$2 Mini graphics tablet

TOUCHPAD HACK - How to transform a touchpad into a useful mini graphics tablet with some simple everyday items

For a complete video please visit

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/777196/2_mini_graphics_tablet/

Step 1 Making the pen step 1

Get yourself a long phillips head screw. This will simulate the tablets pen. And youll also need a small 1.5 volt battery.

Comments

[berteh]

great instructable! any idea to make this pressure sensitive? maybe using the pressure-sensitive pen of a standard tablet on the touchpad?

Thanks again!

[dannkeo]

Oh, now that is creepy. That picture is my iPhone's current wallpaper.

[sjoobbani]

 That's MY FAVORITE PICTURE!

[udtst]

To give yourself a finer drawing tip you could put another ball on the positive (drawing) side also. Just make sure the tape can hold it in place and leave enough exposed to complete the circuit.

[sasquatch14]

now we just need to find a free program that's simple and you can make your own font with your own handwriting....besides that dumb fontifier that u need to pay for

[Xamith]

isn't there a hidden font creator in windows xp?

[frt975]

yep, run>"eudcedit.exe" (without quotes) it's a character creator (not font maker)
Try fontforge

[jongscx]

they used to make usb or ps/2 touchpads for desktops... has anyone seen anything like that recently?

[Arbitror]

Look up Wacom. I use a Wacom Bamboo Tablet.

[sashadalton43]

yes, you can get them cheap at newegg.com use them for photoshop!

[Xamith]

so you have to fix the dog (chain) by snipping off one of its balls? lol sorry, someone had to say it.

[Arbitror]

Ha, LOL!

[rasta_bhoy]

a really sweaty hankie would do the job as well. a damp one, not a wet one should work just fine. get one corner and twist it into a cone and you have a touchpad pencil. the salts in your sweat are transferring the electrical current from your body into the touchpad.

[gamer]

why does a battery make it work?

[dvoid_03]

The battery simulates capacitance (the body's faint electrical charge). That's why using a Q-tip or regular pencil won't work. No electrical charge. The wiki article for "Touchpad" talks a bit about this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchpad

[Spacecoyote]

Would it be possible to forgo the battery and conduct the body's capacitance through the pen instead?

[srilyk]

oranges work but they're a little big to draw with ;)

[pighair47]

Pretty nice, do you know if there is a way to make one in an actual pen shaped object?

[joejoerowley]

Thats pretty cool, :)

[gathem]

The bearings can be found at girardibearing.com

[chimplicker]

Nice idea mate; simple and it works.

A couple of obvious suggestions:

1. find the smallest battery you can for increased precision (I would have thought that the +ve side of any tiny battery e.g. for hearing aid would work).

2. fiddle about and set your touch-pad to the right level sensitivity for drawing - after all you have a pretty limited space to draw in. It will be useful to set the sensitivity really high for initial sketching, and then lower it significantly for detail work (and maybe you could have a mouse also plugged in, at normal sensitivity for moving about the graphics pad, and using functions etc.){{{

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[ryzellon]

The other day I had noticed that a battery on my touchpad would make the cursor move, and I was pondering what I could do to exploit this. Lo and behold: your instructable was on my front page!

[tiuk]

I've often wondered if this was possible. Cool.