators
i will also be intergrating an xbox 360 wireless pc control adaptor
i will be losing another usb port but it save carrying it in my case if im playing alot
also i will be documenting the intergration of this aswell in this "ible"
still no touchscreen or lcd panel
17/09/2013
right i got fed up of waiting for my touchscreen and the lcd panel i ordered was doa so i have ordered another set from another seller
the lcd panel is estimated to arrive by the end of this week and the touch panel should only be a couple of weeks
18/09/2013
the new lcd panel arrived today in full working order. i wont be explaining how to switch the screen out the method for removing and reattaching it is already in the guide
im just waiting for my touch panel
i will now be building up my front bezel to extend around and down to the case
im gonna do that over the next couple of days document and upload that once im done
25/09/2013
i have found that it is overheating so im gonna be cutting out some of the palm rest and keyboard area
to create space for airflow
i may even get my buddy to 3d print some air ducting for me to help channel flow over the hotspots
also im still waiting for my touch panel
i managed to burn thru a trace on my xbox adapter so i will need to order a new one
03/10/2013
my touch panel arrived shattered today i have contacted the seller looking for a replacement panel
will update here with news
i then mounted my busted screen for testing my layout to make sure it still works
it is still the same way up as it was but it has been flipped 180% so it faces outwards when closed
in the previous step i also removed all of the screw points from the lid and attached them to the corners of the palm rest to hold the screen back in "tablet-mode"
ok the bezel no longer fits perfect so i am going to be modifying it to fit on perfectly
then i am going to start plastic welding the rest of the bezel so that it meets the main body of the tab with-out a gap
I have just ordered the touchscreen and lcd replacement just gotta wait for those to arrive then I will be finishing the project and complete this "ible"
05/09/2013
i have decided that because i enjoy playing older pc games and using emulators
i will also be intergrating an xbox 360 wireless pc control adaptor
i will be losing another usb port but it save carrying it in my case if im playing alot
also i will be documenting the intergration of this aswell in this "ible"
still no touchscreen or lcd panel
17/09/2013
right i got fed up of waiting for my touchscreen and the lcd panel i ordered was doa so i have ordered another set from another seller
the lcd panel is estimated to arrive by the end of this week and the touch panel should only be a couple of weeks
18/09/2013
the new lcd panel arrived today in full working order. i wont be explaining how to switch the screen out the method for removing and reattaching it is already in the guide
im just waiting for my touch panel
i will now be building up my front bezel to extend around and down to the case
im gonna do that over the next couple of days document and upload that once im done
25/09/2013
i have found that it is overheating so im gonna be cutting out some of the palm rest and keyboard area
to create space for airflow
i may even get my buddy to 3d print some air ducting for me to help channel flow over the hotspots
also im still waiting for my touch panel
i managed to burn thru a trace on my xbox adapter so i will need to order a new one
03/10/2013
my touch panel arrived shattered today i have contacted the seller looking for a replacement panel
will update here with news
Current Status
after a year of arguing with the touch panel seller my partner went and bought me a surface pro 3
so I now don't need to build one but I do have the replacement laptop and a new 10.4 inch touch panel sat around that I am considering building into my desk for my next instructable
so I now don't need to build one but I do have the replacement laptop and a new 10.4 inch touch panel sat around that I am considering building into my desk for my next instructable