optical bonding for sale?

bramlet · 10-12-2009, 06:40 PM

http://www.sunlightlcd.com/sunlight-...-displays.html

does anybody know what they will tell me when I call the number...I'm just trying to get a reasonably priced transflective monitor to fit a double din. I was hoping to get it for less than $300 even if I have to do the work myself. Otherwise its going to have to be a eby701 for me. Even that is months away with my budget. I've got more time than money.

bratnetwork · 10-12-2009, 07:23 PM

umm.... why don't you just call them?

bramlet · 10-15-2009, 06:50 PM

can I borrow your phone then? I just thought maybe somebody on here already knew just what these guys are offering.

hithere · 10-16-2009, 10:15 AM

bramlet, I've contacted several firms in regards to sampling adhesives for optical bonding as well as performing optical bonding on a small order size (say, < 10) basis. Most companies such as this are acting as equipment integrators for large firms or vendors and either a) charge 2-3 times as much as it would cost to purchase a transflective monitor outright just to produce a prototype/sample, with more reasonable pricing similar to what you've seen already for conversions to transflective for follow-on orders or b) aren't interested in talking to you unless you are working in the 100's or 1000's of orders range.

As an engineer, I'm kinda used to dealing with people like this at work, but when I have my engineer hat on, I represent a large company interested in 100's or 1000's of orders...meaning they'll send a sales/technical rep on request, buy me lunch every other wednesday, etc. For most of the outfits I deal with on a day to day basis, I'd say that if I were to contact them as Joe Hobbyist looking for help with his single order, they'd quickly refer me to the dial tone. I'm not saying not to contact these folks, by all means, do so as there's a small chance you could stumble onto a smaller outfit that takes orders on a case-by-case basis. If you decide to make the call, use some professionalism, don't try to pass yourself off as something you're not, and describe what you want to do clearly (you want to ship a display to them and have them optically bond the resistive touch screen to the LCD and send it back to you).

For myself, I've been pursuing samples of optical bonding adhesives for my own DIY experimentation, and will report back if I find anything usable for what we're looking for. The dangers of DIY for this include dust contamination of the display during the bond, improper matching of refractive indices between LCD/adhesive/touch screen components whose specs may be unclear (no pun intended), improper curing of the bond, shifting or warping in the bond, damage to the components, etc. I've got a 3-year-old display I'm willing to monkey with, but I don't suggest doing anything of the kind unless you are at least somewhat knowledgeable of the procedure and willing to do research and throw time at something that may ruin the equipment in question.

bramlet · 10-16-2009, 11:02 AM

I'm also really interested in those DIY optical bonding adhesives, so do you have a thread already to show what you are working on. I'm sure a lot of folks would be interested. Or any links so I can study more about this process.

hithere · 10-16-2009, 11:22 AM

In fact, I'm waiting on a call back later today from a firm in PA that does these types of adhesives.

The only reason I haven't posted as such is that I don't really want them deluged with calls asking for free samples of the same thing, at least before I have tested it and can suggest as to point of contact, etc....also, I don't want to step on any of our mp3car benefactor's toes with regards to pricing offers and such on the off chance that it does work....I believe the right thing to do would be to do my experimentation, and should I stumble on something that is doable cheaply and provides significant upgrade, suggest it to mp3Car as something they could pursue large-order pricing on and provide services for via their own shop....that way, they could have their chance to evaluate it for themselves, and get first crack at providing it, having the ability to take some of the guesswork out for people interested in the upgrade but not interested in dis-assembly and possible destruction of their monitors. Should it prove inferior to their current offerings for some reason (and it will, at least in the sense that it isn't a full transflective upgrade, just the slight possibility of improvement), I would probably throw it out there as something for the more DIY-minded folks.

In other words, if it looks great and is doable at a low cost, I'd like to see mp3car be able to offer it as a service alongside the risky DIY approach. If it does a sorta-kinda upgrade like the DIY 3m films, I'd probably go ahead and post specific instructions/experiences for the DIY-minded. If it doesn't work (which is as least as likely as not), I'd just throw out a "don't try this at home" warning message.

bramlet · 10-16-2009, 11:41 AM

excellent, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

trader007 · 10-16-2009, 12:05 PM

mp3car.com seems very aware they run an discussion forum along side their store, and they really never have a problem with people discovering new products. reason being they seem to want to always have the best performance/value parts in their store, so if someone does find a better solution to what they have they will add it. i think much of the mp3car store was stocked with parts based off what people like.

hithere · 10-16-2009, 02:03 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by trader007

mp3car.com seems very aware they run an discussion forum along side their store, and they really never have a problem with people discovering new products. reason being they seem to want to always have the best performance/value parts in their store, so if someone does find a better solution to what they have they will add it. i think much of the mp3car store was stocked with parts based off what people like.

Well, it's not that I'm that worried about this particular endeavor from that standpoint, that much, it's just that I would want something to be vetted, both by myself, the parties involved in providing the adhesive, and perhaps someone here at mp3car, from all sides before I made recommendation/write-up of it here. Sure, they're probably not gonna be concerned from a business/competition standpoint either way, I just wanna make sure all concerned are comfortable before I let loose all the details.

trader007 · 10-16-2009, 02:28 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by hithere

Well, it's not that I'm that worried about this particular endeavor from that standpoint, that much, it's just that I would want something to be vetted, both by myself, the parties involved in providing the adhesive, and perhaps someone here at mp3car, from all sides before I made recommendation/write-up of it here. Sure, they're probably not gonna be concerned from a business/competition standpoint either way, I just wanna make sure all concerned are comfortable before I let loose all the details.

yeah youre doing it right. my comment was a broad statement, i really didnt mean this case either. im interested to see what you find out..

bramlet · 10-16-2009, 06:19 PM

as long as you guys are here...can we post some links to these threads where they talk about DIY transflective upgrades, what it took to get the ones in the store now and all that stuff. I've found all the useless ones.

thanh510 · 11-12-2009, 03:00 AM

The only bonding adhesive I came across requires UV curing machine. That will set you back 2k.

bramlet · 11-12-2009, 07:33 AM

Like the kind one might find in a university genetics lab?

theonlykid · 11-12-2009, 10:10 AM

There is a lot more to bonding then just the silicone and a UV light to cure it. They have to be put under a vacume to remove the bubbles out to start with. Mobile Computing Solutions sells the most affordable optically bonded monitor for the car PC market.

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