Larptop

Since My last update I have finished a Significant amount of the case except the bottom since i still need to measure and recreate the motherboard so i can make sure it sits well within the final case.

The case is inspired my older IBM thinkpad cases and Ive used the revuing 41 pcb layout for this case but slightly modified I will be using Kailh Deep Sea Silent Mini switches and I’m still looking for nice low profile keycaps.

On the right the two black circles represent left and right click buttons the smaller circle at the bottom is where I want to place a 3ds joystick, the small rectangle is where i want to add a scroll wheel. This strange design is based of my own hand measurements and I designed this to be a more comfortable trackpad substitute. I’m not sure if it will be comfortable but I’m willing to try and i think it would be fun. This part of the build will be controlled by an Arduino pro micro and will be connected to the motherboard via usbc cord, as will the keyboard.

I am currently working on the case’s top panel where the keyboard will rest i found a nice mechanical keyboard pcb design on ergogen and modified it slightly in kicad to fit the low profile switches I wanted to use + mounting holes. I also designed a mounting solution for this keyboard based off flurples mechanical keyboard design. I started working on where and how i would mount the screen and hinges; decided to work with framework 13 hinges since they have readily available cad which makes the process of designing around them significantly easier. I also started working on where i will be mounting the screen this part might take longer than i want because hinge mounts tend to be fragile when designed incorrectly.

Currently building the bottom of my laptop case though i need to restart because i put the mounting holes on the bottom of the case and i want them to be on the top of my case also i am still learning how to use the shell feature on onshape though i think it will be very useful later in this project. Unfortunately the ThinkPad I’m working around is not at my house yet so i couldn’t do much without the proper measurements so my timelapse unfortunately does not have much to show today.

I have been working on saving my old vaio from becoming ewaste by upgrading its ram, ssd and adding a sketchy but surprisingly efficient heatsink to its exterior. Unfortunately i got too ambitious and tried to add an egpu setup to this laptop via mini PCIE dock +adapter but i accidently fried something inside my motherboard so the laptop can only turn on when plugged in, I will now be turning it into a slabtop and give it to my sister once i finish because she does not have a desktop.