Rostock Max v2 tablet mod

[stevewm]

Since upgrading my v2 to a Duet Wifi I had really been missing having a display on the front of the printer. So I decided to do something about it! However I really didn't want to pay ~$100 for the PanelDue, and I also don't really care for the PanelDue interface.

So, I decided to take a cheap 7" Amazon Fire tablet I got for $20 from a friend and mount it to the front of my printer! This way I could have the full Duet web interface.

I started by using the original 20x4 display mount and removing the display assembly from it. I took the back of the Fire tablet off, and put a few screws through it into the front of the old display mount. (the below picture is an earlier test fit, which is why the USB cable is still visible). The Fire tablet is really, really easy to take apart. You can get the back off by just running your fingernail around the edge.




I then decided I didn't want a USB cable hanging out the side. So I took the back off the tablet off again and found some conveniently labeled test points for the USB port. Soldered some wires on and ran them out a hole drilled in the back of the tablet case.




Crimped on a 2 pin locking connector and wired it to the +5V Standby power rail from my printer's ATX power supply. This way the tablet is always powered, even if the printer is off.




It works!




The final result



I am really happy with how it came out. I ended up using a kiosk browser app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... erov.fully). to get a full screen browser. Only setting I had to tweak was the "font size" setting in the browser app. Bumped to up to 140. This made the Duet web interface fit the tablet screen perfectly.

[dc42]

Nice!

[DeltaCon]

Yes, that really is nice!
Would be even nicer when the webinterface got a bit more touch-friendly. I am always afraid to activate something while just scrolling. Adapting the font and zoom factor is a good in-between solution

[stevewm]

The only buttons I have a issue with are the macro buttons. They are not quite tall enough. I think I might dig into the CSS tonight and make them a tad taller. Everything else is a good size and in general easy to operate via touch.

Initially the screen elements where correctly sized, but the font was tiny. So I forced up the font size to 140. This made the text actually fit the screen elements correctly. Pretty sure the browser app I am using is the cause of that particular problem. As Chrome Android doesn't have that problem.

I didn't have to play with the zoom factor at all. The webinterface is responsive; it appears to correct for screen size.

[TwoTone]

I know this is an old thread. Quick question are you able to have the print files on an SD that's inserted in the the Fire Tablet?

[stevewm]

Just happen to come by this thread again and seen a reply!

The tablet is just displaying the Duet web interface. You would still have to go to the Gcode Files tab and upload the file to the Duet proper, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Assuming the browser you are using is capable of uploading a file. I not ever tried it personally myself.

But also just to update on this, the tablet is still working fine. Duet was still the best upgrade I ever did. The old Arduino based controllers just look prehistoric in comparison now.

I have also made some additional modifications. I re-wired the Duet so it is powered from the 5v Standby rail, and also wired the ATX PowerON line to the Duet. So now the Duet itself stays powered all the time, and it can turn the ATX power supply on and off thus controlling the printer's main power.