Hacking an old laptop into a 3D projector

by naimo

If you have an old laptop lying around, and are looking for a DIY adventure, this might be the place for you. I'm going to describe how you can go about building your very own 3D projector It's not for the faint of heart, and I can't possibly get into every bit of detail, but I'll try to link all the resources you will need.

It all starts on DIY projector forums, such as !umenlab "which is now only accessible via the #ayback $achine%, DIYaudio, or if you understand &rench,'llinbo(. )he folks on these forums pioneered the idea of reusing an !*D screen into a high +uality, affordable, videoprojector, by using a very bright lamp as light source and finding the proper optics to make the magic happen )here are already a few instructables "here, here, and here% based on these designs, and other e(ternal resources "here, here and here%, so I'm not going to spend too much time on the technical aspects of building a regular ,D DIY projector. -ome companies are even selling kits based on those ideas. ' DIY projector is a challenge in itself, but if you're really motivated, you can go one step beyond, and make it 3D ' first idea is to use two projectors, commercial or DIY ones, place some polari.ing filters in front of their objectives, and align the images on the screen so that they overlap. )his has also been proposed in previous instructables, in some forums and other blogs. /owever if you have only one !*D screen, you can still pull it off, with a little trick.

Step 1: The trick

)he trick is to consider the two halves of your !*D screen as two separate screens, that you need to project using separate optics. In my case, I decided to rotate my 01.23 !*D screen so that the height is the longest dimension, and consider the top and bottom halves as separate screens. It is then possible to cut the &resnel lenses and place the objective lenses such that the projected images are superimposed on the projection screen. It's relatively basic geometry and linear optics 4 first calculate the throw of your projector and the si.e of your projected image using the same e+uations as for any ,D DIY projector, then determine the position of the center of the objective lenses "triplet lenses% that will offset the two projected images so that they overlap as in the pictures I uploaded. )he values shown in the images correspond to my 01.23 !*D screen, my 335mm focal fresnel lenses and 3,6mm focal objective lenses. /owever, the dimensions of the bo( and relative position of the different optics depend on the dimensions and specifications of the elements you have, so don't just reuse those values, you'll have to recalculate them. I have a little script on my website "it needs the $athematica plugin, sorry%, which allows you to play with different parameters and see how it changes the dimensions of the bo( and the relative positions of the optics.

Step 2: Material needed

/ere's what you'll need for this project Your old laptop, with a decent +uality "color % !*D screen, its power supply #ood panels "plywood, $D&% !amp and its power supply "metal halide, !7D, your call% 4 good color and intensity are the main re+uirements &resnel lenses, one on the lamp side, two on the projection side 4 make sure to get them in the right si.e and with the right focal length )wo triplet "projection% lenses 4 get the right focal length depending on you projection throw and image si.e 8eflector and condenser lens 4 to increase the light intensity and homogeneity !e(an sheet to protect the optics from the heat of the lamp *ables, switches, connectors )wo or more computer fans and a matching power supply &ilters 4 half wave plates and linear polari.ing films 'luminum and wood scraps, fasteners for mounting the different elements #ood finish "oil, varnish...% ' projection screen compatible with passive 3D "like a Dalite -ilverlight%

Step 3: Building the box, mounting the len e

'fter selecting your optics "fresnel lenses, triplets%, based on the si.e of your !*D screen, your projection length and screen si.e, you should have a good idea of the dimensions of your bo(. I built mine in 09,3 plywood for the side panels, and 3923 $D& for the front and back. *ut and mount your &resnel lenses inside the bo( at the right position. I cut mine at the same width of the bo(, to be able to just slide them in with proper guides made of wood scraps. :pen apertures in the front panel of your bo(, and mount your projection lenses. It's good to leave some room to adjust their position at the end, to correct for miscalculations and inaccuracies in the fabrication. &or that purpose, I allowed the small panels that hold my triplets to move up and down thanks to knobs that I can tighten manually.

Step !: "#D tripping $ mounting

)ake the !*D screen out of the laptop. ;ery carefully, strip the !*D screen so that you are left with only the <*= and the !*D sandwich itself. *heck this !ifehacker link, or this engadget link for more information on how to strip a !*D screen. $ount your !*D screen in between the fresnel lenses. )here are many great ways to do this in the ,D projector resources I mentioned. I once again used some wood scraps, cut in the right shape, to maintain my !*D screen. #ith the fresnel lenses and !*D in place, you know have two separated compartments in your bo(. )he lamp is in the back compartment, so I suggest you place all your electronics "laptop, power supplies% in the front one so that they don't suffer from the heat of the lamp. /owever, make sure that the electronics are not in the way of the light

Step %: &abricating the lightbox

)he lightbo( is one of the crucial elements of any DIY projector. :nce again the resources I mentioned on ,D projectors will help you design it based on the type of lamp, the reflector and the condenser lens. 'fter making a +uick 3D model of it, I built mine in 0923 aluminum sheet, cut using a waterjet. It holds the lamp socket, the I>7' bowl that I use as reflector and my ?mm diameter condenser lens. 't this point, a good sanity check is to verify that you obtain two images of your lamp by your set of lenses, which are roughly focused at the location of your triplet lenses. )his will tell you if your fresnel lenses are well cut and positioned. You can see that I mounted two fans at the back of the bo(, which e(tract the heat produced by the lamp. )he air enters through an aperture on the side of the bo(, flows in between the !*D screen and the fresnel &0 to cool these elements first, before entering the back compartment of the bo(. *ooling is a crucial part of any DIY projector using anything else than an !7D lamp.

Step ': Te ting the projection

:nce the lamp, lenses, !*D and laptop are in place, it's time to test the projection.

&irst, determine the throw by obtaining the best focus of your image on the screen. You should be able to see the pi(els of your !*D screen since they are now magnified. :n the software side, regular 3D video streams have to be edited so that the images corresponding to the right and left eyes are displayed on the two halves of the !*D screen "consider it as two screens%. ';Isynth is a great utility to do video editing, and in particular to take two video streams and stack them vertically or hori.ontally into one combined video. You can start by making a static test image to be displayed fullscreen on your !*D. I made one with a few rectangles and a letter ' or = in the center, to verify my alignment. If you calculated correctly the position of your lenses, you should be able to obtain, on the screen, a good superposition of the images formed by the top and bottom halves of your !*D. If this works, congratulations, the hardest part is done

Step (: )dding polari*ing +ilter

-o that the image can be watched with regular 3D cinema glasses "like I$'@ 3D%, the light passing through the two objectives has to be polari.ed in perpendicular directions. )he good news is that the light coming out of our good old !*D screens is already polari.ed, so we just need to rotate the polari.ation in two different directions to obtain two images polari.ed perpendicularly. )he ne(t good news is that this is e(actly what a half wave plate does Aust stick two pieces of half wave film before or after your objective lenses, and rotate them around until the light is correctly filtered by your 3D glasses. -ince these half wave films are usually slightly chromatic "they rotate the light differently depending on the color of the light%, it is probably good to add a linear polari.er after the wave plate to filter out any light that is not properly polari.ed. I hope that the uploaded picture makes things clearer. 'nd there you go, all you need is a projection screen compatible with 3<assive 3D projection3 "ie based on polari.ation of the light%, and you'll soon be able to watch your favorite 3D movies at home.

Step ,: &ini hing the box, mounting the electronic

#hen everything is in working condition, it's time to finali.e the bo(. <roperly mount the electronics in the front compartment, where it's cold, secure the cables along the walls so that they don't move in the path of the light. 'dd some switches and electrical connectors to be able to operate the projector without having to open the bo(, and cut out some apertures to have access to the B-= and ;C' ports of the laptop, to make it possible9easier to copy files, start videos, etc

Step -: Taking it all apart, taining the .ood, adding detail

'fter putting so much efforts in building a kickass 3D projector, it would be too bad to leave it unfinished. )ake it all apart Bse some nice wood varnish, or your favorite wood finish and make it pretty. )o decorate the air intake apertures, I cut some small wood pieces and glued them to the panel to make a nice looking ventilation grille which prevents light from coming out. I also added some hinges to be able to open the top panel more easily.

Step 1/: 0utting it back together 1

/ere you go ' functioning 3D projector built from a hacked laptop. I know that I am missing a lot of details. /owever most of them are not specific to my 3D version of a DIY projector, and can be found elsewhere in the links that I provided. &or the 3DDrelated details, I'll try to add some over time and keep updating this instructable, and I'll be glad to answer any +uestions in the comments. In the meantime, I wanted to put this project out there, hoping that it will be of interest to some DIYers in +uest of a challenge

graham641 says4, hours ago8eply

'n e(cellent instructible. *lear writing, good photos and really clever application.

1,

andrea biffi says46 hours ago8eply

:h my gosh, that's a huge project

CaptainPointless says4E hours ago8eply

I've been a member of !umenlabs "before they shut down% for a long time, and never have seen anything +uite like this. It seems your process is straightforward, the end product is attractive, and the end goal has been met. ' few +uestions though. &irst, I'm guessing that the laptop you used is a 0,E5(6FE or 0,E5(E55 resolution DD is this correctG If so, I'm wondering if you're running an interpolated resolution to match the source resolution "meaning 05E5p96,5p interpolated%, or if you are simply running the screen with both images set to the native resolution "meaning 6FE(F25 or E55(F25%G 'lso, what software packages are you utili.ing in this build to produce your imagesG /ow would having a slightly newer model laptop affect the +uality "is there any noticeable lag since the processor now has to generate two separate, tandem images%G #ould you recommend jumping up to a wu(ga screen to bring the resolution upG :r would the cost differential be too great to be feasibleG -orry, I know it's alot of +uestions, but I'm seriously considering utili.ing your basic design DD as I said, I've been a long time member of !umen!ab and DIY'udio, and I've been waiting for a project such as this. )hanks in advance

iamchrismoran says40, hours ago8eply

#hat a great idea. Civen ownership of a pree(isting laptop, what might this project costG /ow crisp is the projected imageG $ost of the projects I've seen "here and about% for even just a ,d laptop projector generally have blurry pictures.

26

audreyobscura says4yesterday8eply

-o cool Hice build too )hank you so much for sharing this, it was helpful to learn about the polari.ation of images