Triple-Screen Laptop DONE RIGHT!

adding triple screen capabilities to laptops is tricky their form factor just doesn't work well for it and while some attempts have been made these appear to be super junky and don't look very fun to work with at all and it's understandable too whilst LCD displays themselves are thin and compact coming up with a mechanism that allows them to fold behind a laptop and be protected and be somewhat elegant in the process is always going to be a huge challenge however there is a simple solution change the aspect ratio you see this is an old iPad screen and in its portrait orientation it actually matches the height of a 15 inch laptop screen more importantly it's almost exactly half its width as well which means that if two of them are used one on each side they can fold together this method not only protects the displays from damage when they are folded away but it's also very compact as the two folding displays don't overlap each other even here though there remains a big drawback that affects all triple screen laptop designs which is ergonomics laptops at the best of times aren't great for posture looking down at them for long periods of time is bad for your neck and when side screens are included things get even worse as the main screen leans backwards to face you any connected displays are literally rotated at an angle which is quite disorientating and will make you want to tilt your head every time you look at one of the side screens it's a genuinely awful experience and is I think the real reason why they haven't caught on so to do this project Justice we're going to have to go right back to the drawing board and rethink what it means to have a laptop and this means that we're going to have to build the entire device from scratch now this actually sounds harder than it really is because these days we've got Solutions such as the framework main board believe it or not this super compact board is an entire PC system it's really intended for the framework laptop which is a modular and upgradable laptop system that aims to reduce E-Waste and as such it's been designed to be used independently of the original laptop so it's perfect to reuse for home group projects like this in terms of i o it features four USB C ports any one of which can be used for powering the system they can also each operate as display outputs like so this means that while we could use them to drive all of our displays the main board actually has an embedded DisplayPort output which allows one of our displays to get a signal directly from it you using a special cable the highest resolution LCD panel I have is 4K at 120 hertz and remarkably it works just fine in this configuration although it does only display once Windows loads the graphics drivers but even so that's really impressive having the main display connected directly to the motherboard like this saves a lot of space as it removes the need for an LCD controller board for it but this isn't the case at all for the side screens as these are bare LCDs they only have a single ribbon cable as the input so they do need to get their signal through some kind of adapter board and the smallest and most compact one I could find is from Adafruit as it features a DisplayPort input a simple active USBC to DisplayPort adapter is all that's required but as you can see it does still require its own external power which complicates things quite a bit as I really don't want to have an extra external power supply just for these displays so we need to find somewhere else to pull this power from sadly there's no obvious place on the board that we can tap into for this additional power but I have an alternative idea you see the USBC to DisplayPort cable is an active one which means that this powered circuitry inside the DisplayPort end that will be receiving five volts from the USB port annoyingly it's encased in aluminum so to get to it I'm filing down the sides to safely cut through the top layer so that it can be prized off the wires here are somewhat small but we can quite clearly see that one is labeled as ground and the other as A4 which according to a USBC pin out chart is the voltage Supply this gives us a 5 volt source to tap into which is just enough to power the displays directly sweet this gives us a fully self-contained triple screen setup that's Ultra compact but obviously we can't use it like this with everything loose so we need to build it into some kind of housing now you might think that sounds a bit difficult but 3D printers are a thing so we're going to actually use one to print off all the required parts I think the housing 3D printed allows me to design it to a high degree of detail catering for all of the required mounting holes and various structural elements while the bezels for the iPad screens are just about small enough to fit onto the print bed I've had to divide everything else into two halves in order to get it to fit which is a bit of a shame but they should be fairly easy to be clipped and glued together so it shouldn't matter at all besides the inconvenience now as these are going to take a while to print I'm going to take a lunch break with an ad for this video's sponsor huel Black Edition is a convenient and tasty way to have a nutritionally complete meal fast just add two scoops of it to 500 milliliters of water give it a good shake and you're all set for a busy day each portion contains 26 essential vitamins and minerals and is a good source of plant-based protein and fiber as well I've been a fan of fuel for a long time ever since Aaron introduced me to it way back when we were working on the smartphone shelf project and I regularly use it when I need a quick complete lunchtime meal when I'm feeling either rushed or just fed up of sandwiches there's loads of flavors to choose from as well and it works out to be 186 per meal which is significantly less than some people pay for a lunchtime coffee alone so it's pretty good value so click the link in the description if you'd like to order some fuel for yourself and try it out these look great now that they've finished Printing and I think it's about time we start putting it all together we'll begin with the side screens which can be inserted into their new bezels and held in place by a back panel the idea with these side screens is to have them mounted to the edges of the main screen and as it's all pretty lightweight we can use some tiny miniature hinges for this they can simply be inserted into some small slots on the 3D prints which mounts them together nicely cool with both side screens mounted like this they can be placed next to each other which creates a bezel for the main screen in the middle it's a bit flimsy right now due to it being in two halves but that's okay as the next component should add a lot of strength which is the main back panel this too has been printed in two halves but after clipping and gluing it together with super glue it's surprisingly solid as you can see this back panel has a plethora of mounting holes and supports for the various components that I want to fit inside and they're intended to be used with some little threaded inserts which can be added with a hot soldering iron these are required on the sides as well for screwing to the main screen frame which gives it its required rigidity now this is where the fun can really begin as it's time to add the various Electronics starting with the framework main board which can simply be screwed in place to the threaded inserts as you can see there's a large gap that's been left Above This main board which is for a battery pack this isn't anything special it's just a standard framework battery that I got from their website but that makes things super easy as it can just be plugged in and screwed in place as for the display boards they need to be plugged in at this point too with the ribbon cables carefully tucked behind them now an unfortunate consequence of using USBC to DisplayPort adapters is that it leaves a lot of loose wire but there's actually just enough space if they're kept reasonably neat so it's not too much of an issue and there's still room to add the Wi-Fi card and its antennas now as we've used three USBC ports for both the displays and the power input we're left with only one spare Port so to get the most use out of it we need to use it with a USB hub as you can see I've somewhat mangled its casing in order to get the PCB out which makes it just that little bit more compact once it's glued in place its wire is mercifully short as well so there's no problem plugging it into the final port on the motherboard so with all the components now inside it's time to close it up with the back panel as this features a vent for the fan it needs a little Grill adding that can be held in place with a shroud there's also a through hole that's intended for a peg which can push down on the main board's power button as and when desired this back panel can just be screwed down onto their threaded inserts we added earlier and as the screws are countersunk they end up being flush now with the screw heads visible as well as the glue join it's not particularly pretty but that's okay as the plan is to cover all of this up with a special aesthetic panel it's possible to get really creative with this by changing the filament color Midway through its print here I've gone with a golden hexagon mesh against a dark blue background which looks really nice when mounted in place and gives the unit a unique look that you don't usually see when it comes to computers so with the unit almost done it's time to address the elephant in the room which is the form factor while this is clearly a portable computer it is by definition not a laptop it just can't be used in this way but that's entirely the point we've already established that laptops at the best of times aren't great for ergonomics and having them on your lap actually doesn't make things any better so how are we to use this thing well this is where the concept really comes into its own and it's all thanks to the use of some little brass rods these can be inserted into some 3D printed end caps which can in turn be inserted into some 3D printed brackets this gives us a smart folding leg system and along with a leather handle for the top it makes the unit a real portable Powerhouse the elevation that these legs give makes the unit incredibly comfortable to use as it sits at eye level with the screens perfectly upright resulting in them not suffering from any side screen rotation it's just incredible for correct posture and as you can use a keyboard and mouse of your choosing you can go with whatever you want like a mechanical keyboard for example another big factor in what makes this setup so usable is the screen panels themselves the iPad screens are Apple's first generation retina displays so they each have an incredibly high resolution of 1536 by 2048 a resolution whose height closely matches that of the main 4K screen making scaling consistent between the two in addition to providing massive desktop real estate after all even on a desktop having a 4K 120 hertz Central monitor flanked by two equally High DPI side monitors would be pretty high end let alone in a DIY portable package so where does this idea go from here well I'm actually making the project fully open source so if you want to have a go at building one yourself you can find the download files and everything you need in the description below as well as a forum thread that you can use to help to develop the idea further as I think it has real potential but other than that I'm Matt you've been watching DIY perks and I hope to see you next time goodbye for now

Channel: DIY Perks

Views: 1,621,305

Keywords:

Id: aUKpY0o5tMo

Length: 12min 8sec (728 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 31 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/Algoinde]

Key points:

• Used a (revision not identified) Framework Mainboard as a base
• The main 4k@120fps panel is connected via an LVDS cable that Framework doesn't yet sell in the Marketplace, but was sent upon request
• 3d-printed a case to house the mainboard, 2 usb-powered Adafruit display controllers, a hub and a fan (project files)
• Display controllers drive 2 additional salvaged iPad Retina LCDs

[u/Slow_Ad2458]

Just actually started looking at Framework laptop because of this video!
Once Framework starts shipping to Poland, I'll be ordering.

Thiis is such a cool stuff... I'd love to even order the cheapest motherboard to build a "blade server" for my home lab stuff.

[u/Skitzenator]

Just watched the vid, really, REALLY, epic use of the framework mainboard. Now only if they made a 6800u mainboard that could be paired with a 1080p144Hz panel, ergonomic gaming cyberdeck SFF PC, right there.

​

Edit: Cyberdeck might not have been the right word here.

[u/illuminati229]

This is epic.

[u/Simon_787]

I love reusing laptop motherboards and I've done it many times before.

I even considered the approach of using a framework mobo for my laptop, desktop and server and then just upgrading by swapping the boards through all 3 devices. That's essentially 3 CPU upgrades in one, but using it on a Desktop with an eGPU isn't super viable.

If anybody does this, let me know.

[u/CharlieDeltaBravo27]

Very cool. I missed where the charging port is but an awesome design.

For work I used to need to travel with a lot of heavy equipment to get a portable multi monitor setup, and it’s great to see something like this so attainable.

[u/SFDSAFFFFFFFFF]

My only complaint / concern is how "wasted" the I/O potential of the FW board is. It has an incredible total of 4 USB4™ ports, each of those can do 40 Gbit/s bi-directional of USB/DP/PCIe. Lots of potential: eGPU, fast external storage, fast networking, docking solutions, ...

Here, two of these ports are used for the side displays, one for a 4-port USB-A hub, and one is apparently exposed to the outside via some right-angle adapter, intended as power input.

Even tho the "power input" could probably be used for a dock or similar, just one USB-C and 4 USB-A is a bit lame for I/O.

Maybe they could've tried to power both side displays from one port by using a dual-DP hub to have one more exposable USB-C port; and/or replace the 4xUSB-A hub with a dock with more features - ethernet, video out and an SD card reader would be useful

[u/Kornratte]

Cable demand +1

[u/MonkAndCanatella]

diyperks always bows my mind. Just ingenius every time. I love it but I have 3 critiques that I think the community as a whole could easily work out and could make this even better

1. the bezels are huge - now compared to the rest of the market there's simply no comparison, this wins hands down, but I'd love to less space between the side panels and the main panel. This looks like about an inch of space. It would be ideal for it to measured in mm, not inches. And I believe it's possible.

2. the size of the thing. It looks gigantic. I mean, I have a 17 inch alienware that barely fits in any backpack laptop pockets. This thing would require not only that extra space, but for you to pack along your kb and mouse. not huge deals but a laptop has a keyboard and mouse built in

   2a. the ability to choose whichever kb and mouse peripherals you want is great, but every laptop allows you to do so. and considering the already considerable size, one would opt for smaller peripherals

3. the screens are smaller than the competition. They're really nice as ipad retina displays beat the pants off of any laptop addon displays available. But they're small. This greatly limits what you can do with them and reduces the utility fairly significantly. the issue is, adding larger panels means a total redesign and and even larger end product.

and one minor little nitpick though I think many people will great dislike it: the main display is washed out in comparison to the ipad retina colors and i'm not sure what could be done. Potentially using a mac retina display in place of the panel he's currently using? Would make it a lot of consistent.

Also minor, but it's a thick boy, quite a bit thicker than any laptop I've seen in the last ten years, and this is excluding an inbuilt keyboard and trackpad.

Still, these are minor and would LOVE to have one of these if I had the skills and patience to put it together. But a V2 with 3 macbook pro retina screens, smaller form factor, and miniscule bezels would be the ultimate. Potentially he's breaking the rule of single responsibilty here: This appears to want to solve the problem of triple laptop screens, but also wants to be a laptop at the same time.

What if instead of being a laptop, it was just a triple screen setup that plugs into your laptop instead. plug in a single cable from your laptop of choice and you have 3 ergonomic screens.

I'm ranting now but it's purely out of sheer excitement and inspiration from seeing such a brilliant idea come to life. As always DIY Perks delivers