Hey Folks
Background / PresentationMy name is Jörgen Nilsson, and I'm a 27years old Industrial Design student @ Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.
And what I will present here in this tread is my Wacom Intous 3/Cintiq 14" build.
I have previously never used a Cintiq, although Im quite familiar with the Bamboo.
I have two of those, one
Bamboo tablet (MTE-450/K2-EN), which I lost the pen.. So I bought a new one, this time the
Bamboo Pen Tablet (CTL-460-EN), witch I find a much lesser product due to the matter of in-built USB connection cable, and the lack of controller buttons on the board itself. The fact that the new pen didn´t work with my old Bamboo made me evenly more angry with my new purchase.
One week after arrival my girlfriend found the old pen under the sofa in our living room, "fck it, I'll keep the new one, just in case". Said and done, It went back into its original packaging and it hasn't left my closet since..
Anyways, I have never tested a real Cintiq, the 12" cost about 1570:- USD and the 21" 3140:- USD here in Sweden.. So I have been googeling different solutions for "on screen drawing/sketching". Found a few things that caught my interest fore a while..
SISO Tablo Pen-Transform your laptop to Tablet TL-01B1 "transform your screen to a sketchpad" .. neeeow.. next opition..
kept on Googleing, found noting.. came back a few times to the SISO Tablo Pen, watched a few youtube clips, but restrained myself..
Then one day on a Swedish tech/gadget/photo/gaming site there was a headline with a link to a guy who transformed his old Apple into a iPad, and some how I stumbled into
http://tabletmod.com/ and then Bongofish and the forum.
The BuildIn November 2010 I found a
Wacom Intuos3 A5 Wide (PTZ-631W) on a Swedish buy/sell site, I bought it for 188:- USD, tablet in great shape, put the pen was missing nib and the index finger button. Anyways, great price, and I had nibs from my two other tablets.
The A5 Wide have an active area @ 271 x 159 mm
So I was looking to build a 12" Cintiq replica, although I couldn´t find a good screen (price/resolution/controller). So I figured, "whatta heck", I´ll just order a 14" Screen and then via my graphic card settings I'll scale down the desktop area on the "too large 14" screen, down to fit the active area av the 12" A5 Wide tablet.
So I ordered all the parts, after researching what screen to use, I found a
HP dv2000 14.1" LCD WXGA and the
R.RM5251C LCD Controller Board
,
The Screen size is 12" X 7.4" WXGA,1280 X 800
(thats 304,8mm x 188mm, plus the frame about 8-9mm allaround)
Screen was bought on E-Bay 74:- USD, +shipping 32:- USD, Seller on E-Bay:
laptopaid The Controller 28.99:- USD +Shipping 9.99:- Usd, Seller on E-Bay:
njytouchPart by part arrived to my mailbox, cant remember the shipping/deliverance time, some what in between 10d days to forever.
And tadaa!

But could I resize the desktop?!
NOOOO!!!
FAIL! The Screen was to wide for my active area, and there was no way to manipulate it to make it smaller, this can only (apparently) be done if you are using the DVI cable, I am forced to use the VGA, since I only have HDMI + VGA on my laptop. I bought and tried with a HDMI 2 DVI converter plug, but no success.
The build went on ice for a few hours, (the physical construction that was, the mental kept on).
So, I had to pay up and find a better suited screen, money down the drain, or get a new tablet.
A few hours later I found, on the same site that I found my A5 Wide, a guy selling his Intuos3 A4 PTZ-930G for 550:- USD, since he needed a smaller tablet.
YEAAAAH!!!!! So I emailed him offering to trade my smaller A5 wide against his "waay to big" A4.
DONE! He agreed to the trade and I just had to pay for my shipping, he payed his part himself.
bye bye A5W

I got my new A4 Tablet and the build was on!
Now I seem to have a lack of images to describe the series of events.
But I read here on the forum on who to dismantle the Tablet, no hazel there, just some tape and a few screws.
I won't explain on how I did, others already have described it better.
But I put down my LCD screen on the tablet´s active area and fitted it in. The plan was to put it inside/underneath the original gray plastic cover.
So I took my mini dremmel, as so many other brave men have done, and cut my tablet to pieces.
During the time with the tablet apart I had some kittens, one of them destroyed the right "touch area"'s cable, no probs, I´m right handed and NEVER uses the buttons on the right side, it slows me down may more than it helps. So fine, I´ll just use my left one.
I tested the Screen out with some transparent Acrylic sheet over the screen for a few days.
None of the tricks with Acetone or own cleaner worked out in stripping the paint. Not until I found some thinner that just washed the paint away! (along with a few brain cells), and without a garage and -25C I could´n do it outside, the Lady wheren't too impressed with my actions that evening.
Although I suspect I used a bit too much, for a bit too long on some areas of the cover.
There are some areas that are kinda dull, none of them over the screen though...
So a
warning on over-usage is in place!
I constructed a aluminum sheet mount on the back of the tabled in witch I mounted the Controller card and the Inverterboard. The cable that connects the controller card whit the Inverter I had to extend myself with about 20cm, piece of cake..

Hello 14" Cintiq!!

After mapping the screen and tablet together I knew where to mask the now transparent plastic cover so I could paint it.
I had some (boring I now feel) black Acryllic paint which I painted the inside of the plastic with.
And As you see to better fit the Screen I dumped the left side touch area as well.
I used it for a while, but I found its irradical behavior annoying. I can easily use the buttons and pen to zoom in and out in Photoshop anyway..


Thats it for tonight...
I´ll continue tomorrow..