Lapdesk

[alienware]

So the logistics of this have now been worked out and it's been fully designed.

The Idea.

Right. I live with my fiancee in a 1920s 5 bedroom farm house. We both have Asperger's Syndrome and hate being apart. Due to this I have not got a desk set up to play games and have to use the television and a 360 controller. Now this is fine for games like Tomb Raider and Fallout but it is heavily lacking when it comes to FPS such as Crysis 3. I can't aim using the controller and I keep dying. What makes it even more frustrating is even though we have a 50 inch television I can't see enemies far in the distance because of how far away I have to sit.

Due to this I want something on my lap, but using proper peripherals. The idea was born....

What is lapdesk?

It's a desk you can have on your lap. It's not a laptop stand and it will have a full red blooded computer monitor mounted to it. Weight and physics have been carefully considered, and the over all weight will be around 9 kilos. This is a lot of weight, but it will be countered by a 4" layer of memory foam between it and the user. It will be akin to having a small child on your lap yet the child would be sitting on a cushion and the weight will be spread over a much bigger area meaning it disperses better to maximise comfort.

The materials.

So here we have what will be used for Lapdesk. First up I have a Lenovo 19" monitor. It has a 16:10 resolution, here are the specs.

Max Resolution: 1440 x 900 / 75 Hz
- Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
- Response Time: 5 ms
- Signal Input: DVI-D, VGA

So when I vsync I will get 75hz or 75 FPS which is awesome.

Powering Lapdesk will be my full on desktop filled with powerful hardware. It will use a 10 meter HDMI - DVI cable pictured here.



The keyboard and mouse.

Obviously using a full sized set is out of the question so sacrifices have to be made. I will be using a blue tooth wireless set from an Acer Revo.



Onto the build ideas and design.

First I unpacked the monitor. Here it is with what I'll be using to set it up.



And the back, note the stand is gone.



Then the most important part, weighing the monitor with the VESA mount fitted so I know how much weight I may have to counterbalance.



Then it was time to design a rough draft of it in Photoshop to pass over to a friend of mine who is fluent in Sketchup.



And about ten minutes later.....



Note that right now it has no side parts or anything like that.. This is because I will add those as and when I need to after the unit above has been made. It will also have braces underneath to stop it from flexing.

This is how the monitor will mount onto the block in the design picture.



Allowing full tilt and rotation

You will note how the corner edges near to the user are round? that's because they will have circular mounts on which to attach weights to counter balance the weight of the monitor. I will be ordering some 2kg iron weights like these.



So until next time ...

 

[alpenwasser]

Now this is an awesome idea! Definitely looking forward to how this progresses and turns out. :rock:

On a side note I really like that you've chosen a 16:10 monitor, I much prefer that aspect ratio.

 

[alienware]

I didn't choose 16:10. When I bought it dude I didn't even know what the model number or resolution was.

I can't even remember when it was because I was really sick at the time (mentally) but basically I was taken off of my meds as they were making my blood cell levels go out of whack (and making me feel really sick) so I had a manic spell.

I had a 22" Acer monitor bolted to the end of my bed (tastefully I may add) and during my manic spell I lost signal to my media PC and went mad and punched a hole in the Acer so it was just grab the cheapest monitor I could get my hands on, which was the IBM/Lenovo. I only paid £28 delivered for it, some dude on Ebay had loads of them (office clearout no doubt).

But yeah, I didn't realise just how nice it was until I got it.

The only worry I have is it being back heavy and tipping away from me. Other than that? I can't see why it won't work tbh.

 

[alpenwasser]

I didn't choose 16:10.

16:10 chose you! :lol:

But yeah, I didn't realise just how nice it was until I got it.

Yeah it does look like a very nice monitor from what I can tell.

The only worry I have is it being back heavy and tipping away from me. Other than that? I can't see why it won't work tbh.

Well, you just have to do your statics calculations right. If all else fails, I could even help you
out with that, I was quite good at that in my mechanical engineering studies (we had rather
extensive mechanics lectures, for obvious reasons :lol: ).

 

[alienware]

OK well how much weight do I need at the front to counter balance the 4kg monitor?

The base plate is to be made from 12mm MDF and is going to be 24" wide by around "19-20" deep.

 

[dalewakelin]

That is a genius idea, i look forward to this.

 

[alienware]

Cheers.

I just had a different idea.. I'm thinking about making it so that the sides come right back under my elbows so that when I put them down on it (I'll have no choice) they will counter balance the monitor without needing any weights.

Kind of like how a baby sits in a high chair....

 

[dalewakelin]

If this turns out good, you should patent it. This has inspired me, i might make one too.

 

[alienware]

If this turns out good, you should patent it. This has inspired me, i might make one too.

Haha. The only problem is it literally needs to be tailor made to fit tbh. I've just sat here taking measurements and....



And the curved part literally needs to be made to my width and curve lol.

 

[alpenwasser]

OK well how much weight do I need at the front to counter balance the 4kg monitor?

The base plate is to be made from 12mm MDF and is going to be 24" wide by around "19-20" deep.

Give me an accurate technical sketch and I should be able to work it out. As you may know,
how much weight you have to put on one end of a lever to balance the weight that has been
put on the other end depends on where the lever's anchor point is (and that's more or less the
situation we have here, looking at it sideways).

So if you have this config:

     [weights]------14"-----[anchor point]-----7"-----[4 kg monitor]

 |
 |  gravity
 V

You'll need 2 kg of weights to keep the whole thing in equilibrium (if I haven't overlooked
anything, I'm admittedly a bit rusty :lol: ).

The tricky part about the calculations would probably be the anchor point. As far as I can
tell you won't really have one but instead the entire config's weight will be distributed over
an area (which means you'd have to figure out where the anchor point corresponding to an
equivalent configuration would be).

In the end it might be faster for you to just do it with trial and error than first drawing a
sketch and then have me do the calculations, all the while having to guess where the
anchor point more or less might be situated. :lol:

Nonetheless, ballpark numbers should be possible without fully knowing where the anchor
point is. God, I really miss mechanics.

 

[alienware]

I think the elbow part idea I had above will keep it in check. Plus it will be far deeper making it harder for the monitor to pull over.

Fact is once I slide it into my tummy my elbows will have nowhere else to go apart from onto the back planes which will keep it from tipping. I'll probably put some memory foam or something onto them to make it more comfy

Edit. Plus that's not taking into account the tops of my thighs and my knees which will spread the weight load.

 

[Snortan]

This is quite a neat idea! Consider me subscribed .

 

[alienware]

Cheers Snortan.

Well after sitting here with the tape measure and getting some really odd looks from my fiancee I have most of the dimensions worked out. All of the important ones any way.. If any one was thinking about taking this on then I will list out what measurements mean what..



24" is the total width of Lapdesk. This is because I have to buy my MDF in 1/4s (due to having a mini) but this works out OK for me. NB - I'm a 36" waist, not that it should matter.

The elbow rests are 4" wide each.

13" is the distance from my stomach to the back of the sofa allowing for the curvature of my spine and the way I sit (slumped). This will make sure that my elbows will always be on the elbow rests keeping Lapdesk counter balanced from tipping backward.

My torso, at lap distance is 16" wide. Well actually it's about 14.5" but I've left some room for weight gain :lol:

From the very back of the elbow rests of Lapdesk to the monitor mounting block is 27". I will probably leave 3" of material behind the monitor block but I haven't decided yet. This dimension will probably come when I am marking up. However that sounds about good, so 30" deep it is. This leaves me 18" x 24" of MDF for making supports and the monitor mounting block.

The monitor mounting plate that will go onto the block is 4" by 3" (the bottom of the VESA mount) and so I am making the block flush. I *may* get a solid piece of oak or pine in the right size or I may just make a box section myself out of MDF. This will depend on what offcuts I can find at the hardware store on the day. Obviously a solid block gives more material to screw into.

I do not know the angles or lengths of the side cut offs yet. Again, I want it on my lap and the keyboard and mouse down before I decide. It will, however, definitely use that pattern as my hands naturally go inward for typing. There's no need having all that material there.

*Cup holders, pencil holders etc are optional, but I will definitely be getting creative with my hole saw. In fact, I may even make the monitor block out of circles of sandwiched MDF cut with my holesaw.

To be continued.......

 

[alienware]

Sketchup



Though not very accurate...

 

[sheroo]

Nice idea. Have you thought about attaching the monitor to a normal table with rollers - so that you can just bring it to you?

This looks promising - http://woodgears.ca/laptop_table/build.html but obviously attach your monitor to it?

 

[alienware]

Nice idea. Have you thought about attaching the monitor to a normal table with rollers - so that you can just bring it to you?

This looks promising - http://woodgears.ca/laptop_table/build.html but obviously attach your monitor to it?

Our sofa is about 1" off the ground so it wouldn't go under it mate. I did already think about that but yeah, our sofa is very low to the ground.

I decided to buy a brand new keyboard and mouse for the project after noticing the Acer Revo kit was in pretty bad shape. I got the red and white one



I just looked up the Alienware M18x and it weighs 5.44 kg. That's about what Lapdesk should weigh

 

[alienware]

Some work done. It's rather boring but this part plays an integral role in Lapdesk.

So I went and had a dig around in the out buildings and managed to find a lovely bit of pine. Even better, the width was what was perfect for the height it needed to be so I would only have to make a few cuts.

Lots of sawing, sanding, screwing and gluing later...



It will need some filler, good old natural wood Here's the other side where the countersunk screws live. I don't have any filler yet I will pick that up when I go out to get the sheet material.



And it was time to screw down the plate to make sure it was the right size.



Looks about spot on that ! And finally it was on to slotting it in and seeing if my calculations were correct..



Absolutely spot on