Build Your Own Tablet Manual V1.00

Build Your Own Tablet
Version 1.00
Richard Kunz
Build Your Own Tablet
Copyright ©2013 by Richard Kunz
All Rights Reserved
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The author is not associated
with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

There is no warranty for this work or the information contained within, to the extent
permitted by applicable law. Except when otherwise stated in writing the author and/or
other parties provide the work “as is” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or
implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of completeness, accuracy,
merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. You are solely responsible for
determining the appropriateness of using this information and assume all risks associated
with the use of of this information, including but not limited to the risks of damage to or
loss of data, programs or equipment, and unavailability or interruption of operations. In
no event will the author be liable to you for damages, including any general, special,
incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the
information provided in this work even if the author or other party has been advised of
the possibility of such damages. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in
this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that
the author endorses the organization or website or the information and/or
recommendations it may provide. Further, readers should be aware that internet websites
listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written
and when it is read.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my loving wife not just for allowing me the time to research, experiment
and write this book, but also for helping to edit it. Thank you to my friends and family
for listening to me talk about the project and its progress. Finally, thank you to everyone
who helped fund this project through Kickstarter.com with special thanks to the
following:
Ben Stottlemyer Olle Jonsson

Cliff & Cathy Ronk Omer Khan
Debbie Lewis PCXD
Frank Booth Peyton Strickland
Frank Motta rktokomak
Fredrik "Frippe" Wickström Roberto Paniccia
Glenn Palumbo Rod Dines
HF Oakley Ryan T Gross
Jacob Brodman Sean Tracey
James H. Parker Jr. Steve Pauls
Jay Onisch Sven Nilsson
Jayson Whiteley Thomas Marion
Joshua Muster Trevor N. Joy
Matthew D. Carter wooby6
Megan MacMillan
I have enjoyed the process and I hope those of you reading this will enjoy your own
project as well!
Richard Kunz
1 Chronicles 16:34
Table of Contents
General Advice.....................................................................................................................1
Core Components.................................................................................................................1
Motherboard....................................................................................................................1
CPU.................................................................................................................................2
Memory...........................................................................................................................2
Storage.............................................................................................................................3
Screen and Touch Sensor.....................................................................................................5
Screen Displays...............................................................................................................5
Touch Overlay.................................................................................................................6
Power Supply, Batteries and Controller...............................................................................8
Batteries...........................................................................................................................8
Battery Controller............................................................................................................8
Power Supply..................................................................................................................9
Operating System...............................................................................................................10
Case and Layout.................................................................................................................11
Carbon Fiber..................................................................................................................11
3D Printing....................................................................................................................13
CNC Case......................................................................................................................13
Miscellaneous Parts...........................................................................................................14
Assembly............................................................................................................................15
Summary............................................................................................................................19
General Advice..............................................................................................................19
Core Components..........................................................................................................19
Screen and Touch Sensor..............................................................................................20
Power Supply, Batteries and Controller........................................................................21
Operating System..........................................................................................................21
Case and Layout............................................................................................................22
Miscellaneous Parts.......................................................................................................22
Assembly.......................................................................................................................23
Appendix A: List of Acronyms..........................................................................................25
Appendix B: Sample Builds...............................................................................................27
Appendix C: List of Companies for Specific Parts or Services.........................................31
Appendix D: List of Possible Parts....................................................................................33
Appendix E: Sample Layouts............................................................................................38
General Advice
Take your time in picking out parts, planning the layout of your case, and assembling your tablet. Care
taken now can save you time, effort and money in the future. Set an overall budget for your project.
Whenever possible, download manuals or check the manufacturer's website for information on
compatibility before ordering hardware. Make sure you have the most recent version of the manual for
the parts you are using. If you want to be able upgrade parts of your tablet later, take the time now to
see if the technologies are new or are close to being replaced.
Core Components
If you have ever built your own computer, this section will be familiar to you. The core components
for your tablet are: motherboard, processor, memory, and hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive
(SSD). All of these parts function just like those found in traditional computers. The motherboard is a
piece of printed circuit board (PCB) that houses most of the main electronics and serves as the
controller that other peripherals are connected to. The central processing unit (CPU) actually carries
out the instructions of the computer's operating system (OS) and other programs run on the computer.
The memory, usually called RAM or DRAM, stores information currently being used by the CPU and
all information stored on it is usually lost if power is shut off. The HDD or SSD stores persistent
information including all of the information for your operating system and programs that is retained
even if power is shut off.
Motherboard
The first big decision in building your tablet is choosing a
motherboard. Your choice will determine what options you have
for all the other parts of your tablet, as they must be compatible
with your motherboard. For a tablet, you want a motherboard
that is as small, thin, light and efficient as possible. There are
many options available, but most of the examples in this manual
are built around a thin Mini-ITX motherboard. The thin Mini-
ITX motherboards are 170mmx170mmx20mm
(6.693”x6.693”x0.787”) and can have all of the connectivity and
power of a standard desktop motherboard. Another option is
Illustration 1: Intel®
Intel® Next Unit of Computing (NUC). For a list of possible
Desktop Board DQ77KB
motherboards, see appendix A.
Your choice of motherboard will impact the rest of your tablet, from what CPU you can use to how you
will connect your screen. This manual will focus on the Mini-ITX Intel® Desktop Board DQ77KB
motherboard because it does the following: supports the most recent technology, has an internal DC
power input and has two internal display interfaces, LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) and
1
© 2013 Richard Kunz
eDP (Embedded Display Port). There are options for using an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia
Interface) or USB (Universal Serial Buss) display and these will be discussed in the chapter on screens
and touch sensors. However, most devices that have internal screens, such as laptops and tablets, use
either LVDS or eDP; thus most screens built for such devices use those standards.
CPU
The motherboard you select will either have an embedded CPU or will
have a certain socket type and support specific CPUs. Choose a CPU
whose socket type matches your chosen motherboard, is supported by
your chosen motherboard, and has the balance of power1 and
efficiency2 that you desire. A standard desktop now will have around a
3GHz dual or quad core CPU with a TDP of 60 watts (W) or more. A
laptop may have a 2.0 GHz dual core processor with a TDP of 17 W.
The higher the gigahertz, the faster the computer can do calculations;
the more cores, the more calculations it can do at once;3 and the higher Illustration 2: Intel®
the TDP, the more power the processor tends to use under full load. If LGA1155 CPU
you want longer battery life, look for the lowest TDP you can find.
You will also need a heat sink for your processor and a fan for the heat sink and/or for the case as a
whole. The fans that come with the processors tend to be a bit tall for a tablet, but there are many low
profile heat sinks and fans available. Make sure the heat sink is rated to handle your processor's TDP.
For our DQ77KB motherboard, the Intel® processors whose name ends with a “T” tend to have the
lowest TDP at around 35 watts, such as the Intel® Core™ i3-3220T Processor or Intel® Celeron®
Processor G550T. The benchmarks in this manual were obtained using an Intel® i3-3225 processor,
which has a processing speed of 3.30 GHz, two cores (each capable of two threads for a total of 4
processing threads) and a TDP of 55 W.
Memory
Your computer's memory stores all information that your computer is
currently using. More memory allows you to have more applications
and programs running at the same time. Faster memory allows the
information stored to be accessed more quickly. Make sure the ram
you select is compatible with your motherboard and with your CPU.
Most motherboard manufacturers have a list of tested memory
Illustration 3: A SO-DIMM modules. If you want to be absolutely sure that your memory will
memory module work with your motherboard, pick modules from that list.
Manufacturers also usually have a set of criteria for compatible
memory modules, and most memory that meets those criteria should work with the motherboard.
1 Usually measured in gigahertz (GHz) and number of cores and threads

2 Usually measured as the processor's thermal design power (TDP) in watts
3 Although not all programs can take advantage of this
2
Things to watch out for are DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module) vs SO-DIMM (Small Outline Dual
In-line Memory Module), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDR-
SDRAM or just DDR) type 1, 2 or 3;4 voltage; power consumption; the number of pins for the RAM;
the speed of the RAM; and the RAM's capacity. The typical naming scheme for RAM first lists the
data rate (DDR, DDR2 or DDR3) then the clock rate. An alternate naming scheme replaces the DDR
with PC and the clock rate with the theoretical transfer rate in megabytes per second. Thus, DDR3-
1066 can also be written as PC3-8500. Regular DIMM modules are usually used in desktop computers,
while SO-DIMM modules tend to be used in laptops and tablets or other small form factor PCs. DDR,
DDR2 and DDR3 modules are all structured differently and are not forwards or backwards compatible
with each other. However, higher speed modules can usually be used with motherboards and CPUs
that are compatible with slower memory of the same type. Lower voltage and lower power
consumption can lower the amount of energy used by your tablet, and thus can extend battery life. You
really want at least 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB or higher would be preferable.
If your motherboard supports dual channel memory, you can double the speed of your RAM by
installing two matched (identical) modules.
If you are using the Intel® Desktop BoardDQ77KB, you will want to look for 204 pin SO-DIMM
DDR3 modules. If you want to use the fastest DDR3-1600 PC3, your CPU will need to be a third-
generation Intel® CoreΤΜ CPU. My sample tablet uses an 8 GB kit of 2 matched Kingston® HyperX
memory modules (KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G).
Storage
Your tablet will also need either a hard disk or a solid state drive. Hard drives are much cheaper and
have a larger storage capacity than most solid state drives. However, hard drives tend to be slower,
heavier, and use more energy than solid state drives. Hard disks also have moving parts, which makes
them more vulnerable to damage and failures in a tablet that is moved around, jostled and possibly
dropped on occasion. Whichever you choose, its interface type needs to match that of your
motherboard. Most motherboards and hard drives now use SATA (Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment) connections5, which usually include both a data and a power cable. Make sure you have a
way to power your hard drive, either with a separate power connector from the motherboard if it
provides one, or with your power supply. For Windows® 8, you will want at least a 16 GB hard drive,
but you will probably be more comfortable with 64 GB or above. Size is a factor for all of the parts in
your tablet, as you want them to fit inside your case. Most desktop computers use 3.5” hard drives.
While you can use a hard drive of this type, it will be large and heavy. Laptops and tablets usually use
2.5” hard drives or solid state drives which are much smaller and lighter. If your motherboard includes
a mini-PCIe slot that is compatible with mSATA drives, they can provide all of the benefits of a solid
state drive in an even smaller package. The last thing to consider when deciding on a hard drive is its
speed. First, if you are using a SATA drive, know that there are three versions of this technology.:
SATA 1.0, SATA 2.0 and SATA 3.0. These three revisions all have different maximum throughput
speeds, but should all be compatible with each other. SATA 1.0 has a maximum speed of 1.5 Gbit/s or
150 MB/s; SATA 2.0 has a maximum speed of 3.0 Gbit/s or 300 MB/s; and SATA 3.0 has a maximum
4 SDR or Single Data Rate has mostly fallen out of use

5 Older motherboards and hard drives used ATA or PATA connections
3
speed of 6.0 Gbit/s or 600 MB/s. While all three revisions should be compatible with each other, they
will operate at the slower speed. If a SATA III6 hard drive is connected to a motherboard with a SATA
II connection, it will have a maximum speed of 3 Gbit/s. These are all maximum possible speeds and
are not usually reached by most drives. For actual performance speeds, you also need to look at other
aspects of your drive.
HDDs have speeds listed as RPM, along with their

average seek times, average write time, and average
latency. The RPM speed states how fast the hard drive
can spin in revolutions per minute. The higher the RPM,
the faster information can be accessed. The lower average
seek time and latency, the faster the hard drive can access
a specific area of the hard drive. The lower the average
write time, the quicker information can be written to the
hard drive. The buffer or cache on the hard drive stores Illustration 4: From right to left: a
commands as well as bits of information that may be standard 3.5" HDD, a 2.5" SSD, and
accessed again. A larger cache can also boost hard driver a mSATA drive
performance. Solid state drives, which have no moving
parts, are usually described with max or sustained sequential read and write speeds in MB/s. A good
SATA III hard drive will have sustained read and write speeds in the 500 MB/s range. Of course, your
motherboard needs to have a SATA III connection as well if you want to take advantage of these fast
read and write times.
A quick note: One reason tablets are able to turn on so much faster than a standard computer is because
they use solid state drives.
For storage in my sample tablet, I used a Crucial m4 256 GB solid state mSATA drive
(CT256M4SSD3).
6 The revision is often stated in Roman numerals to avoid confusion with transfer speeds
4
Screen and Touch Sensor
Screen Displays
Your tablet will need some kind of display and method of input. Screens are typically rated by their
physical size, usually with their diagonal length (in inches) and by their resolution (a measure of the
number of pixels that fit in the screens width and height). A pixel is the smallest individual unit of a
screen's picture. Windows® 8 has a minimum screen
resolution requirement of 1024x768 pixels, but if you want the
full functionality of Windows® 8, including the ability to
“snap” apps you will need a minimum resolution of 1366x768.
If you want a full HD display, you will need a screen with a
resolution of 1920x1080. The typical size for a tablet is about
10” for the diagonal of the screen. However, you are free to go
smaller or bigger as you wish. The only limiting factor is
finding a screen available for purchase that will connect with
your motherboard. Laptop or tablet replacement screens tend
to work well because they are designed to be thin, light and low
power internal screens.
The connections on your motherboard will determine what kind

of screen connection you can use. Most motherboards now
have HDMI output ports, but HDMI is meant for making
external connections to screens. While it is still possible to use Illustration 5: Front and back of a
an HDMI screen, most of them require power from some new 15.1" LCD screen with LVDS
source other than the HDMI cable itself. This can still be made connection
to work, especially if you get an HDMI screen that uses
minimal power (such as one powered by USB). If this is the route you choose to go, the company
GeChic makes monitors, like their On-Lap 1302 or 1501 that could work. The downside to this type of
configuration is that it will be heavier and thicker than an internal screen,
and you may have cables running out of and then back into your tablet
(unless you make your case even larger). You may also have trouble
integrating the touch screen as the case and bezel of the screen may get in
the way. Another option is a USB powered touch screen monitor, such as
Mimo's Magic Touch 10 monitor. However, while these screens already
have a touch screen built in, they have their own unique problems: Any
monitor that only connects through USB (and not through HDMI, VGA or
Illustration 6: A some other normal graphics connection) will not use your computer's
standard HDMI output graphics processing and will instead rely solely on the computer's CPU,
port which will decrease the overall performance of your tablet. Also, these
monitors will still be rather bulky compared to a normal internal screen.
If your motherboard only has an HDMI output, and no internal display connections, you can still get
5
the benefits of an internal screen. Chalkboard Electronics7, a company based in Malaysia, has
developed a universal HDMI to LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) controller that should let
you control an internal screen through your computer's HDMI port. They also have a 10” and a 7”
complete HDMI USB touch screen monitor solutions. However, there are still a few problems with
these options. First, they require 5V DC power at 3 Amps, which they usually supply with an external
power brick. This can be fixed if your power supply can provide that power or if you use a DC-DC
converter to change whatever power output you have to the appropriate voltage. Second, it is still an
HDMI connection, so unless your motherboard is entirely surrounded by your case, you will have
cables going out and then back in to your case. Finally, because the company is in Malaysia, shipping
on any of their products is very expensive (about US$35 at the time of this writing).8
The best option in terms of size and performance is to get a motherboard that has either an LVDS or
eDP (embedded Display Port) internal header. These are the connections that most laptops and tablets
use to connect their display screens with their motherboards. These screens can be just a few
millimeters thick and are relatively inexpensive. However, this type of connection is rather difficult to
work with since nearly every manufacturer uses a different cable lay out. Even though there are only a
few connection types, it is very hard to find a screen whose input exactly matches that of the
motherboard's output. The way to get around this problem is to have a custom cable made. One
company that can do this is New Jersey-based Quadrangle Products, Incorporated9. If you can provide
them with the pin-out (located in the manual10) for both the motherboard's connection and the screens
connection, they can make a custom cable to connect them. The main problem with this approach is
that unless they already happen to have made a cable for that screen/motherboard combination, they are
essentially making a prototype for you. This means if one of the manuals has a mistake in it or there is
an error when they produce the cable, the cable may not work and could potentially damage your
screen or motherboard.
Illustration 7: A custom prototype LVDS

cable from Quadrangle Products. The cable
comes in two pieces that connect via the
small piece of PCB shown in the picture.
Illustration 7
For my sample tablet, I used a 10.1” 1366x768 internal screen (CLAA101WB03) and a custom cable
from Quadrangle Products, Inc. (product number QD15602) to connect to the DQ77KB's LVDS
connection. This screen requires no other power source, is thin and light, and is available from several
distributors. Its pin out was also similar enough to the pin out of the motherboard's LVDS connection
to facilitate designing the cable.
7 www.chalk-elec.com
8 The company NJY Touch Technology in China also sells similar kits with or with out the screen itself. Most of their kits
connect with VGA or DVI. They sell many of their parts on eBay.
9 http://www.quadrangleproducts.com/
10 The best way to find these manuals is to search online using the screen's model number and filtering the results for just
PDF files.
6
Touch Overlay
If you were building a laptop, a keyboard and trackpad of some sort would work, but for a tablet you
want a touch screen. Look for a touch overlay (designed to go over your screen/monitor) that can
connect via USB since most motherboards will have internal USB headers. Some touch screens still
use serial connections which will be harder to incorporate into your tablet. Most touch screens now
utilize one of several different technologies, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. The main
technologies currently being used are resistive, surface acoustic wave, infrared, surface capacitive and
projected capacitive.
One of the most common and cheapest technologies used in touch

screens is resistive touch. These touch screens can usually only detect a
single touch point on their surface, but that touch can be anything that
can provide at least a small amount of pressure, including fingers, styli,
and even gloves. Resistive touch panels are usually not as affected by
liquids or other contaminants on their surface as other technologies.
Unfortunately, resistive touch screens often need recalibrating and can
Illustration 8: A 5-wire be prone to scratching. There are a wide variety of manufacturers of
15.1” resistive touch panel resistive touch panels and you can usually find one that fits your screen
from NJYTouch with USB size.
controller and cable
Surface acoustic wave (SAW) overlays project ultrasonic waves over a glass surface. Distortions
caused by objects on the surface are detected by sensors and this information is used to determine
where the screen is touched. Other objects on the screen, such as dust, can also interfere with the
waves.
Infrared touch screen overlays are usually a bezel that fits around the screen composed of infrared
emitters and detectors. These overlays can either be single-touch or multi-touch. They may distort or
dim the screen less as they may not have an additional layer of glass or plastic that goes over it. Dirt or
other contaminants on the screen can interfere with these overlays. There are several companies that
manufacture overlays using this technology, but it is not as common as resistive or capacitive.
Capacitive touch screens detect capacitive objects, such as

fingers, that are on or near the surface of the screen. They can
either be single-touch or multi-touch and are usually more
scratch resistant than resistive touch overlays. Some
manufacturers offer capacitive touch screens with tempered glass
to improve their durability. Capacitive touch screens only detect
objects that are electrically capacitive, so you cannot operate
them with most gloves or other objects.
Illustration 9: A capacitive
touch panel (10.1") from
Finally, the actual connection between the overlay and the
Touch International with USB
motherboard is usually made through a controller. Most touch
controller
7
overlays include their own controller, but you may want to verify that before ordering your overlay.
Again, make sure the controller's connection matches your motherboard, which will usually be USB.
For your tablet, look for a touch overlay that matches your screen dimensions, is compatible with your
chosen OS, and has a connection interface that matches your motherboard. To take full advantage of
Windows® 8's touch controls, you will want a touch screen that can detect at least 5 different touch
points at the same time. Also, pay attention to the touch overlay's light transmission and glare or it may
distort or dull your display.
My sample tablet used a touch screen and controller purchased from Touch International, Inc. The
touch screen was a 10.1” multi-touch capacitive overlay (89-F-PMC-101-005) with a matching
controller (89-PCB-PMC-02). Touch International, Inc. was one of the few companies I found willing
to sell single multi-touch overlays in the correct dimensions to individuals at a reasonable price. I also
used a 15” resistive touch overlay from NJYTouch.
8
Power Supply, Batteries and Controller
If you plan on having your tablet plugged in whenever you are using it, you can skip this next section
because most motherboards you may be using have a built in jack for DC power. For those who would
like to make full use of your portable device, your tablet will need batteries and a controller.
Batteries
Batteries are what allow any portable device to operate while not plugged in. Battery technology has
changed a great deal in the past few decades and is continuing to expand and improve. Most portable
devices now use lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries. These batteries hold a lot of energy for their
size and weight but need to be controlled carefully. Most news stories about exploding batteries occur
because the batteries controller or charger was set to the wrong parameters. If they are properly
maintained, these batteries are quite safe.
Batteries are rated on their voltage,11 their capacity in amp-hours (Ah or

milliamp-hours mAh),and how fast they can safely discharge their stored
energy in amps or a C-rate.12 The amount of power (in watts) a battery
provides is the product of its voltage and amps so either a higher voltage or a
higher amp capacity increases the power a battery can store. A 3.7V 5Ah 3C
battery can safely put out 15 amps of power at about 3.7V, for a total power of
55.5 watts. Of course, at that rate, the battery will last for about a third of an
hour. The voltage label for a battery is the average voltage, the battery will
usually have a higher voltage while charging or while fully charged, and a
lower voltage when discharged. In order to prolong the life of your batteries
and prevent failures, you must keep the voltage within a certain range Illustration 10: A
determined by the battery's chemistry. You also want to avoid draining the 10 amp-hour
batteries' power or charging it too quickly. lithium ion pouch
cell battery.
I used batteries taken from a replacement Macbook Pro battery for my first, smaller tablet. This gave
me three 3.7V 5.8Ah cells. This resulted in a battery life of just under an hour while running at full
load. For my larger case, I used 6 3.7V 10Ah which resulted in a much improved battery life.
11 Which is determined by the type of battery chemistry they are built with
12 The safe discharge rate is the storage capacity of the battery multiplied by the C-rate
9
Battery Controller
The battery controller is what monitors the battery, provides power to the motherboard, switches
between external power and battery power, and charges the batteries. The only really versatile and
powerful battery controller I found was the OpenUPS from Ituner Networks Corporation.13 This
battery controller was designed as a back up power supply for computers in cars, but it can do the
following: take any input voltage from 6-34 volts, output any voltage from 6-24 volts, control, charge
and monitor up to 6 batteries in series,14 and switch between external power and battery power without
interrupting power flow to the motherboard. It can also handle just about any battery chemistry.
To determine how many and what size of batteries your tablet

will need, you need to look at the power requirements of the parts
you are using. Check the manual for the parts you are using for
power ratings. Intel's manual for the DQ77KB includes sample
power consumption figures. If your tablet's parts use a maximum
of 120 watts of power and you want your tablet to run for at least
3 hours at full power, you will need 80 watts x 3 hours= 240 watt
hours of capacity for your batteries. If you are using 6 batteries
Illustration 11: An OpenUPS each with a voltage of 3.7 volts, then each one will need to have
board installed in a case, but a capacity of 240/(3.7x6)=10.8 amp hours. This may seem like a
with only a few of the wires lot, but usually your tablet will not be running at full power, so
connected. your battery life may be much better than that worst case
scenario.
The battery controller handles all the power coming into your tablet, whether it is being used to power
the components or charge the batteries. This power can generate a significant amount of heat, so make
sure that there is sufficient air flow around the battery controller to keep it cool, especially in tablets
that will be using high powered components or that want to be able to charge their batteries quickly.
13 www.mini-box.com/
14 Meaning the positive of one battery is connected to the negative of the next, so that their voltages are added together
10
Power Supply
You will also need a power supply to charge your tablet's batteries.
Ideally, you want a power supply that can power all of the internal parts of
your tablet and provide a little more power to charge the batteries at the
same time. More powerful chargers tend to be more expensive and larger,
but can charge the batteries of your tablet at a faster rate. You will also
need a power jack that matches your power supply. These will usually be
replacements for a laptop, make sure they match each other.
For my sample tablet, I used the OpenUPS from

Mini-Box.com, the three battery cells taken from
Illustration 12: A
a Macbook Pro replacement battery, and a generic
generic, 120W power
replacement 120 watt laptop charger and DC jack.
supply with multiple
DC output tips.
Illustration 13: A DC input jack epoxied
to the inside of a case before wiring.
11
Operating System
Your operating system is the platform from which all other programs or apps are run. You can select
just about any OS as long as it is compatible with your hardware. However, some operating systems
lend themselves more to a tablet and touch screen interface than others. You can use Windows® 7 with
just about any x86 Intel® or AMD® processor, but it really only has basic touch screen functionality.
Windows® 8 was built to take advantage of a touch screen rather than just use a touch screen to control
the mouse pointer.
Android is built around touch input, and there is a port that works on x86 processors. However, most
Android tablets use ARM processors. You could build your tablet for Android around an ARM
motherboard and get much better battery life, but most of this manual focuses on x86 processors and
motherboards.
Linux and Mac OS X are also options if you are using an x86 processor. Just make sure that all of the
parts you use are compatible and have drivers available for those operating systems.
My sample tablet uses Windows® 8 Pro.
12
Case and Layout
Once you have picked out all the components you plan to use, you will need to design a case for them
to fit in. Currently, there are no cases on the market that you can buy and just put the parts in. You will
need to build your own or have it custom-built for you.
First, you need to make sure that all your components fit inside the case and are not too crowded.
There will be wires connecting several of your parts and you will still need at least some room for
airflow to cool the various pieces unless you are using very low power and heat producing components.
Most parts will be attached to the bottom of your case. You can possibly attach some small parts to the
back of your screen, but that can lead to interference or damage to your screen. Draw a diagram of
your layout and even arrange the parts (if you have them) on the diagram to make sure they are not
crowding each other. Your display screen and touch overlay will need something to attach to as well,
such as the top lip of your case, a bezel, or a top plate that fits over the rest of your case. Measure the
space needed (including the height) of all the parts and connections. The simplest case will be a basic
rectangle, but you can make it whatever you want, as long as the parts can all fit inside. Some sample
layouts are included in the appendix of this manual.
Here are some possibilities for assembling your case. First, if you have access to a 3D printer or are
willing to pay a company (like Shapeways), you can print a plastic (or even metal) version of your
case. To do this, you would need to design the case in a computer program such as Google's SketchUp
and save it in an appropriate format that the company or the 3D printer can use. Make sure it is thick
enough to support the weight of all the parts. You can either design in the holes for the power jack,
motherboard inputs, etc., or just drill or cut them out after it is printed. A second option is to have the
case CNCed (Computer Numerical Controlled) out of a piece of metal. Whereas 3D printing is an
additive process, CNCing is a subtractive process, removing the unwanted parts from a solid block of
material. Both of these methods require specialized machinery and can be rather expensive if you have
someone do it for you. A third option for creating a sturdy case without any specialized machinery is
carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a flexible cloth made out of carbon, that, when combined with an epoxy,
creates a very strong and durable composite.
Carbon Fiber
If you choose to create your case out of carbon fiber, you will need to purchase the following: carbon
fiber cloth, the epoxy resin and hardener, a foam matrix,15 disposable brushes, non-powdered gloves
and a mold of some sort. There are lots of types of carbon fiber, and most will work. The thicker the
carbon fiber, the harder it will be to work with but you will need fewer layers. 2x2 twill weave is
usually more expensive and pulls apart at the edges more easily, but tends to look better than plain
weave. Plain weave is also more susceptible to developing gaps. The epoxy and hardener come in
several varieties with different working times. I would suggest getting a slower setting epoxy to give
yourself more time to work. There are also polyester resins available, but they tend to be weaker than
epoxy.
15 This is optional, but helps add thickness and stiffness to your case
13
A mold will help insure that your case takes the shape and
dimensions that you want it to. You can either lay the carbon
fiber over a mold or press the carbon fiber into the mold. I had
the most success with pressing the carbon fiber into the mold,
as it tends to try to pull away and straighten out when pressed
around the outside of a mold. You will need some way of
keeping your case from sticking to the mold. I experimented
with mold release agents, waxes and a few other options, but
have found the most reliable method is simply to cover the
mold with plastic wrap. The only problem with plastic wrap is
that if there are any folds or wrinkles in it, those will show up Illustration 14: A mold made from
on your case. If you are only going to use your mold once, baked Sculpey® clay
wax will work as you can cut or break the mold and then peel
the wax off the case. However, it will stick enough that you cannot just pull the case out of the mold.
Your mold can be made from a hardening clay, such as Sculpey®,

or from wood or whatever substance you are comfortable working
with. Make sure when designing your case to account for its
thickness. If your case is going to be 0.5cm thick and you need
31cm of space across the inside of the case for your parts, then
your mold needs to be 32cm (31+.5x2) across. Err on the side of
making your case too big, because it will be very frustrating when
installing your parts to find that they won't fit by a fraction of a
centimeter or inch and you have to start all over.
Illustration 15: The base and
sides of a mold made from wood The most basic mold will be a rectangular box without a lid.
and covered with plastic wrap. Once you know the dimensions of your mold, cut out the bottom
and sides from wood or roll them out and back them from
hardening clay. You can attach the bottom and sides all together,
but you will have an easier time removing your case if you can
disassemble your mold once the epoxy has dried. Either wrap the
bottom and sides with plastic wrap, or place the plastic wrap
inside the mold. Make sure there are no gaps where the epoxy
can leak through by using clear tape. Be sure to put newspaper,
plastic wrap or tin foil underneath to catch any spills or leaks.
Illustration 16: The mold with
base and sides taped together. Before you start making the
case, cut out the carbon fiber
and foam matrix material. Tape
the carbon fiber wherever you plan to make a cut to prevent it from
unraveling.
Once your mold and other materials are ready, paint a layer of epoxy
into the mold, or, if you are worried the plastic wrap will not stay
where you want it to, put down a layer of carbon fiber into the mold Illustration 17: Carbon
and paint it with epoxy. Then put down another layer of carbon fiber fiber that has been taped
and then cut before using.
14
and repeat. If you are using a foam matrix, place it in between the layers of carbon fiber (two layers of
carbon fiber, a layer of foam matrix, and another layer of carbon fiber made a 11” case strong enough
for me to stand on). By putting the extra layer of carbon fiber on the outside, you will be less likely to
see the foam matrix through any gaps.
Illustration 20: Mold with one

Illustration 18: Painting the Illustration 19: The
layer of carbon fiber applied.
epoxy resin onto both sides of foam matrix will soak
the layer of carbon fiber. up a lot of epoxy, so be
generous. Make sure to
You will also need to design some kind of airflow for your case unless keep pressing in the
you are running very low TDP parts. This can be done by drilling a corners and edges and
series of small holes next to each other in the case in two different use a lot of epoxy.
places, preferably opposite each other in the case or cutting out sections
of the case and placing mesh or a filter inside the cut outs. Plan to have
at least one small fan either blow air out of one set of holes, or suck air in through one set of holes.
Ideally, if you are using a heat sink with a fan (such as the Intel® Thermal Solution HTS1155LP) you
can have the fan blow through the heat sink and then immediately out of the case. This gets the hot air
out quickly and helps to keep the other components from heating up.
Illustration 22: The section for the back

Illustration 21: Three layers of panel IO ports is taped off before cutting.
Illustration 23: A hot
carbon fiber with one layer of air exhaust cut out that
foam matrix in between. Extra will later be covered
materiel is intentionally used, so with mesh.
that the case can be cut smoothly Also make sure to drill a place for your power button and for your
and evenly after it hardens. reset button and LEDs (if you are planning on using those). This
can be placed wherever you feel is convenient.
You can put other designs/pictures on your case if you do not like just the plain carbon fiber. Lay a
picture or thin object down before putting in the cloth and epoxy. Make sure it gets thoroughly coated
with epoxy and it will be embedded in your case. Make sure it is not to thick or the distortion it causes
15
inside your case may make it difficult to mount your tablet's internal components.
Some tips when making your case with carbon fiber: Measure and cut out the carbon fiber before you
start making the case. Get a slow hardening epoxy - having to wait 24 hours for it to dry is better than
having the epoxy start to thicken while you are still working with it. Stir the epoxy slowly to prevent
making a lot of bubbles. The carbon fiber cloth will not easily hold edges, so make sure to keep
pressing it into the corners as you are molding it. Tape the edges of your cloth so that it does not start
to unravel. You can buy kits on eBay that have everything but the mold. For the smoothest finish with
the least air pockets, you will need to use a vacuum bag.
Illustration 25: An edge with air

pockets from insufficient epoxy. Illustration 26: A single
More epoxy can be added later, layer of carbon fiber with
Illustration 24:
but it is difficult to get the foam matrix easily
Wrinkles in the epoxy
everything smooth. visible underneath.
from plastic wrap that
was not smooth.
Illustration 27: A finished case ready for parts to be installed.
3D Printing
You can also make your case out of plastic (and possibly other
materials) if you have access to a 3D printer or are willing to
pay to have a company print your case for you. First, you will need to design the case in a computer
aided design program (CAD) that can save files that are compatible with your 3D printer. Different
printers have different printing resolutions and recommendations about minimum thickness of walls
and how to prevent warping. Be sure to familiarize yourself with any recommendations for your
particular 3D printer. Also, make sure your case will fit inside the 3D printer's printing envelope. If it
will not, you can still print the case in pieces and then assemble the printed pieces into the full case, but
this case may not be as strong as a case printed as one single piece. You can either design the case with
the necessary holes and cut-outs for ventilation, mounting and port access, or drill/cut those out of a
solid case after printing.
16
CNC Case
You can also have your case machined out of a solid block of metal or plastic. This is probably the
most expensive method, but will result in a very strong case that can possibly be used as the CPU's heat
sink as well if the case is made of metal. The process is similar to that of 3D printing, except instead of
being additive,16 it is subtractive17 which results in wasted material and a higher cost. The equipment
also tends to be more expensive. You will still design the case using CAD software or have someone
else design it for you. Then the part will be manufactured from that design.
16 Start with nothing and add material to build the case

17 Start with a large solid block of material and cut out the unwanted parts
17
Miscellaneous Parts
If you are making your own case, there are a few tools you will need. These include:
• Dremel or other cutting tool for removing excess material and making ventilation holes and
other openings
• Soldering iron for connecting wires and batteries
• Wire stripper for removing plastic from the ends of wires
• Crimping tool if you plan on making crimped connections
• Multimeter for checking battery poles.
Your tablet will also need a variety of other miscellaneous parts. The more mundane parts include
screws and nuts (#4-4018 is what I used), wires19 for connecting batteries, epoxy, and double stick tape
for mounting parts inside your tablet. You will also need (at the very least) an on/off switch, and
optionally a reset switch and power LEDs. These can be bought all together as replacement parts fairly
inexpensively. As far as functionality is concerned, most people will want
wireless internet access and possibly Bluetooth. There are several methods
for adding this to your tablet. First, if your tablet has mini-PCIe slots that
you are not planning to use for something else there are a variety of mini-
PCIe cards that offer either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or a combination of both.
There are several generations of both technologies available. Currently,
Bluetooth 4.0 is the most current revision of that technology, while the
current widely available Wi-Fi revision is IEEE 802.11n.20 There are also
mini-PCIe cards out there that include cell phone antennas for those Illustration 28: A half
wanting internet wherever they have cell reception. Another option for sized mini-PCIE
these technologies are USB devices that can either be plugged in to WiFi/Bluetooth card
external USB ports on your tablet or connected to internal USB headers installed with antennas
(with the use of a USB A female to USB motherboard 4 pin header cable). attached.
There are also mini-PCIe and USB GPS devices available as well as small
USB cameras for those who wish to use video chat or take pictures.
A more complete list of parts is included in the appendix of this manual.
18 The first number, usually proceeded by the “#” sign, is the diameter of the screw, with smaller numbers meaning
increasingly smaller diameters. The second number is the thread count per inch.
19 A standard power supply uses 18 gauge wire, while the wires that come with the OpenUPS are 16 gauge. Anything 18
or bigger should work. For wires, the smaller the gauge number, the larger the actual wire.
20 802.11b and 802.11g are also still in use, and 802.11-2012, 802.11ac and 802.11ad standards have been set but are not
widely in use
18
Assembly
Once you have purchased all your parts and built your case, it is time to put everything together.
First, start by installing the core pieces

in your motherboard. Be sure to read
the manuals included with your parts,
as they all can be slightly different.
Here is the basic process: Install the
CPU by opening the socket lever and
load plate,21 lining up the CPU over
the socket,22 placing the CPU in the
socket and then lowering the load plate
and securing the socket lever. Then Illustration 29:
install the heat sink. Motherboard with socket
open, ready to receive the Illustration 30: Open
CPU CPU socket. Note the
triangle in the corner.
The CPU has a matching
triangle to help with
aligning the CPU
correctly.
Illustration 31: CPU

placed in the socket.
Again, note the two
aligned triangles. Illustration 32: CPU
locked in place
21 Do NOT touch the contacts on the motherboard or CPU

22 There is usually an arrow or other mark on the CPU and motherboard to make sure it is oriented correctly
19
Each heat sink is unique and installation varies from model to model, so
please read the instructions for yours. Be sure to use a thermal paste of
some sort between the CPU and heat sink. Most heat sinks come with a
small amount in a package or already on the heat sink. If the thermal
paste is not pre-applied to the heat sink, either add a small amount to the
center of the CPU or spread a very thin layer over the entire CPU. You
can use a piece of plastic wrap around your finger to spread the thermal
paste or wipe up any extra. Make sure there is no dirt or other
contaminants on the processor or heat sink. Most heat sinks will be
placed over the CPU and then either screw or snap into the four
mounting holes around the CPU. Some will have a back plate that goes
Illustration 33: CPU with under the motherboard. After installing the heat sink, check to see if any
a small amount of extra thermal paste got squeezed out around the edges. If so, be sure to
thermal paste wipe it up thoroughly, as it can cause a short which could damage the
CPU or motherboard.
Illustration 34: Thermal

paste spread over the Illustration 35: Back of Illustration 36: Back of
surface of the CPU CPU socket without heat CPU socket with heat
sink back plate sink back plate
Illustration 37: Installed Intel® Thermal Solution

HTS1155LP
20
Next, install the system memory. If you are using less than the
maximum number of memory modules, be sure to check your
motherboard's manual regarding which should be installed first.
Ensure that the notch in the memory module lines up with the
notch in the module slot. For most SO-DIMM modules, you
will insert the front edge that has the contacts into the slot while
the back edge is slightly higher, then push down on the back
edge until the module snaps into place. For regular DIMM
modules, you again line up the notch in the module with that in
the slot and then, holding the module vertical, press straight Illustration 38: Two SO-
down until the module snaps into place. DIMM sockets. Note the
notches in the socket when
aligning the RAM modules.
Illustration 39: Pay attention

to the notch while installing
the RAM.
Illustration 40: Make sure the

RAM modules are pressed
firmly all the way into their
sockets.
Illustration 41: Finally,

press the RAM module all
the way into its retaining
clips.
21
If you are installing an mSATA drive or other mini-PCIe peripherals, follow the instructions in your
motherboard's manual. If there are already standoff screws installed with mounting screws in those,
make sure they are in the correct holes.23 Remove the mounting screws from the standoff screws,
match the drive's notch with the slot, and insert the drive into the socket while keeping the back edge
raised slightly. Push the back edge down until its mounting holes line up with the standoff screws, then
screw the mounting screws back into the standoff screws.
Illustration 42: Mini-PCIe Illustration 43: Press the Illustration 44: An installed
slot with mounting holes for mini-PCIe card into the slot mini-PCIe card
both half and full sized mini- firmly. It will be held up at
PCIe cards an angle by the slot until it
is screwed down.
23 Full size vs half size if these options are present
22
You will also need to attach your display screen and
touch overlay to your motherboard. This can be done
before or after attaching your motherboard, screen and
overlay to your case. Be very careful while handling the
screen, as the PCB and other internal connections are
delicate. If there is not much room to work inside your
case, you may want to make these connections now. For
internal screens using either LVDS or eDP connections, it
is a (relatively) simple matter of plugging the cable into
the interface connectors on the motherboard and screen. Illustration 45: A LVDS display panel
Usually the connectors can only fit one way. The LVDS with the LVDS connector circled. Be
and eDP connections on the DQ77KB motherboard, for very careful while handling the screen.
example, have a top that is slightly wider than the Those "Don't Touch!" warnings are
bottom. The screen connector usually has a top side that serious.
has some kind of label or mark, while the bottom is more
unfinished looking. Make sure to line these connections
up carefully and insert them gently but firmly. Be certain they are plugged in completely and that they
do not come loose as you attach the various parts to the case.
Illustration 46: LVDS (top) and eDP(bottom)

Illustration 47: The end of the custom
connections on the Intel® DQ77KB
Quadrangle cable that connects to the
motherboard
motherboard
Illustration 50: The end Illustration 49: The

Illustration 48: The of the custom cable that custom cable
LVDS cable plugged connects to the screen. connected to the
into the motherboard The bottom picture shows screen. Again, be
the side that is next to the careful with the
PCB of the screen. screen's PCB
23
There are two basic ways to install pieces into your case. First, the
motherboard and battery controller should have mounting holes. You can
use two part epoxy to attach nuts (such as StarTech's #4-40x6mm nuts).
Sand the surface of your case where the nuts will be to ensure the epoxy
bonds well. To ensure they are in the right place you can attach the screws
and nuts to the motherboard, place the motherboard inside the case, and put
the epoxy around the nuts. At that point, you may want to unscrew the
screws to make sure they don't get stuck in the epoxy too. You can use the
same method to attach the battery controller and any other parts with screw
mounts. Once the epoxy is hardened, attach the parts with the appropriate
Illustration 51: A nut screws. To make sure they don't wiggle around and loosen themselves
epoxied to carbon fiber while you are moving the tablet, add a little thread locking adhesive such as
Loctite. The second option for mounting parts is thick double sided tape.
This works well for mounting things like batteries or keeping cables from dangling. This method could
also be used for attaching the motherboard and other parts, but there are some potential problems with
this. First, it is possible that if the tape were to conduct electricity, it could short out parts of the
board.24 This unrestricted flow of electricity can burn out parts of the board. Shorts could also occur if
some of the pins or other pieces poked through the tape and contacted the case on the other side. The
lack of air flow may also cause parts to overheat. Finally, if the tape is not strong enough, your parts
may come loose inside the case, resulting in damage or short circuits. The benefit to using the double
sided tape is that it can decrease the thickness of your tablet.
If you have a HDD or SSD that you will be using, now is the time to
install it. First, connect both the data and power cables. If your
motherboard is supplying the power, then both connections will go from
the motherboard to the drive. If the power is coming from a separate
power supply, make sure that power supply is not connected to a power
source before connecting it to the drive. Then attach the drive to your
case, either with nuts and screws, or double sided tape. Illustration 52: A standard
2.5" SSD with power (top)
and data connection
(bottom)
Illustration 54:
A SATA data cable. Note the shape
designed so it can only be plugged in Illustration 53: SATA
one way headers on the
motherboard. Here,
the SATA 3.0 Illustration 55: A
connection is blue, motherboard's SATA power
while the SATA 2.0 header
connection is black.
24 A short circuit results when two parts that are normally separate get connected allowing electricity to flow between
them
24
Illustration 57: A
SATA drive with both
power and data
cables connected
Illustration 56: The SATA

power cable connected to
the motherboard.
Once the parts are mounted to the case you can begin attaching the
batteries and the other wiring connections. The batteries can be
mounted to the case before or after the connections are made. Just
make sure they are attached securely to prevent them coming loose
inside the case. This can be done using an adhesive or by using a case
with individual compartments and restraints to hold the batteries in
place. I used permanent outdoor mounting
tape for my batteries.
For most configurations, you are going to

use several batteries in series. If you are
Illustration 58: Make sure using the OpenUPS battery controller, you
the batteries are mounted can use up to 6 batteries in series. Be sure
securely to the case. This to read the OpenUPS manual before
battery has three strips of connecting the batteries to the controller
permanent adhesive and the controller to your motherboard.
attached to it before being Errors in the connections can result in
damage to the controller or to your Illustration 59: A case
placed into the case.
motherboard, so it is critical to be careful with 6 batteries laid
and to double check everything out before soldering.
before making the connections.
The batteries will be connected
with the negative of one battery
attaching to the positive of the
next battery. If this in not clearly
marked on the batteries,25 use a
multimeter to check which is the
Illustration 60: Verify the positive and which is the negative
positive and negative ends26. For most of these Illustration 61: Take the time to
connections on each connections27 you will have make sure everything will fit
battery. before soldering the parts.
25 You should check it even if it is, just to be safe
26 If you are not sure how to use your multimeter, check a regular AA battery with it. Making the connections one way will
result in a negative value, switching them will give you a positive value. Use this information to check your batteries.
27 Follow the diagrams and instructions in the OpenUPS manual
25
another wire that connects back to the OpenUPS. This allows the controller to monitor the individual
batteries and balance them, which leads to better battery performance and longer lasting batteries.
Finally, the most positive and most negative batteries will be connected to the OpenUPS board.
The board will also be connected to the power

input DC jack and to the motherboard. While it
has two sets of positive and negative (ground)
wires for both the input and output connections,
only one set of each needs to be connected. The
OpenUPS comes with a few wires and Molex or
mini-FIT JR connectors that snap into the board.
In order to connect the wires to the batteries and
the DC jack as well as to connect the batteries to
Illustration 63: Here is
Illustration 62: A each other, you will need to make several
the DC input jack with
wire with part of the soldered connections.
two positive and two
insulation stripped negative (ground) wires
off. Before you can make any connections with wires,
connected.
you will need to strip the plastic off a small
section of the end of each wire to be connected. You can do this with a wire
stripping tool or with a sharp blade. Either cut a circle around the plastic and
pull the end section off or cut away at the plastic on each side of the wire. You
will want at least a few millimeters of bare wire for each connection. Soldering
these connections will help keep them from coming loose inside your tablet,
which could cause short circuits and other damage in addition to your tablet
losing power.
Illustration 64:
Fanning out the To solder the connections, you will need a soldering iron and solder28. Heat the
individual wires soldering iron, and then use it to preheat the connections. Be careful not to heat
gives more surface the batteries themselves, as that can damage their internal chemistry. The hotter
area for the solder to your soldering iron, the less time it takes to heat up the solder and the parts to be
connect to. connected, which should translate into less heat traveling up the connections
into the battery. Then melt solder onto one of the two parts to be connected and
press the other part into the solder while it is still liquid. If you are having
difficulty making good connections, you can put a little solder on each part
separately and then melt the solder together. It may also help if you fan out the
individual wires to provide more surface area for the
solder to bond to. You may need to reheat the solder if
it cools before the connection can be made.
Illustration 65:
Here, solder has If your solder will not stick to the tab of a battery, you
been pre-added to can put solder on the wire, fold the tab of the battery
the wire before it is over the wire, and then add solder on top of and around
connected to the the tab. By wrapping the tab with solder in this way you Illustration 66: A
can prevent the tab from pulling free of the solder. wire soldered to the
battery tab. tab of a battery.
28 I used silver bearing electrical solder. It has a higher melting point and is a little stiffer than traditional lead solder.
26
If there are three pieces to be connected (such as the positive of one battery, the negative of another and
wire to connect the OpenUPS) you can either press both addition parts (2 and 3) onto the first part, or
stack the third on top of the second. Make sure the connections are solid and then cover them with
electrical tape. If the molex cables are not long enough to reach from the OpenUPS to your
motherboard's power connector or from the OpenUPS to the DC jack, you can cut them and splice in
more wire. Again, I would recommend soldering the wires together so that they will not come loose.
Illustration 67: A butt splice type connection, designed to connect two wires,
one inserted in each end, by crushing the metal case around the wires. A
plastic housing helps insulate the wires.
An alternative to soldering is to use wire crimp connectors and a crimping tool.

With this methods, you insert both wires (or all three) into the crimp connector - either one in each side
or all together, depending on the type of connector - and then crush the metal part of the connector with
the crimping tool. This should hold all the wires together, but make sure that all the connections are
solid and the wires cannot pull loose. Also, this kind of connection can only work with wires, so if
your batteries do not already have wires attached to them, you will need to solder wires to the batteries
anyway.
Illustration 68: A male (right) and female (left) disconnect.
If you want connections that can be easily disconnected, you can connect your
wires with a male and female disconnect. These are designed to provide a solid
connection that can be easily taken apart and the reconnected. Make sure to
cover a connection like this with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to keep it
from accidentally coming into contact with another part of your tablet.
You will also need to connect the power button (and reset button if you
want one) to either the motherboard or the battery controller. The
OpenUPS needs to be powered on before the motherboard is powered
on and it has a pin connector for the power button and then another
output set of pins to connect to the motherboard. The OpenUPS
controller has a pin connector for the power button and then another
output set of pins to connect to the motherboard. If you connect the
power button to the OpenUPS and then the battery controller to the
motherboard, it will slow the signal29 however, it allows the OpenUPS
Illustration 69: A simple
to power the motherboard off if the battery gets too low, preventing
replacement power button.
abrupt loss of power and you only need one power button, rather than
one for the battery controller and one for the motherboard. The power button should be mounted with
29 There is a delay when turning on the tablet via the OpenUPS, especially the first time as the controller itself needs to
turn on, and also if it is running on battery power. Don't panic if you have to press and hold the power button a few
times to get the tablet to turn on at first. Several of these delays can be programmed in the OpenUPS's configuration
utility.
27
epoxy as it is a cheap part that can be replaced if you decide to change to a new case and you do not
want it coming loose inside your case through continued use.
Illustration 70: Case with all batteries mounted and connected,
along with female disconnects at each battery terminal. Most
connections are temporarily covered with electrical tape to
prevent accidental short circuits.
Double check all of your electrical connections to make sure

everything is wired correctly. Finally, once all connections are made,
turn on your tablet to ascertain that everything works. This is the
point where I would recommend installing your operating system and
drivers. While you could wait to do this until you have closed and Illustration 71: Case with all
sealed your case, if there is a problem it would be good to find it now parts installed and all wires
while everything is still easy to access. Wires can also be secured connected.
down at this point. They can be zip tied into bundles and/or taped
down to the case.
The easiest way to install the operating system and drivers is to use an external USB DVD drive.
These can be purchased for around US$30. While they are not needed to use your tablet once
everything is installed, it may be worth purchasing one for later use when installing software. Another
option is to take an internal DVD drive from a desktop computer and temporarily attach it to your
tablet's motherboard. Install your operating system and any other drivers that are on DVDs or CDs,
then remove the DVD drive.
You can also install your operating system with a USB flash drive, but this often requires additional
steps. Using another computer, you will need to format the flash drive (for Windows®, you can use the
Windows® 7 usb dvd download tool) and make it bootable. You can then transfer the files from an
ISO30 image to the drive and use that device to install your operating system.
Now I would suggest checking the functionality of your tablet and its
hardware. Check not only that it turns on and off, but also if the battery
registers correctly, if it charges, if you can type, connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
devices, etc. Once you are convinced that everything works as it should, seal
the case. You can do this either by having nuts in the base or sides of the case
that the top screws into, or by using strong double sided tape. Make sure the
connection is sound and then enjoy your tablet!
Illustration 72: A nut epoxied into the corner

of a case for securely mounting the top.
30 This name comes from the International Organization for Standardization 9660 file system. An ISO image contains an
image of a disk, such as CD or DVD
28
Illustration 73: A smaller case with all
components installed, but with wires not
secured down. The batteries and
controller are mounted to the bottom of
the case, while the motherboard is
mounted to the top. The screen is
mounted to the otherside of the top with
the LVDS cable going through a small
slit.
29
Summary
General Advice
Things to consider while designing your tablet:
• Your overall budget
• Consulting the hardware manuals before ordering
• Compatibility of the hardware
• Using hardware that has the potential of being upgraded in the future
Core Components
Your tablet will need:
• A motherboard
• A CPU
• One or more primary storage devices (RAM modules)
• One or more secondary storage devices (HDD or SSD)
Motherboard
Select a motherboard, making certain to note:
• What CPUs it supports
• What RAM it supports
• What technology it uses for secondary storage (SATA version)
• If it has Mini PCIe slots(full or half) and if they support mSATA
• How it receives power (internal DC power will be best)
• If it can send power to peripherals such as SATA hard drives
• How it can connect to a screen (internal connections will be best)
• If it supports USB 2.0 or 3.0 with internal headers or just back panel ports
CPU
Select a CPU, making certain to note:
• If the socket type matches your motherboard
• If your motherboard support it
• What its speed is in gigahertz
• How many physical cores it has
• How many processes (threads) each core can support
• What its TDP is
Memory
Select one or more memory modules, making certain to note:
• Whether your motherboard supports DDR, DDR2, or DDR3
• Whether your motherboard uses SO-DIMM or DIMM modules
30
• If your motherboard supports dual channel memory
◦ If so and you want to take advantage of it, make sure to get a matched kit of 2 modules.
• What voltage of RAM your motherboard supports
◦ Lower voltage and power consumption can help extend battery life
• What capacity RAM you want (minimum of 1GB for Windows® 8)
Storage
Select a storage device, making certain to note:
• What connection it uses
◦ Does your motherboard support that connection, including power if needed?
◦ What speed of connection do you want?
• How big and heavy it is
• How it will fit in your case
• How much storage you will need
◦ Windows 8 has a minimum of 16GB or 20GB for 64bit
Screen and Touch Sensor

Display Screen
Select a screen, making certain to note:
• What connections your motherboard has
◦ Connecting to HDMI is possible, but can be difficult due to power requirements and where
the connector is located on the motherboard.
◦ LVDS and eDP are internal standards, so they will be smaller and use less power, but each
one tends to have its once cable configuration, which means you will probably need a
custom cable.
• What resolution you want
◦ Make sure your motherboard supports the resolution
• What size you want
• How you will mount it to your case
Touch Sensor
Select a touch screen overlay, making certain to note:
• What technology you want to use
◦ Resistive is cheap and widely available, but it is usually only single-touch and can be prone
to scratching
◦ Capacitive is harder to find but offers multi-touch
◦ Infrared is also hard to find and usually means a raised edge around your device, but it can
also offer multi-touch
• That its active dimensions match that of your display screen.
• How you will mount it to your case
31
Note: There are display screens that include touch, but they tend to have unique or proprietary
connections or are bulky and not meant for portable devices. One possibility for a complete
display/touchscreen solution is made by Chalk Electronics in Malaysia, however be aware that shipping
is very expensive.
Power Supply, Batteries and Controller

Battery Controller
First, select a battery controller, making certain to note:
• What voltage, amperage and current (AC or DC) input it can accept
• What voltage and amperage it can output to the motherboard
• What voltage and amperage your motherboard needs
• If you need it to power things besides the motherboard
• If it can switch between external power and battery power without interrupting the flow of
power to your motherboard
• How many batteries it can control
• What kinds of batteries (lithium ion, lithium polymer, NiCad, lead acid, etc) it can support
• How big the controller is
• If it can tell your OS the remaining charge for the batteries
Note: The only battery controller I was able to find that would work was the OpenUPS from Mini-
Box.com. There may be others out there, but make sure it meets all of your needs.
Batteries
Select the batteries, making certain to note:
• What kinds of batteries your controller can support
• How many batteries your controller can support
• What voltage the batteries are
• How many amps the batteries can output safely (continuous and peak)
• How many watts of power your motherboard will need
• How long you want your tablet to last on a charge
• How big the batteries are
• How they will fit in your case
• How you will connect them to each other and to the controller
Power Supply
Select a power supply, making certain to note:
• How much power your controller can handle
• What connection type it has
• How big it is
32
Operating System
Select an Operating System, making certain to note:
• If your hardware can support the operating system
• If there are drivers available for your hardware on the operating system
• What programs/apps you want to run
• How much storage space the operating system needs
• How well the operating system handles touch input
Case and Layout

Design a case for your tablet, making certain to note:
• What your case will be made out of
◦ Carbon Fiber
▪ How will you make your mold
▪ How many layers you will use
▪ Thickness of fabric
▪ Core matrix
▪ Epoxy set time
◦ 3D printed plastic
▪ Will your case fit in the printer's build envelope?
◦ CNCed metal
▪ Will you use the case as a heat sink?
• How big your display screen and touch overlay are
• How thick your case will be
• How you will lay out the components of your tablet
◦ Will they all fit in the case?
◦ Where will cables and wires go?
◦ How well will air be able to flow through for cooling?
• How you will mount the parts within the case and seal the case closed
◦ Epoxy nuts to the case and then screw parts in (use thread lock)
◦ Double sided tape
• How strong/solid your case needs to be
• How light you want your case to be
• What you want your case to look like
Miscellaneous Parts
Here are some other parts you may want for your tablet:
• Connection parts
◦ Nuts and screws
33
◦ Cables and wires
• USB (internal or external) or mini-PCIe peripherals
◦ Wi-Fi (check version technology and speed)
◦ GPS
◦ Cellular 3G or 4G/LTE antenna
• USB (internal or external) peripherals
◦ Camera
• Extra storage
◦ Flash drive, SD cards, CompactFlash cards
◦ USB, SATA or mini-PCIe
Assembly
Be sure to read and follow all instructions in the manuals for the individual parts
Assemble your tablet:
• Install the CPU into the motherboard:
◦ Don't touch the motherboard or CPU's connections
◦ Make sure the CPU is oriented correctly
◦ Place the CPU in its socket
◦ Lock it in place
◦ Use a thermal paste between the CPU and the heat sink
◦ Attach the heat sink following the instructions in the CPU or heat sink's manual
• Install your RAM:
◦ Make sure the RAM is oriented correctly by checking the notch on the RAM and the notch
in its installation slot
◦ If not all of the RAM slots on the motherboard are to be used, check which should be left
empty in the motherboard manual
• Install any mini-PCIe or mSATA devices:
◦ Make sure to orient them properly by checking the notch on the device and in the
installation slot
◦ Make sure the size (full or half) is correct
◦ Screw them onto the motherboard using thread lock on the screws to make sure they don't
come loose
• Attach the motherboard, battery controller, HDD or SSD, and other parts that will be screwed or
taped to the case:
◦ If you are using nuts and screws to attach your components, epoxy the nuts to the case
▪ Make sure the nuts are spaced correctly by using your parts or a template
▪ Sand the case to roughen it where nuts will be attached to insure that they bond well to
the case
▪ You can attach the screws and nuts to your parts and then epoxy the the screws to the
case to make sure they are aligned correctly. If you do this, loosen the screws after
everything is glued to insure that they do not get stuck in any excess epoxy
◦ When the nuts are attached, screw the components in, adding a thread lock to the screws to
34
keep them from coming loose
◦ If you are taping the components in, make sure the tape is non-conductive and will provide
a secure enough connection so the parts will not come loose
• Attach all wires and cables including but not limited to:
◦ Power button, either to motherboard or to battery controller
◦ Reset button if desired
◦ Power LEDs if desired
◦ DC input to battery controller's power input
◦ Batteries to each other and to battery controller
◦ Battery controller power output to motherboard's internal power connection
◦ Battery controller to motherboard's internal USB header
◦ Any internal USB devices to motherboard's USB headers
• Make sure all connections are solid, and that all soldered connections are insulated with
electrical tape or heat shrink tubing
• Attach display screen to motherboard
• Attach touch overlay to motherboard
◦ The display screen and touch overlay may be connected to the motherboard before
mounting the motherboard if the connections will be difficult to make due to crowded
conditions inside the case
• Mount display screen and touch overlay to case
• Install Operating System
◦ If installing from a CD or DVD, use an external USB DVD drive or temporarily connect an
internal SATA DVD drive to the motherboard
◦ Install any necessary drivers
◦ Test functionality of tablet
▪ Check touch controls, peripheral functionality, Wi-Fi, battery life, charging and
information, etc
• Seal top of case to bottom of case either by screwing top into nuts attached to sides of main case
or with strong double sided tape
• Test functionality of all parts one more time
• Enjoy your custom tablet!
35
Appendix A: List of Acronyms
Ah Amp hours
ATA Advanced Technology Attachment
CAD Computer Aided Design
CNC Computer Numerical Control
CPU Central Processing Unit
DDR Double Data Rate
DIMM Dual In-line Memory Module
DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory
DVD Digital Versatile Disk (or Digital Video Disk)
GB gigabyte
GHz Gigahertz
HDD Hard Disk Drive
HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface
Hz Hertz
IO Input/Output
LED Light-Emitting Diode
LVDS Low Voltage Differential Signaling
mAh Milliamp-hours
NUC Next Unit of Computing (Intel®)
OS Operating System
OS Operating System
PATA Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment
PC Personal Computer
PCB Printed Circuit Board
PCIe Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
RAM Random Access Memory
RPM Revolutions Per Minute
SATA Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
SAW Surface Acoustic Wave
SD Secure Digital
36
SDR Single Data Rate
SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SO-DIMM Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module
SSD Solid State Drive
USB Universal Serial Bus
W Watts
37
Appendix B: Sample Builds31
Sample Build 10.1”
Part Model Make Cost

Motherboard DQ77KB Intel® $143.00
CPU i3-3225 Intel® $135.00
Heat Sink BXHTS1155LP Intel $29.99
RAM KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G Kingston® $73.00
Storage CT245M4SSD3 Crucial $209.99
Screen CLAA101WB03 CPT $110.00
LVDS cable QD15602 Quadrangle Products $70.00
Touch Overlay 89-F-PMC-101-005 Touch International $93.52
Touch Controller 89-PCB-PMC-02 Touch International $89.61
Battery Controller OpenUPS Mini-Box.com $119.00
Batteries Replacement Macbook pro $30.00
battery
Case Carbon Fiber custom $50.00
Epoxy .85 oz 5 minute epoxy Devcon or Loctite $5.00
USB A to USB 4 USBMBADAPT StarTech.com $4.00
pin header
Motherboard BEZELWRKIT StarTech.com $7.00
LEDs, power and
reset buttons
Nuts #4-40x6mm NUT4_40_6 StarTech.com $14.99
Screws #4- SCREW4_40 StarTech.com $7.00
40x3/16”
Total Cost: 1191.1
31 The sample builds presented here are not fully tested and are presented solely as a reference point
38
10.1” tablet low cost

CPU Pentium® G630T Intel® $75.00
RAM M471B5773DH0-CK0 Samsung $20.00
Storage ASP600S3-32GM-C ADATA $50.00
Touchscreen and 10” LCD LVDS bundle Chalkboard Electronics $180.00
display kit SKU 00017
DC-DC Converter LM2596 DC-DC Buck $7.00
for screen power Converter

Batteries Replacement Macbook pro $30.00
battery
pin header
LEDs, power and
reset buttons
40x3/16”
Total Cost: 741.98
39
Maximum Power

CPU i7-3770S Intel® $305.00
RAM KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G Kingston® $73.00
Screen CLAA101WB03 CPT $110.00
LVDS cable QD15602 Quadrangle Products $70.00
Touch Overlay 89-F-PMC-101-005 Touch International $93.52
Touch Controller 89-PCB-PMC-02 Touch International $89.61
Batteries (6 cells) T5800.1S.25 Hobby King $76.20
pin header
LEDs, power and
reset buttons
40x3/16”
Total Cost: 1407.3
40
10” Long Battery Life

Motherboard and D33217GKE Intel® $299.00
CPU
RAM CT2KIT51264BC1339 Samsung $76.50
Touchscreen and 10” LCD LVDS bundle Chalkboard Electronics $180.00
display kit SKU 00017
Batteries (6 cells) T5800.1S.25 Hobby King $76.20
pin header
LEDs, power and
reset buttons
40x3/16”
Total Cost: 921.69
41
Appendix C: List of Companies for Specific
Parts or Services
Parts Suppliers and Manufacturers
www.amazon.com Most common parts
http://www.hwtools.net Specialty parts and connections including 3G cellular cards
https://www.laptopscreen.com/ Internal display screens
www.mini-box.com Components for small form factor computers including
motherboards, power supplies and battery controllers
www.startech.com Cables, screws, nuts, accessories, etc
www.hobbyking.com Batteries and battery packs
www.ebay.com New and used parts of all kinds
www.bhphotovideo.com Electronics including motherboards and CPUs
macmall.com Electronics including motherboards and CPUs
http://www.digikey.com/ Many different electronics parts
Touch screen overlays32

http://www.touchinternational.com/ Touchscreens and controllers
http://www.digikey.com/ Touchscreens in their “optoelectronics” section
www.ebay.com eBay has several sellers with touch screens of different types
Multi-touch-screen.com Multi-touch overlays of various sizes
www.elotouch.com Touchscreen and USB monitors
http://www.cyclotouch.com.au Touchscreen manufacturer
http://www.touchwindow.com Add on touch overlays
EETI Touchscreen manufacturer
http://www.touchscreens.com/ Touchscreen manufacturer
KeyTech Touchscreen manufacturer
3D Printing
http://www.shapeways.com/ Design, produce and market 3D printed objects
32 While I have included several manufacturers and distributors of touchscreens, many require minimum orders, do not sell
to the public, or have rather clumsy attachments meant for use over computer monitors. The best options I found were
Touch International, digikey and a few eBay sellers such as NJYTouch
42
CNC work
http://www.emachineshop.com/ Metal and plastic CNC design and production
http://www.firstcut.com/ Custom CNC Machined parts
Other Custom Parts

http://www.everythingpcb.com Custom PCBs and electronics
43
Appendix D: List of Possible Parts
Possible Parts List
Check compatibility for all parts before purchasing. These lists are not complete and do not indicate
availability. Prices are subject to change without notice. All information is provided simply for use as
a reference.
Motherboards
Make Model Available From Price
Intel® DQ77KB* amazon.com $143.00
newegg.com $150.00
mini-box.com $143.00
Intel® DH61AG amazon.com $121.99
newegg.com $117.99
Intel® D33217CK bhphotovideo.com $318.95
Intel® DCP847SKE antarespro.com $147.99
Intel® DC3217IYE amazon.com $286.60
(kit with motherboard) newegg.com $299.99
bhphotovideo.com $289.00
Intel® DC3217BY amazon.com $325.83
(kit with motherboard) bhphotovideo.com $309.99
ECS H61H2-G11 amazon.com $88.27
Gigabyte GA-B75TN macmall.com $108.99
Gigabyte GA-H77TN macmall.com $134.53
CPUs
Low TDP
∆
Intel® G860T Suggested price $75.00
Intel® G640T∆ Suggested price $72.00
* Part tested and used in sample build
44
∆
Intel® i3-2120T Suggested price $121.00
Intel® i3-2100T∆ Suggested price $132.00
Intel® i3-3220T∆ Suggested price $125.00
∆
Intel® E3-1265L v2∆ Suggested price $305.00
Standard TDP
Intel® G440∆ Suggested price
∆
Intel® G465 Suggested price
∆
Intel® G530 Suggested price
Intel® G620∆ Suggested price $64.00
∆
Intel® G640 Suggested price $64.00
∆ Part listed as compatible with motherboard DQ77KB
45
∆
∆
Intel® i3-2100∆ Suggested price $120.00
∆
Intel® i3-2130 Suggested price $125.00
Intel® i3-3210v Suggested price $120.00
Intel® i3-3225*∆ Suggested price $134.00
Intel® i5-2400S∆ Suggested price $195.00
∆
Intel® i5-2405S Suggested price $212.00
∆
Intel® i7-2600S∆ Suggested price
∆
RAM
A-DATA EL73U1V1672ZU†
A-DATA AD7311C1674EV†
Crucial CT25664BC1339.M8FMR∆
Elixir M2N2G64CB8HC5N-CG∆

† Part listed as compatible with NUC motherboard D33217CK
46
G.Skill F3-12800CL9S-2GBSQ∆
Hynix HMT112S6TFR8C-H9∆
Hynix HMT125S6TFR8C-H9∆
Hynix HMT451S6MFR8A†
Hynix HMT41GS6MFR8A†
Kingston KVR1333D3S9/1G∆
Kingston KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G*∆
Kingston KVR1066D3S7†
Kingston KVR1333D3S9†
Micron MT8KTF51264HZ-1G6†
Micron MT16KTF1G64HZ-1G6†
Nanya NT8GC64C8HB0NS-DI†
Nanya NT4GC64C88B0NS-DI†
Nanya NT2GC64CH4B0PS-DI†
Nanya NT2GC64B8HC0NS-CG†
Patriot PSD38G1600SK∆
Samsung M471B2873GB0-CK0∆
Samsung M471B577SDH0-CK0∆
Samsung M471B5673EH1-FC8∆
Samsung M471B1G73BH0-CK0∆
Samsung M471B5673DZ1-CF8†
Samsung M471B5273CH0-CH9†
Storage Device (SSD)

A-DATA AS510S3-60GM-C amazon.com $69.99
A-DATA ASX900S3-64GM-C amazon.com $69.99
A-DATA AS510S3-120GM-C amazon.com $114.99
A-DATA ASX900S3-256GM-C amazon.com $199.99
Corsair CSSD-F120GBGT-BK amazon.com $129.99
47
Crucial CT064M4SSD1 amazon.com $79.99
SanDisk SDSSDX-120G-G25 amazon.com $99.99
Kingston SH103S3/120G amazon.com $119.99
LCD Screens
CPT CLAA101WB03* www.laptopscreen.com $79.99
LG Displays LP156WF1-TLB133 www.laptopscreen.com $64.99
AUO B140XW01 V4∆ www.laptopscreen.com $49.99
Touch Overlays
ebay seller multi touch screen overlay 10.1"
PQ Labs 15" multi touch screen (minimum
order of 50)
Miscellaneous Parts
Part Type Manufacturer Part name or number
USB DVD Drive Asus SDRW-08D2S-U
Camera Creative VF0700
USB GPS GlobalSat ND-100S
GlobalSat BU-353
Mini-PCIe GPS and Novatel E371
Cell network modem‡
Wireless carrier's USB AT&T® USBConnect Momentum 4G
modem‡ T-Mobile® Rocket™ 3.0 4G Laptop Stick
33 When I ordered this part, I instead received an AU Optronics B156HW01 screen that the company said was compatible,
however, I have been unsuccessful so far getting it to work with the cable made for the LP156WF1-TLB1
‡ Cellular modems will require a contract with a compatible cellular carrier
48
Verizon® UML295
551L
UML290
Accelerometer/motion ActionXL Wired Motion Controller
controller
49
Appendix E: Sample Layouts and Diagrams
These diagrams are provided for reference purposes and are as accurate as I can make them. However,
most companies will provide more accurate diagrams of their products. I have tried to make all
diagrams to scale, however some will be smaller than actual size to fit on the page. All of the diagrams
sizes and scales may change depending on how they are displayed or printed. PLEASE CHECK THE
MEASUREMENTS before using any of these diagrams to design or build your tablet.
OpenUPS mounting diagram

This diagram is to scale, but may not be the exact size depending on variations in displays and printing.
50
Mini-ITX mounting screw diagram
51
Macbook Pro 15” replacement battery A1150 A1175 cell
52
A BP-HK-LP-10B battery cell
53
A small case for a 10.1” screen. This diagram is to scale but is not actual size.
54
A case for a 15” screen with a bit of extra room. The case should be about 2.36” or 60mm thick, but
can be made thinner if batteries are not stacked under the motherboard. This diagram is to scale but is
not actual size.
55
56

Build Your Own Tablet Manual V1.00

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Build Your Own Tablet Manual V1.00

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Build Your Own Tablet Manual V1.00

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Build Your Own Tablet

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

Ben Stottlemyer Olle Jonsson

1 Usually measured in gigahertz (GHz) and number of cores and threads

4 SDR or Single Data Rate has mostly fallen out of use

HDDs have speeds listed as RPM, along with their

The connections on your motherboard will determine what kind

Illustration 7: A custom prototype LVDS

One of the most common and cheapest technologies used in touch

Capacitive touch screens detect capacitive objects, such as

Batteries are rated on their voltage,11 their capacity in amp-hours (Ah or

To determine how many and what size of batteries your tablet

For my sample tablet, I used the OpenUPS from

My sample tablet uses Windows® 8 Pro.

Your mold can be made from a hardening clay, such as Sculpey®,

Illustration 20: Mold with one

Illustration 22: The section for the back

Illustration 25: An edge with air

Illustration 27: A finished case ready for parts to be installed.

16 Start with nothing and add material to build the case

A more complete list of parts is included in the appendix of this manual.

First, start by installing the core pieces

Illustration 31: CPU

21 Do NOT touch the contacts on the motherboard or CPU

Illustration 34: Thermal

Illustration 37: Installed Intel® Thermal Solution

Illustration 39: Pay attention

Illustration 40: Make sure the

Illustration 41: Finally,

23 Full size vs half size if these options are present

Illustration 46: LVDS (top) and eDP(bottom)

Illustration 50: The end Illustration 49: The

Illustration 56: The SATA

For most configurations, you are going to

The board will also be connected to the power

An alternative to soldering is to use wire crimp connectors and a crimping tool.

Illustration 68: A male (right) and female (left) disconnect.

Double check all of your electrical connections to make sure

Illustration 72: A nut epoxied into the corner

Screen and Touch Sensor

Power Supply, Batteries and Controller

Case and Layout

Part Model Make Cost

Part Model Make Cost

Battery Controller OpenUPS Mini-Box.com $119.00

Part Model Make Cost

Part Model Make Cost

Touch screen overlays32

Other Custom Parts

* Part tested and used in sample build

∆ Part listed as compatible with motherboard DQ77KB

* Part tested and used in sample build

Storage Device (SSD)

OpenUPS mounting diagram

You might also like