Tablet Touch Screen Idea

[Stephen_Becht]

I was looking into trying to make a Tablet out of my Framework laptop for fun.
I recently got a 3D printer and saw someone else did a tablet idea.

Framework Tablet Project

i got an idea for a fun project. im going to take the mainboard for a framework laptop and make a tablet. i originally thought it could be done by removing the display, and putting a touch display were the keyboard/trackpad are currently. that might serve as a prototype, but i think it would be fun to try and make an even smaller one. i dont think this is a good idea, but rather a fun one. as for how useful this device might be… this would outperform MOST apple ipads in terms of raw performanc…

The only thing I wanted to change is instead of using a Travel USB-C Touch Screen I was wondering if anyone knows of a compatible touch screen that would connect to the eDP connector on the main board. That way the tablet can be thinner and probably more power efficient.

Most threads I have found have been people asking about a display that would fit in the laptop and those threads usually go nowhere. The display size really doesn’t matter to me as long as it will connect and touch works.

Thank you in advance!

[MJ1]

@Stephen_Becht

I was wondering if anyone knows of a compatible touch screen that would connect to the eDP connector on the main board.

Short answer, there might be none, unfortunately.

Loner answer, the display options are limited. Besides being a suitible size you would need a touchscreen that uses USB for the touch and has it on a separate connector, because:

@MJ1

@Gmanny

I’ve heard somewhere on the forums here that FW16 is capable of supporting the touchscreen digitizer if ever Framework or community make one.

Yes. The FWL16 and FWL13 both have touchscreen pins on the motherboard display connector. Both i2c and usb.

But using those touchscreen pins yourself would be rather hard currently. Trouble is that there isn’t a standard for motherboard-side display connectors. So only the FW cable is compatable with the motherboard-side. But since the current screen isn’t touch, the display-side of the cable doesn’t have touch pins, there is no place for them on the non-touch connector. And I understand custom cables are prohibitively expensive for individuals to have made. So we effectively can’t access those motherboard-side touchscreen pins at a reasonable price. Someone could maybe find a touchscreen which uses usb for touch and feed it with usb from elsewhere.

But if luck is very good, there just might be a good quality easily available screen that meets those requirements. If you do find one, please post. A lot of people would love to get a touchscreen that can use the mainboard eDP connector.