Projector for phone: making from a smartphone with your own hands at home

The projector is an essential part of a home theater system. Unlike a TV, it is compact and does not take up much space. This allows you to take it with you to presentations, parties and much more. But a projector is unreasonably expensive, and not everyone can buy it. Therefore, the idea of ​​making a projector with your own hands is not devoid of meaning and has the right to life.

Device and principle of operation

There are several types of projectors in the world. Of these, two main ones are distinguished, which are the most common. These are projectors on cathode ray tubes and with a liquid crystal matrix.

CRT projectors have many disadvantages that LCD projectors lack. This is a lot of weight, the brightness is not more than 300 lumens versus 10 thousand. LCD and poor picture quality. Therefore, now they can only be found in the museum. They were replaced by LCD projectors. These projectors are similar in principle to those in which the source of the image was a film strip. Now a liquid crystal matrix is ​​used instead.

An LCD projector consists of several basic elements:

• Control boards;
• Light source in the form of a lamp or LED;
• 2 Fresnel lenses;
• Liquid crystal matrix;
• Lens.

The light coming out of the LED hits the Fresnel lens, which scatters it. The scattered light is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the matrix and passes through it. Passing through the matrix, the light takes on the colors of the frame that was on the matrix during its passage. After the matrix, the light hits the second Fresnel lens, which is turned on the other side. The lens collects light into a beam and sends it to the lens. The lens focuses the light in such a way that the picture is clear and does not have blur at the edges.

Also, with the help of the lens, the focal length is changed. This is for setting up the projector when you put it in a new location.

DIY making

A good projector will cost you a lot, so it's worth considering how to make one for your phone yourself.

Such a projector is easily assembled from scrap materials. Here is a list of the essentials:

• Hot melt gun;
• Elongated rectangular box;
• Magnifying glass;
• Black marker or paint;
• Stationery knife.

If you have collected everything you need, then you can start making a projector from a smartphone with your own hands.

Paint the inside of the box and lid black to prevent light from reflecting off the walls and interfering with the operation of the device. Wait for the paint to dry and start cutting the hole for the lens.

Remember that the magnifying glass is the key element of a projector. The quality of the picture directly depends on it. Never take cheap glasses with plastic lenses. Glass lenses from 10x magnifiers are ideal. If you have a Soviet magnifying glass lying around at home, use it. If you do not know which box to use, take it from under the shoes, it has suitable dimensions. Attach a magnifying glass to the end of the box and circle it with a marker. Use a stationery knife to cut a hole along the contour and install a magnifying glass there.

There are only two options for installing a magnifying glass: place the entire magnifier or remove the lens from it and install only it. Choose the option convenient for you and install the glass.

Plug in the gun and wait for the glue to melt. Be careful when handling the glue gun. The glue in it is heated up to 130 ° C and upon contact with the skin causes deep burns. Place the lens over the hole and apply some hot melt glue on different sides. Align the lens with the body and hold until the glue hardens. Take the gun and seal up the remaining cracks with glue. After curing, carefully cut off any excess adhesive from the lens.

Put your phone in the box. You need to put it sideways, with the screen to the lens. Set your phone to maximum brightness and turn on a video. Turn off the light in the room and direct the box with the lens at the wall. A fuzzy image will appear on the wall. By moving the phone closer or further away from the lens, achieve a clear picture on the wall. As you can see, making a projector at home is very easy. Now you can stock up on cookies and enjoy watching your favorite movie on the big screen.

How to make a high resolution projector

Not everyone can make a high-quality projector with their own hands at home, since certain skills are needed. If you cannot separate the matrix from the light-distributing substrate, do not take up this business.

You will need:

• 2 Fresnel lenses;
• Good magnifying glass lens;
• A section of a sewer pipe of the same diameter with a lens;
• 2 guides with sleeve bearings;
• Long screw with nut;
• Mounts for screw and guides;
• 100 watt LED;
• Processor radiator with a power dissipation of at least 100 watts;
• Computer fans for 120 and 80 mm;
• 300 watt computer power supply;
• 150 watt DC-DC step-up converter;
• Two-core cable with a total cross-section of 2 mm²;
• Cheap Chinese tablet or phone with OTG support;
• Clock button;
• Glue B-7000;
• Any thermal paste;
• Hot melt glue;
• 4 silicone or rubber feet;
• Sheet plastic that does not transmit light;
• A can of matte black paint;
• 2 furniture hinges;
• Plywood;
• Corners for fastening plywood sheets;
• A valve lamb, toy car wheel, or anything else that fits the focus knob;
• Self-tapping screws.

The dimensions of the projector directly depend on the matrix you have chosen, so when reading the diagrams, be guided by the proportions. If they do not coincide a little, it's okay. The main thing is that everything works.

Explanation of designations:

1. LCD matrix.
2. Fresnel lenses.
3. Fresnel lens holders.
4. Matrix holder.
5. Fastening guides.
6. Screw fastening.
7. Guides.
8. Screw.
9. Plain bearings.
10. Screw.
11. Lens carriage.
12. Lens holder.
13. Lens.
14. Focus knob.
15. Phone motherboard.
16. Display matrix flex.
17. Air intakes.
18. Hinges.
19. 120mm fan.
20. Cover border.
21. Light-emitting diode.
22. Radiator.
23. 80mm fan.
24. Lens hole.
25. USB port of the phone.
26. Motherboard power cable.
27. Power supply and converter.
28. Fan power cable.
29. Ventilated compartment cover.
30. LED power cables.
31. Rubber feet.
32. Motherboard power button.

To get started, visit a furniture, construction and radio store. There you will find everything you need. When you come home, check if you bought everything. Otherwise, you run the risk of finding yourself in a situation where half of the project is ready and then it turns out that some detail is missing. And according to the law of meanness, this will happen at a time when the shops are not working.

Manufacturing of individual parts

Decide on the dimensions and cut out the component parts of the case from the plywood. There are only 7 of them:

• Base;
• Top;
• Ventilated compartment cover;
• Front and back panels;
• 2 side walls.

Paint the inside of all parts with matte black red. Solder the perforated plate to the nut to which the carriage will be attached. Install one rail mount on the base and secure it with self-tapping screws. Slide the bearing over the guide and insert it into the installed mount. Then put the second fastener on the free end of the rail and screw it to the base. Repeat this operation with the second rail and screw. The screw is installed strictly along the longitudinal axis of the base, and the guides are at the same distance from it.

Cut a carriage out of plywood and use brackets and screws to fix it to the rails. Do not forget to tighten the nut, without it the carriage will not be able to move. Fasten the bearings and nut in the center of the carriage, otherwise it will skew. Cut about 5 cm from the sewer pipe. Insert the lens removed from the magnifier into the segment and fix it with hot melt glue. Glue the resulting lens with hot melt glue to the carriage.

Cut out the holders for the Fresnel lenses from the plywood. Make cuts in them in advance for laying the matrix loop and power wires. Place the lenses in the center of the holders and glue them. Cut the holder for the matrix out of plastic, glue it on plywood - not so-so idea. The cutout in the holder should be slightly smaller than the die itself.

Unscrew the cover from the phone, remove or disconnect the battery and unscrew all the screws. Disconnect the display cable from the motherboard and remove it. Unscrew the screws holding the display and remove it from the phone case. If the display is glued with double-sided tape, gently pry it around the perimeter with a credit card until it comes off. Gently prying with your nails, separate the light-distributing substrate with LEDs from the matrix. Try not to damage the conductive tracks and stub leading to the matrix.

Use a sharp utility knife or scalpel to cut off the peeled backing. Cover the edges of the cutout with B-7000 glue and cover it with the matrix. Place a book on top of the resulting sandwich and wait for the glue to dry. To prevent the ribbon from coming off, glue it to the holder. Fresnel lenses are glued to the holders in the same way.

Solder the wires to the LED and screw it to the radiator, having previously greased it with thermal grease. Insert the radiator with the LED into the cutout on the rear panel and secure it with the corners. Install an 80 mm fan on it and lead the wires through the cutout. Make ventilation holes in the side walls and assemble air intakes from plywood. Install a 120 mm fan from the inside of the wall, and put air intakes outside.

The intake holes must be facing backwards so that the light coming out of them does not hit the screen. Unsolder the standard power button from the motherboard and solder the wires in its place. Also solder the wires to the battery terminals. Use small screws to secure the board to the side wall. Cut all the necessary holes in the front panel and start assembling the projector.

Assembly into a single whole

Using corners and self-tapping screws, attach the base to the front and rear panels. Attach the side walls to them. Replace the matrix and lens holders. The lens closest to the LED should be placed from the matrix with a gap of two centimeters. This will protect it from unwanted heat. Install the remaining lens back to back.

Solder the clock button to the wires from the motherboard and insert it into the front panel. Fill the button from the inside of the case with hot melt glue, thereby fixing it securely. Connect the 12 volt line from the power supply to the input of the converter and set it to the voltage of the LED. Connect the LED power cable to the output of the converter. Connect the wires from the fans to the twelve, and from the motherboard to the five-volt line. Observe polarity when connecting all wires. If you confuse plus and minus, your motherboard will burn out.

Turning on and setting up for the first time

Insert the ribbon cable from the matrix into the motherboard and cover the entire structure with a lid. Place the projector in a dark room, point it at the wall and turn it on. Install the focus knob onto the screw. Rotate it until a clear image appears on the wall. If all else fails, gently move the lens and matrix holders back and forth. After a clear image appears, carefully fix the holders with hot melt glue. Attach the top to the case and fix the power supply unit with the converter to it. Replace the hinges and hang the lid on them. Glue the rubber feet to the base and place the finished projector in the place prepared for it.

As it turned out, you can make a projector with your own hands. And high quality, not inferior to store. And the materials spent on its manufacture will cost you much cheaper than a new projector. The only question is whether you have free time and skills. But it rarely happens that a person does not have free time at all, but if there is time, skills will appear.