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LCD Screen in project enclosures — Parallax Forums

LCD Screen in project enclosures

knightofoldcodeknightofoldcode Posts: 233
edited 2005-11-07 06:57 in General Discussion
Why is it so hard to find a project enclosure designed for LCD projects?!

Does ANYONE know of ANY kind of project box's that are designed for use in LCD projects?!

Maybe Parallax can make some! [noparse];)[/noparse]


I can design them, I just can't bring myself to buy 1,000 at a time! (Mine arn't steal, maybe brass, ya know?)
I realize that alot of manufacturor's don't want to design a box then not be able to provide the LCD for that box, hence they wouldn't be able to use the investment in designing it, so you buy 1,000 LCD's, then 1,000 box's, and sell 'em in pairs.

At this point, I don't care if the LCD has one, two, 10 lines, it doesn't matter, and the color, and the parallel, or serial doesn't matter either!

The ONLY thing I can come up with, is to use a standard project box, and use the Matrix Orbital's kit, which has a lexan sheet that is stuck to the project enclosure, hiding the screws that were used to secure the display. I was just hoping for a more turnkey solution.

Knight.

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Comments

  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2005-10-29 01:08
    www.hammondmfg.com/1554CL_2ptbl.htm
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2005-10-29 02:26
    I use a "nibbling tool" and a double-cut file.· Place some masking tape on your panel, mark the area, drill a hole big enough for the nibbler bit, and·nibble out the rest, then sharpen it up with the file (the more expertly that you nibble, the less you have to file.)

    Here's a picture of one I did for my GPS project with just this method.· I think it looks pretty good, but I'm partial.
    gpsProj2.jpg
    640 x 480 - 64K
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-10-29 02:31
    Kevin,

    ·· Are these supposed to be a perfect fit for an LCD Display?· Or would they still need to be milled?

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    Parallax Tech Support
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  • Clock LoopClock Loop Posts: 2,069
    edited 2005-10-29 02:42
    DREMELS work great!
  • knightofoldcodeknightofoldcode Posts: 233
    edited 2005-10-29 08:20
    Dremels are great, but they can't/don't offer any protection to the LCD screen. [noparse]:([/noparse]

    PJ Allen, It looks neat, but it doesn't offer any protection to the LCD screen.

    Kevin, Those are some slick lookin enclosures! I have NEVER seen any clear project box's! That's absolutly slick as snot...however, they aren't going to work for the LCD screens. [noparse]:([/noparse] Although............... If someone just mounted the screen, simply drilled the 4 hours, and made the screen below the clear plastic top.... Then using a printer, printed a "mask" that was cut with an exacto knife to just the size of the screens viewable area, and placed the "mask" below the surface of the plastic..... But still, they aren't designed for LCD projects! [noparse]:([/noparse] They'd require quite a bit of work......

    About 1/2 of my projects have LCD's in 'em. And I *might* have a product go to market that would need a large volume of box's with LCD screens in them. If I do have that product go to market, I will make just the box's available for purchase in low prices, slightly above cost, if not at cost.

    I do know I'll be ordering some of those clear top enclosures for use in my Engine compartment of my Suburban work truck, then I can put any LED's I want, and have 'em seen, but still keeping the whole thing water tight, without having to use a bunch of silicon....

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  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2005-10-29 12:16
    Knight,
    I figured you wanted an experimenter / hobbyist solution. I have done the same in the picture, only with 'protection' for the LCD, or what have you, by cutting out a window from CD jewel cases (mmmm, polycarbonate.)
    I guess your intention is to do some pilot-production units.
    Maybe you can find a machinist who'll make the cut-outs for less than you might think (??)
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2005-10-29 15:22
    Sorry about the brevity of the post. I was looking through some catalogs for LCD specific boxes, and finally just went to Mouser.com. They have hundreds of listings under enclosures, so I surfed Hammond's site looking for something, and just posted the link for a pointer. You could probably contact Hammond and describe what you want, they might have what you need. I think you could also do the same with one of the large suppliers like Mouser, Newark, Digi-key or Future Electronics, and have a sales/customer service person do some legwork. I know that right now you need only one, but if you might need thousands, you become a prospective customer.

    Along those lines, I know a lot of people ask where they can get certain componenets, and they are pointed to the above companies websites. I don't know about Future Electronics, but the other companies will send you their huge printed catalogs for free in the US, and if you are going to do electronics, they are worth getting. You will find things you haven't heard of, and get a ton of ideas to improve or build something new. Another good catalog is from Techni-Tool for tools, soldering, etc.

    Also, here is a hack that is worth sharing. I know a guy who make custom recurve bows for traditional archery. He uses the origianls of clasic designs to build a form, and reproduces the designs with today's materials. When a bow goes in the form, it is a sanwich of fiberglass, wood and epoxy. The form is clamped together, and the whole thing is cured in a hotbox. Once the bow blank cools, it is typicall rough shaped using a bandsaw of around 14" or larger. Here is the neat part. Instead of a band saw, he built a jig and templates for use with a wood router. He puts the blank in the jig, and the router template constrains where the router cuts, so he has essentially built a basic milling machine for his purposes. As long as the correct cutters are used for the material, I don't think there would be any problems doing something similar with polycarbonate. Just something to think about.
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-29 15:58
    Knight, if your main concern is the protection of the LCD, you can fashion your own by getting a sheet of acrylic (availible from PC case mod sites), cut it to ~1" larger than the opening, drill holes in the 4 corners where the LCD mounting holes are (assuming they exist) and use nuts an bolts sutible for the app to place the sheet under the enclosure and above the LCD. If the LCD does not have mounting holes, you can create an acrylic sandwich by cutting another sheet, and either create shims to hold the LCD panel in place or drill/cut/sand recesses in the back plate correponding to protrusions in the back of the LCD panel to hold it in place.

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  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-10-29 17:29
    The Lawnmower Man...Nice...

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    Parallax Tech Support
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  • knightofoldcodeknightofoldcode Posts: 233
    edited 2005-10-29 22:42
    Yeah, I appreciate all of the suggestions, but unfortunatly, they are things I've already thought of. I've been searching for this elusive box for about 5 years now..... I've contacted Digikey, and Mouser in the past, nothing.


    I'm a woodworker, so I know the method previously explained by Kevin Wood, However, it's still not what I'm wanting. [noparse]:([/noparse]

    I want a turn key solution, either I buy both the LCD andenclosure together, or the box lists what LCD's it works with. And those are simply pop 'em in and tighten down the bolts. I don't want to spend 4 hours makin one of these, when I might need 50 of them.

    I do already have a really good process for making some REALLY slick enclosures, however, again it takes 4+ hours each. [noparse]:([/noparse] Once I refine this solution, I will post a complete tutorial, the only tools it uses are a bandsaw, (A jigsaw can be used instead, it's just for the rough cuts, not precision.) wood router with one straight bit, yardsticks (cheap ones they get used up), and a drill. Materials are 1/4" plexiglass, 1/8" hardboard (same stuff most cheap clipboards are made of), yardsticks.

    Knight.

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  • ForrestForrest Posts: 1,341
    edited 2005-10-29 23:38
    This company offers a variety of electronic cases designed for LCD display's www.pactecenclosures.com/
  • knightofoldcodeknightofoldcode Posts: 233
    edited 2005-10-31 06:10
    Forrest said...
    This company offers a variety of electronic cases designed for LCD display's www.pactecenclosures.com/

    Could you point me out to one? I'm having a hard time finding them. I might be seeing them, just passing them by.

    I previously saw this company, but dismissed it, because I couldn't see any, although I was going fast. [noparse]:)[/noparse]


    TIA,
    Knight.

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  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-10-31 15:49
    Knight,

    ·· I have several of their enclosures, but never knew of any that had LCD Display mounts already in them.· I even have two of the hand-held cases, and I can tell you that getting a 2X16 LCD into one of those is no trivial task.· Without mounting studs/splines already molded in the plastic, you're really in for some fun.· Again, unless someone knows of a particular case that has these mounts or cutout to match a display.· I have milled several of their cases for LCD Displays, and it's not that hard, but it can be tedious.

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    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • ForrestForrest Posts: 1,341
    edited 2005-10-31 17:36
    Here's some enclosures designed for LCD's
    www.pactecenclosures.com/Plastic-Enclosures/HPS-Series.html
    www.pactecenclosures.com/Plastic-Enclosures/HPL-Series.3.html?
  • DannyDanny Posts: 56
    edited 2005-10-31 18:38
    Forrest, have you purchased from this company before?
    It looks like their minimum is 250 units.
    Would be nice if you can purchase onsey twosey till you get a production project rolling.

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    "Never create anything you can't control"
    "The amount of intelligence on the planet is fixed... the population is growing"
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-10-31 20:41
    Danny,

    ·· They have distributors all over.· A lot of places carry their enclosures.·

    Forrest,

    ·· I have two of the ones you linked to.· I don't know if you've used these, but they don't come LCD ready.· If you noticed there are 2 bezels.· One is more geared for 7-Segment Displays.· the other is blank, and neeeds to be cut to the LCD size.· Then here comes the part I referred to...You still need to design a way to hold the LCD in place.· These enclosures do not provide that facility.· I will try to take a picture when I get home today of the enclosure with an LCD posed in it.· You will see the difficulty comes in trying to mount the LCD to be aligned with that sloped display area.

    ·· I hope nobody thinks I am shooting down Pac-Tec Enclosures.· On the contrary, I think their enclosures are economical and very well built.· However I think Knight's issue, as many others have is the ability to simply install the LCD, as opposed to having to mill out a hole, and then create a mounting bracket, or drill 4 holes to flush mount it.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • DannyDanny Posts: 56
    edited 2005-10-31 22:26
    Of course, I'm an idiot!
    Looked at link, then jumped to conclusion.
    Usually wrong when you jump like that!

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    "Never create anything you can't control"
    "The amount of intelligence on the planet is fixed... the population is growing"
  • knightofoldcodeknightofoldcode Posts: 233
    edited 2005-11-01 04:54
    Chris Savage (Parallax) said...
    However I think Knight's issue, as many others have is the ability to simply install the LCD, as opposed to having to mill out a hole, and then create a mounting bracket, or drill 4 holes to flush mount it.

    Exactly. I just can't understand why this is something that is so hard, I can understand, there are tons and tons of different LCD's out there, but I can't find any that only allow one or two, or three different LCDs, and not a huge number of them to work with thier enclosure.

    I would think someone like Matrix Orbital, or CrystalFontz, would do that, but so far I havn't seen anything like it. I have seen some external LCD's from CrystalFontz, which were pretty slick, but again, it's not the whole thing, and I doubt there is any room inside there box for use for a prototyper.

    Knight.

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    Light the man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
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  • ForrestForrest Posts: 1,341
    edited 2005-11-01 17:53
    Thanks for the update Chris. I've used a couple of PacTec's enclosures before - but none of the 'LCD' enclosures that I linked to above. Oh well - it was worth try.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-01 19:28
    Forrest,

    · Thanks for the recommendations, they're always welcome, I just happen to have some of these and can offer that extra information on those specifically.

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    Parallax Tech Support
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  • Kenny GardnerKenny Gardner Posts: 169
    edited 2005-11-01 21:08
    Is this what you are looking for?

    Specifically designed for LCD's.

    attachment.php?attachmentid=39302

    http://www.boxenclosures.com/index.php?t=category/category_product&cats__id=26

    Looks like they hold 2x16 panels but they might have some with larger cutouts (haven't checked yet).

    Kenny
    100-90lcd.jpg
    280 x 246 - 8K
  • SN96SN96 Posts: 318
    edited 2005-11-01 21:11
    Wow, jack pot!

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    Mike

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  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-01 23:26
    Kenny,

    ·· Those have the cut-out...So do the Pac-Tec enclosures mentioned earlier.· The question is, do they have the posts inside to mount the LCD to?· I suppose it would be worth e-mailing them and asking.· =)


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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-01 23:38
    I just checked the Technical drawings, and these enclosures look exactly like the Pac-Tec enclosures, and do not appear to have the LCD mounts.· I am going to go grab one of the Pac-Tec enclosures and double check those mounting holes, but if memory serves, the blank and cutout bezels mount to those by melting the nubs on them.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-02 00:06
    Okay,

    ·· The enclosures I got from Pac-Tec were supposed to house an LCD.· In all fairness the sales person didn't necessarily know the correct size case for my 2X16 LCD, but I will show you what I ended up with anyway.· Bear in mind this case is 5-3/4" L X 3-5/8" W X variable height (They include height extenders).· In any event you can see that the cut-out bezel is way too small for the LCD, although it might fit a small 4 digit 7-segment display.· The display barely fits inside the case width, and when it's in there, the black frame will not protrude through the cutout without milling it.· Also there are no posts to mount it from behind, nor does it line up with any spot that would work for this.· Again, this might be just this size case, but I haven't gotten anymore because I couldn't tell if they'd fit either and didn't want extra unused cases laying around.· Anyway, check the pics...



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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
    Pac-Tec_1.JPG
    640 x 480 - 37K
    Pac-Tec_2.JPG
    640 x 480 - 100K
    Pac-Tec_3.JPG
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    Pac-Tec_4.JPG
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  • Kenny GardnerKenny Gardner Posts: 169
    edited 2005-11-02 20:17
    Chris,

    I looked at the Tech drawing and they are showing 4 holes in the LCD cutout area.

    The PDF drawings are hard to read cause you have to enlarge them so much just to read the text.

    Also, when you order a case, you specify the size of the LCD you intend to use with it.

    Kenny
    ·
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-02 23:57
    Kenny,

    ·· I did sepcify a 2X16 when I ordered those Pac-Tec cases.· As for the 4 holes, not only do they not line up with the LCD mounting holes, but they DO line up with 4 stubs on the bezel that you're supposed to melt from behind to mount the bezel (You get two, a blank and a cut-out).

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • Kenny GardnerKenny Gardner Posts: 169
    edited 2005-11-03 21:39
    Hi Chris,

    I ordered a few boxes. I'll be able to use them even if the cutouts are bogus.

    We'll see what they are truly like.

    Their site doesn't use SSL on the order page and it rejects my email address so who knows if I even receive anything.

    Kenny

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    Kenny Gardner
    GAP Development Company
    http://www.gapdev.com/
    ·
  • John CoutureJohn Couture Posts: 370
    edited 2005-11-03 23:50
    Chris,

    Is it that hard to get a custom-sized rectangle punch made for the AL tops on project boxes? That way if you use 4x20 LCD's a lot, you can just drill the center hole, assemble the punch and then wrench it down. All that would be left would be the four corner holes. Or am I over simplifying it?

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    John J. Couture

    San Diego Miramar College
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2005-11-04 04:23
    Kenny,

    ·· I would be interested in hearing of your experiences with your purchase (If you get it).· =)

    John,

    ·· There are so many project boxes and enclosures out there that you could easily find something to house a 4X20 LCD.· In fact, I just brought one in to work today for a project.· I will attach a picture.· It's a slope-front cabinet which is plastic, with an aluminum panel on the top and back which isn't too difficult to mill, but it still took time to get it smooth and even and all.



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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
    slopefront.jpg
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