What to do with old screen when/if touchscreen replacement comes out?

Framework Laptop 13
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So I don’t need to start another thread on adding a touchscreen replacement option for the current non-touch panel the laptop ships with. It is probably coming when Frameworks gains more financial stability, along with bringing in more staff.

I’ll get the touchscreen part “replacement” when it comes out, but I am curious if Framework would want to capitalize on the opportunity to re-purpose the old screens by either having users send them back to be mounted in a slim enclosure to be used as a portable monitor, or even selling the enclosure as a new product for users to build themselves. If possible, have it get both power and data off of a single USB-C connection to the laptop, or maybe give it 1-3 additional expansion slots for use as a hub that is still compatible with the framework expansion card system.

Again, I understand that the possibility of future products years from now hinges on how Framework does in the next year or so. its just an interesting idea that may align with Framework’s MO of being more than just a company making high-quality yet user-serviceable laptops built to last.

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It would be nice to re-purpose them. Although I would probably keep mine as a backup. I had an old surface tablet that went bad because of the screen. It wasn’t worth fixing. However with the ability to change and swap screens, it would be more economical for me. That tablet is one of the main reasons why I went with Frame.work.

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They’ve also mentioned working out a user marketplace to be able to sell your old parts to other framework owners after you upgrade. Personally I would 3D print a housing for the old screen and use it as a 4th monitor for my desktop

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Seeing as the two screens would likely have exactly the same footprint, it stands to reason that you could actually stack it on top of the laptop , and incorporate a slide-out enclosure for it. That would let you have a portable second display for travel

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Precisely what I was thinking @Frosty!

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It’d be wonderful to have an external enclosure which supports Framework displays.

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There are TV/Monitor PCBs that can be used with laptop screens. Depending on the screen connector there could be some that are compatable. A problem could be the weird aspect ratio of the screen. There are some YouTube videos about this topic.

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The screen is connected to the motherboard or mainboard with an eDP (embedded DisplayPort)

Nirav has already found a cool little usb-c to 40-pin eDP that works fine, recognizing the screen and outputting the right resolution!

(The post can be found here)

If you’re intrigued, the board is available on aliexpress.

It would be cool to see a case designed where the old display is mounted on top of the new one in some jank way with an eDP extension cable because it is rather short. Maybe a way to have the small board integrated in some expansion card?

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@Cheese maybe a usb c female to female adapter, that way you can use different cables.

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@Nexusnui Good idea! Otherwise you’d probably have to solder a 40-pin and that wouldn’t be very fun.

I’m looking into fully USB 4 capable extension cables anyways to use the expansion cards as dongles so I’ll post if one works here when i find one!

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What could be useful for this would be a 3D-printable frame for the thing. Given the size, you might have to do it in pieces on a consumer printer, but could still be nice. You could incorporate a kickstand or VESA mount adapter.