This design challenge was for a rugged mobile military application which required an LCD with features such as very high resolution, daylight visibility and protection from sudden shock – in a compact form factor. CP Technologies started with two solid aluminum billets and milled a high precision enclosure with the two halves mating with an o-ring seal meeting IP67. The 17-inch LCD started as best of breed with 800:1 contrast. This LCD was further enhanced with circular polarizers and a high transmission (88%) touch screen with an anti-glare hard coat.
These components were optically bonded to the LCD using index matched adhesives. Bonding prevents dirt and moisture between the filters and display. Bonding also significantly ruggedizes the LCD, reinforcing the glass and minimizing shock which might damage the display. The bond will also hold the glass together should the display be significantly damaged such as from a bullet or explosion. The finished product came in at 15 lbs. The enclosure is manufactured from high strength 5052 aluminum alloy with heat dissipating fins milled into the back. Stainless hardware and self locking fasteners were used throughout. The display is highly visible even in direct sunlight. The LCD controller was modified to scale a 1600×1200 image input to a 1280×1024 native resolution display.
