Digital Picture Frame

Step 5 Mounting the LCD and Touchscreen

Attach both the LCD and the Touchscreen to the same piece of plexiglas on opposite sides using double sided tape.

IMPORTANT: Ensure that the touchscreen is mounted so that it can be used.. Its very easy to confuse which side is the right side without testing it first.

Using double sided take, attach any LCD components to the rear of the LCD. In the images below you can see that the power converter is taped to the back.

IMPORTANT: only add the tape to the outer edges of the screen and LCD to not interfere with the image.

MAKE SURE your LCD is mounted in a way that by just flipping it onto the motherboard, you will be able to connect it without having to bend any wires.

After mounting both items, attach the touchscreen adapter to the inner part of the plexiglas using foam tape (about a half an inch of foam and doublesided tape on each side)
Use a USB extension cable to attach the touchscreen to an available USB port after the screen is later mounted to the motherboard.

Comments

[elabz]

Nice instructions! I am saving an old Toshiba laptop for just this purpose. Well, one of those days I hope to complete a similar project (with an aim to also use the device for home automation purposes), just need some time :-) Anyways, I had a few comments that first time users of touch screens may find useful. I think it should be specifically mentioned that the touch screen controller is being plugged into USB, not touch screen. Also, from a previous step about acquiring parts, touch screen and the controller are usually bought separately. There are sellers on eBay that sell kits ( controller + glass screen with electrodes) but most of the time they are two separate parts that you need to get separately. Also, you can get 4-wire and 5-wire screens (5 being more precise but more expensive). Most controllers are compatible with both (as well as other, less common screens). When buying a touchscreen controller, look for TSharc compatible. This is a de-facto standard by Hampshire (now part of Microchip) that has good support for both Win and Linux. Also, a small comment about choosing a touch screen glass panel. Most inexpensive panels found on eBay have issues with position accuracy in the corners and close to the perimeter. Due to proliferation on 15" LCD monitors this particular size of touch screens is very common and therefore least expensive. So, if you use an older 12" LCD laptop, you'll have plenty of space left on the panel to avoid the corners. You will have to calibrate the screen anyways and so it will discover the actual size of LCD and remember it, and larger touch screen would not be an issue.