German Afternoons: Digital Picture Frame, part deux.

I really got into this project last night, so I had to finish it today as soon as I got the chance. I got up to Grandpa's Garage this morning as early as I could to make the hardware needed to attach the laptop to the frame, and the frame to the wall.

I found 2 thin pieces of mild steel that were just the right size for my project. For some reason, this ALWAYS happens in Grandpa's Garage. First, I had to determine how the laptop should be oriented to best fit the frame opening. Since the screen is centered in the right/left direction on the laptop, it is easy to center the laptop screen in the frame opening. However, the screen is NOT centered in the up/down direction... which you can see in this picture from last night.

If you remember from part one, the dimensions of the screen are about 8x10.5" and the frame opening is about 8x10" so alignment in the left/right direction isn't as critical as alignment in the up/down direction.

So, I had to figure out the up/down orientation of the laptop, and then make sure that I could easily remove/install the laptop and still have everything lined up. So, once I got the laptop just where I wanted it, I cut two small blocks of wood that will friction fit the laptop into the frame. You can see the blocks in the picture below.

With the vertical orientation secured, I set out to make the brackets, which would serve 3 functions:
1. Firmly attach the laptop to the frame.

2. Provide a place to hang the frame.

3. Provide accurate left/right alignment for the laptop screen.

You can see(barely) the brackets I made in the picture below.

The bottom bracket in the picture is used only for holding the laptop securely to the frame. The top bracket actually sticks out about 1/4" from the laptop, and is used only to provide a support for hanging the frame. I could have made some 1/4" spacers to go between the bracket and the laptop to provide more holding force between the frame and laptop, but the lower bracket seems to be strong enough on its own.

I painted the brackets with a Rustolem Flat Black Textured paint. I like the look alot... it makes it look like someone knew what they were doing. Finally, I used a small cable staple in the middle-bottom of the frame to hold the power cord, provide some strain relief, and make the cord descend from the center of the frame. Without this, gravity would likely eventually unplug the power from the computer. As you can see from the picture above, the battery is removed from the "bottom" of the laptop. This was done because it was no good anymore, and the less weight you have hanging on the wall, the better.

Here is a picture of the finished product, hanging on the wall.