Making a hole in a flat panel display (literally)

I posted this initially to one of the other newsgroups, and someone kindly
suggested that this was probably a better forum...

This will sound very strange, I know, but I need to be able to display
images in a situation where the display surrounds a tube about 8mm in
diameter. Constructions with back-projection and so forth are probably
possible, but I wondered about using a flat panel display. Unfortunately, I
don't know enough about the construction of flat panel displays to answer my
own question which is ...

Can one bore a hole (laser cutter, diamond drill or anything else) through a
flat panel display and still have the intact part of the display working ...
or will the hole destroy the electrical connections to other parts of the
screen?

Cheers,

 

This was a totally UNBELIEVABLE question until I saw the dot.au-LOL.

 

With a standard display, this won't work. While it should be possible
to design a display with a hole in the middle, I suspect the cost would
be prohibitive for low-volume use.

I would think about using a projected display, as you mentioned,
probably with two sources, one on each side of the tube, possibly with a
vane to confine each source to the proper display area.

Thad

 

Basic answer. No.
It depends on the sort of display you have in mind. Normal LCD's (as opposed
to TFT etc.), can be bought in custom shapes quite cheaply, even for fairly
small runs. With these, the shaped areas for the display, can be printed to
go round holes etc.. These allow good contrast ranges (depending on the
technology chosen), but normally fairly slow update rates, and a limited
number of actual 'segments'. The graphic displays used on laptops etc., all
use some form of 'matrix' scanning, to keep the number of connections down.
Hence a hole in these, will destroy the matrix connections in all the
columns and rows crossed.

Best Wishes

 

Unbelievable question!!! YOU WILL DESTROY IT!

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
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I posted this initially to one of the other newsgroups, and someone kindly
suggested that this was probably a better forum...

This will sound very strange, I know, but I need to be able to display
images in a situation where the display surrounds a tube about 8mm in
diameter. Constructions with back-projection and so forth are probably
possible, but I wondered about using a flat panel display. Unfortunately, I
don't know enough about the construction of flat panel displays to answer my
own question which is ...

Can one bore a hole (laser cutter, diamond drill or anything else) through a
flat panel display and still have the intact part of the display working ...
or will the hole destroy the electrical connections to other parts of the
screen?

Cheers,

 

That would depend entirely on how the particular panel being used was
wired. As a general-purpose answer, I would say "no, can't be done".

Good luck trying to get the people who make the things to tell you what
the "guts" of the panel looks like. Most outfits who do this sort of
manufacturing are *VERY* secretive about stuff like that, so the best
answer you're likely to get is "That's proprietary information."

It *MAY* be possible to get a panel custom-built with a hole in the
middle, but you can bet it'll cost you dearly.

Out of curiousity, why do you want a rod sticking out of the display???
That's the part I can't figure out...

 

NO

Put a glass/plastic window in front with hole/rod mounted to it

 

Besides there is a problem with the liquid between the glass plates - it
will flow out, go bad, or whatever.

And the cutting will likely change the distance between the plates. That
distance is very small, but the display is quite sensitive to it (try
pushing one gently).


Thomas

 

Can one bore a hole (laser cutter, diamond drill or anything else) through
a

Well, I HAVE seen laptops that had part of the display experience some
trauma, so that a chunk of it didn't work. The rest of the screen looked
fine. So, I guess you could try it.

However, look at this from a cost-analysis point of view. Assuming the
display you're talking about isn't large, you can get cheap LCD projectors
these days for about twice the price of an LCD screen. You could go ahead
and use the projector and frosted glass, you know it'll work. Or, you could
try an LCD first: either you win and the project costs 50% of the projector
solution, or you lose and the project costs 150% of the projector solution
because you'll have to buy the projector anyway. Odds are high that you will
lose, so you should take the sure thing and save your money.

Would a projection TV fit your application? The screen is nothing more than
a piece of plastic which could easily be drilled through. Though I wouldn't
guess as to the shadows cast internally.

 

yes

and still have the intact part of the display working ...

no

You'll also destroy some of the mechanics, physics, chemics and (maybe)
more.

petrus

 

[snip...snip...]

As a gauge cluster around a steering wheel for a driving simulator?
Mount it all in a Formula One style cowling, add pedals and BIG speakers
(or at least a good woofer).

The graphics would be pretty easy to handle as a single XVGA display
panel. Using something like 1/4 VGA embedded-style displays positioned
around the shaft would work but would require a bit more work for the
display controllers.

(Follow-ups set to s.e.b)

 

<snip>

I can't see a steering wheel (in a simulator or otherwise) being mounted
on an 8mm rod.

(Follow-up un-set. Not everybody reads the same selection of newsgroups
you do, Rich. Some of us operate on servers that have never even heard
of some of the newsgroups you take for granted, and don't appreciate it
even a little when a cross-posted thread we're following "vanishes" into
some other newsgroup we can't see, let alone read, due to somebody else
trying to play net-cop and redirecting it elsewhere.)

 

You coldn't just attach the tube with an adhesive?

Mac

 

Why?
There may be other options.

 

I've seen watches with mechanical hands, with the seconds displayed
on the background, in large digits. Hole in the lcd. Not the same
as drilling a hole in a graphical matrix lcd, of course.

Here are a few:

http://www.watchzone.com/cgi-bin/watchzone.storefront/400c43a5000fa0e627430a8012520640/Catalog/1911

 

The first thing that came to my mind, given an 8mm tube, is some
kind of elaborate squirting flower style practical joke. I guess
that shows something about the state of my mind.

 

The first thing that came to my mind, given an 8mm tube, is some
kind of elaborate squirting flower style practical joke. I guess
that shows something about the state of my mind.[/QUOTE]

I thought of a video game that would automatically shoot the loser in
the head with a 0.22 hollow point slug.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

I thought of some kind of meter with a programmable face. Mount it in your
car, and you can tell the officer "But sir, I wasn't going a hair over
eggplant! Maybe as high as dodecahedron to pass a truck, but never as high
as pelican!" And the fuel gauge goes from Britney Spears to Stephen Hawking.

 

I don't know how much this is legal boiler-plate, but service manuals
for laptops and the like are very clear about not getting the liquid
crystal on you if damage makes it leak out.
Another good reason not to drill holes in it!

Does anyone know what class of nastyness the LC belongs to?

Alex