how to make lcd display at home for sale

If you have ever wondered what it took to make your own custom graphic LCD from scratch, this video from [Applied Science] is worth a watch. It’s concise and to the point, while still telling you what you need to know should you be interested in rolling your own. There is also a related video which goes into much more detail about experimenting with LCD technology.

[Applied Science] used microscope slides and parts purchased online to make an LCD that displays a custom graphic when activated. The only step that home experimenters might have trouble following is coating the glass slides with a clear conductive layer, which in the video is done via a process called sputtering to deposit a thin film. You don’t need to do this yourself, though. Pre-coated glass is readily available online. (Search for Indium-Tin Oxide or ‘ITO’ coated glass.)

The LCD consists of a layer of liquid crystal suspended between two layers of conductive glass. An electrical field is used to change the orientation of crystals in the suspension, which modulate the light passing through them. Polarizing filters result in a sharp contrast and therefore a visible image. To show a particular shape, some of the conductive coating is removed from one of the layers in the shape of the desired image. The process [Applied Science] uses to do this is nearly identical to etching a custom PCB.

Parts of LCD technology can be quite hackable. Neither of these videos are brand-new, either. Have any of you taken on the challenge of DIY LCD displays? We’ve seen experiments with electrochromatic glass using old LCD displays, as well as experiments in playing with polarized light to hide secret messages on LCD screens.

The process to take your LCD idea from a concept to having prototype samples in hand is simple and requires just the few steps listed below. (Download PDF)

In many cases, FocusLCDs’ lead time for custom LCD samples is as little as 6-7 weeks after you approve our counter drawings and data sheet. This lead time increases by 4-6 weeks between November to early February due to Chinese New year. Standard production orders for custom displays have a lead time of 10-12 weeks, which can increase by 2-4 weeks during Chinese New year.

Focus Display Solutions offers several LCD technologies. The majority of these displays can be customized to fit your need. Below is a short introduction to each type of LCD.

Ultra-Wide Viewing Display (UWVD) is a new technology that is named after one of its most notable characteristics – it is viewable from all angles. In addition to the viewing angle, this technology provides a better contrast than other options and can allow for multiple colors. Call one of our design specialists today to see if UWVD is the right technology for you.

Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Displays (TFTs) are perhaps the most encountered display technology we see daily. Often seen in cell phones, tablets, cameras and countless other devices, this technology offers several hundreds of thousands of colors with a high pixel count to offer supreme visual clarity. In addition, all TFTs are available off the shelf with resistive and capacitive touch panel options.

Character LCDs have been around since the 1950s and are still very common. These displays offer 256 selectable characters and are available with several different font tables to show a variety of languages. They are most commonly known for their ease of programming wide variety of sizes, character arrays and colors.

The transparent display we offer for sale (CFAL12856A0-0151) is an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display. OLED displays produce images by emitting light in the corresponding color. To produce black in a normal OLED, the pixels are simply turned off. With the transparent display, if the pixels are turned off, the display is transparent rather than black.

We’ve heard from a few customers requests for transparent displays with black graphics as well as requests for larger transparent displays. This guide will walk you through creating a transparent display out of a graphic LCD.

A few caveats before we get much farther. First, doing this will definitely void your warranty on the display. Second, the display we’ll create is significantly less transparent than a transparent OLED displayas you can see in the above image with the hacked transparent display on the left and the transparent OLED on the right.

Using the x-acto knife, get between the back polarizer and the display and pull the transflective polarizer off of the display. Unlike our pictured engineer, you should wear some hand protection to keep your fingers safe.

Rotate the display relative to the polarizer until you find the optimal transparency. This is why it’s important to use a larger polarizer so the polarizer can accommodate the display at any angle.

If you harvested a polarizer from an existing display it already has adhesive on it and you can simply carefully adhere it to the display. Take care while applying the polarizer or bubbles will form between the display and the polarizer.

When cutting the polarizer near the tail, be aware that there are traces connecting the tail to the display and cutting these traces will ruin your display.

If you have any questions, we can be reached at support@crystalfontz.com, we also provide chat and telephone support Monday through Friday during our open hours.

We love to hear about your projects! Find us around the web (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Forum) and let us know what you’re working on.

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It’s not uncommon for OEMs to have unique requirements to meet their products specifications. Because PDI focuses exclusively with OEMs to supply mid-volume standard, custom and semi-custom LCD displays, we are able work directly with select customers to provide LCD product solutions.

Planar® CarbonLight™ VX Series is comprised of carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility, available in 1.9 and 2.6mm pixel pitch (wall) and 2.6mm (floor).

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe MicroLED Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. HDR support and superior dynamic range create vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge MicroLED technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior décor.

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. These professional-grade displays provide vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior decor.

From cinema content to motion-based digital art, Planar® Luxe MicroLED Displays offer a way to enrich distinctive spaces. HDR support and superior dynamic range create vibrant, high-resolution canvases for creative expression and entertainment. Leading-edge MicroLED technology, design adaptability and the slimmest profiles ensure they seamlessly integrate with architectural elements and complement interior décor.

Planar® CarbonLight™ VX Series is comprised of carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility, available in 1.9 and 2.6mm pixel pitch (wall) and 2.6mm (floor).

Carbon fiber-framed indoor LED video wall and floor displays with exceptional on-camera visual properties and deployment versatility for various installations including virtual production and extended reality.

a line of extreme and ultra-narrow bezel LCD displays that provides a video wall solution for demanding requirements of 24x7 mission-critical applications and high ambient light environments

Since 1983, Planar display solutions have benefitted countless organizations in every application. Planar displays are usually front and center, dutifully delivering the visual experiences and critical information customers need, with proven technology that is built to withstand the rigors of constant use.

Shopping for a new TV is like wading through a never-ending pool of tech jargon, display terminology, and head-spinning acronyms. It was one thing when 4K resolution landed in the homes of consumers, with TV brands touting the new UHD viewing spec as a major marketing grab. But over the last several years, the plot has only continued to thicken when it comes to three- and four-letter acronyms with the introduction of state-of-the-art lighting and screen technology. But between OLEDs, QLEDs, mini-LEDs, and now QD-OLEDs, there’s one battle of words that rests at the core of TV vocabulary: LED versus LCD.

Despite having a different acronym, LED TV is just a specific type of LCD TV, which uses a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to control where light is displayed on your screen. These panels are typically composed of two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. When an electric current passes through the liquid, it causes the crystals to align, so that light can (or can’t) pass through. Think of it as a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking it out.

Since both LED and LCD TVs are based around LCD technology, the question remains: what is the difference? Actually, it’s about what the difference was. Older LCD TVs used cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) to provide lighting, whereas LED LCD TVs used an array of smaller, more efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the screen.

Since the technology is better, all LCD TVs now use LED lights and are colloquially considered LED TVs. For those interested, we’ll go deeper into backlighting below, or you can move onto the Local Dimming section.

Three basic illumination forms have been used in LCD TVs: CCFL backlighting, full-array LED backlighting, and LED edge lighting. Each of these illumination technologies is different from one another in important ways. Let’s dig into each.

CCFL backlighting is an older, now-abandoned form of display technology in which a series of cold cathode lamps sit across the inside of the TV behind the LCD. The lights illuminate the crystals fairly evenly, which means all regions of the picture will have similar brightness levels. This affects some aspects of picture quality, which we discuss in more detail below. Since CCFLs are larger than LED arrays, CCFL-based LCD TVs are thicker than LED-backlit LCD TVs.

Full-array backlighting swaps the outdated CCFLs for an array of LEDs spanning the back of the screen, comprising zones of LEDs that can be lit or dimmed in a process called local dimming. TVs using full-array LED backlighting to make up a healthy chunk of the high-end LED TV market, and with good reason — with more precise and even illumination, they can create better picture quality than CCFL LCD TVs were ever able to achieve, with better energy efficiency to boot.

Another form of LCD screen illumination is LED edge lighting. As the name implies, edge-lit TVs have LEDs along the edges of a screen. There are a few different configurations, including LEDs along just the bottom, LEDs on the top and bottom, LEDs left and right, and LEDs along all four edges. These different configurations result in picture quality differences, but the overall brightness capabilities still exceed what CCFL LCD TVs could achieve. While there are some drawbacks to edge lighting compared to full-array or direct backlight displays, the upshot is edge lighting that allows manufacturers to make thinner TVs that cost less to manufacture.

To better close the local-dimming quality gap between edge-lit TVs and full-array back-lit TVs, manufacturers like Sony and Samsung developed their own advanced edge lighting forms. Sony’s technology is known as “Slim Backlight Master Drive,” while Samsung has “Infinite Array” employed in its line of QLED TVs. These keep the slim form factor achievable through edge-lit design and local dimming quality more on par with full-array backlighting.

Local dimming is a feature of LED LCD TVs wherein the LED light source behind the LCD is dimmed and illuminated to match what the picture demands. LCDs can’t completely prevent light from passing through, even during dark scenes, so dimming the light source itself aids in creating deeper blacks and more impressive contrast in the picture. This is accomplished by selectively dimming the LEDs when that particular part of the picture — or region — is intended to be dark.

Local dimming helps LED/LCD TVs more closely match the quality of modern OLED displays, which feature better contrast levels by their nature — something CCFL LCD TVs couldn’t do. The quality of local dimming varies depending on which type of backlighting your LCD uses, how many individual zones of backlighting are employed, and the quality of the processing. Here’s an overview of how effective local dimming is on each type of LCD TV.

TVs with full-array backlighting have the most accurate local dimming and therefore tend to offer the best contrast. Since an array of LEDs spans the entire back of the LCD screen, regions can generally be dimmed with more finesse than on edge-lit TVs, and brightness tends to be uniform across the entire screen. Hisense’s impressive U7G TVs are great examples of relatively affordable models that use multiple-zone, full-array backlighting with local dimming.

“Direct local dimming” is essentially the same thing as full-array dimming, just with fewer LEDs spread further apart in the array. However, it’s worth noting that many manufacturers do not differentiate “direct local dimming” from full-array dimming as two separate forms of local dimming. We still feel it’s important to note the difference, as fewer, further-spaced LEDs will not have the same accuracy and consistency as full-array displays.

Because edge lighting employs LEDs positioned on the edge or edges of the screen to project light across the back of the LCD screen, as opposed to coming from directly behind it, it can result in very subtle blocks or bands of lighter pixels within or around areas that should be dark. The local dimming of edge-lit TVs can sometimes result in some murkiness in dark areas compared with full-array LED TVs. It should also be noted that not all LED edge-lit TVs offer local dimming, which is why it is not uncommon to see glowing strips of light at the edges of a TV and less brightness toward the center of the screen.

Since CCFL backlit TVs do not use LEDs, models with this lighting style do not have dimming abilities. Instead, the LCD panel of CCFL LCDs is constantly and evenly illuminated, making a noticeable difference in picture quality compared to LED LCDs. This is especially noticeable in scenes with high contrast, as the dark portions of the picture may appear too bright or washed out. When watching in a well-lit room, it’s easier to ignore or miss the difference, but in a dark room, it will be, well, glaring.

As if it wasn’t already confusing enough, once you begin exploring the world of modern display technology, new acronyms crop up. The two you’ll most commonly find are OLED and QLED.

An OLED display uses a panel of pixel-sized organic compounds that respond to electricity. Since each tiny pixel (millions of which are present in modern displays) can be turned on or off individually, OLED displays are called “emissive” displays (meaning they require no backlight). They offer incredibly deep contrast ratios and better per-pixel accuracy than any other display type on the market.

Because they don’t require a separate light source, OLED displays are also amazingly thin — often just a few millimeters. OLED panels are often found on high-end TVs in place of LED/LCD technology, but that doesn’t mean that LED/LCDs aren’t without their own premium technology.

QLED is a premium tier of LED/LCD TVs from Samsung. Unlike OLED displays, QLED is not a so-called emissive display technology (lights still illuminate QLED pixels from behind). However, QLED TVs feature an updated illumination technology over regular LED LCDs in the form of Quantum Dot material (hence the “Q” in QLED), which raises overall efficiency and brightness. This translates to better, brighter grayscale and color and enhances HDR (High Dynamic Range) abilities.

And now to make things extra confusing, part of Samsung’s 2022 TV lineup is being billed as traditional OLEDs, although a deeper dive will reveal this is actually the company’s first foray into a new panel technology altogether called QD-OLED.

For a further description of QLED and its features, read our list of the best TVs you can buy. The article further compares the qualities of both QLED and OLED TV; however, we also recommend checking outfor a side-by-side look at these two top-notch technologies.

There are more even displays to become familiar with, too, including microLED and Mini-LED, which are lining up to be the latest head-to-head TV technologies. Consider checking out how the two features compare to current tech leaders in

In the world of TV technology, there’s never a dull moment. However, with this detailed research, we hope you feel empowered to make an informed shopping decision and keep your Best Buy salesperson on his or her toes.

Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television display type. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvantages compared to other display types such as high power consumption, poorer contrast ratio, and inferior color gamut.

LCD TVs rose in popularity in the early years of the 21st century, surpassing sales of cathode ray tube televisions worldwide in 2007.plasma display panels and rear-projection television.

Passive matrix LCDs first became common as portable computer displays in the 1980s, competing for market share with plasma displays. The LCDs had very slow refresh rates that blurred the screen even with scrolling text, but their light weight and low cost were major benefits. Screens using reflective LCDs required no internal light source, making them particularly well suited to laptop computers. Refresh rates of early devices were too slow to be useful for television.

Portable televisions were a target application for LCDs. LCDs consumed far less battery power than even the miniature tubes used in portable televisions of the era. In 1980, Hattori Seiko"s R&D group began development on color LCD pocket televisions. In 1982, Seiko Epson released the first LCD television, the Epson TV Watch, a small wrist-worn active-matrix LCD television. Sharp Corporation introduced the dot matrix TN-LCD in 1983, and Casio introduced its TV-10 portable TV.Citizen Watch introduced the Citizen Pocket TV, a 2.7-inch color LCD TV, with the first commercial TFT LCD display.

Throughout this period, screen sizes over 30" were rare as these formats would start to appear blocky at normal seating distances when viewed on larger screens. LCD projection systems were generally limited to situations where the image had to be viewed by a larger audience. At the same time, plasma displays could easily offer the performance needed to make a high quality display, but suffered from low brightness and very high power consumption. Still, some experimentation with LCD televisions took place during this period. In 1988, Sharp introduced a 14-inch active-matrix full-color full-motion TFT-LCD. These were offered primarily as high-end items, and were not aimed at the general market. This led to Japan launching an LCD industry, which developed larger-size LCDs, including TFT computer monitors and LCD televisions. Epson developed the 3LCD projection technology in the 1980s, and licensed it for use in projectors in 1988. Epson"s VPJ-700, released in January 1989, was the world"s first compact, full-color LCD projector.

In 2006, LCD prices started to fall rapidly and their screen sizes increased, although plasma televisions maintained a slight edge in picture quality and a price advantage for sets at the critical 42" size and larger. By late 2006, several vendors were offering 42" LCDs, albeit at a premium price, encroaching upon plasma"s only stronghold. More decisively, LCDs offered higher resolutions and true 1080p support, while plasmas were stuck at 720p, which made up for the price difference.

Predictions that prices for LCDs would rapidly drop through 2007 led to a "wait and see" attitude in the market, and sales of all large-screen televisions stagnated while customers watched to see if this would happen.Christmas sales season.

When the sales figures for the 2007 Christmas season were finally tallied, analysts were surprised to find that not only had LCD outsold plasma, but CRTs as well, during the same period.Pioneer Electronics was ending production of the plasma screens was widely considered the tipping point in that technology"s history as well.

In spite of LCD"s dominance of the television field, other technologies continued to be developed to address its shortcomings. Whereas LCDs produce an image by selectively blocking a backlight, organic LED, microLED, field-emission display and surface-conduction electron-emitter display technologies all produce an illuminated image directly. In comparison to LCDs all of these technologies offer better viewing angles, much higher brightness and contrast ratio (as much as 5,000,000:1), and better color saturation and accuracy. They also use less power, and in theory they are less complex and less expensive to build.

Manufacturing these screens proved to be more difficult than originally thought, however. Sony abandoned their field-emission display project in March 2009,

LCD display screens are everywhere. You probably own one or more devices with an LCD display screen at home and at work. This includes your TV, computer monitor, watches, clocks, smartphones, and even calculators.

But have you ever wondered about how your LCD display screen works, its lifespan, components, and how it holds up to other emerging display technologies today?

Knowing all these things about your LCD display lets you appreciate your screen all the more. Caring for your device becomes easier when you’re armed with this knowledge.

LCD display screens make use of Liquid Crystal Display technology. The screen is embedded with liquid crystals, a substance that has properties in between a conventional liquid and a solid crystal. Liquid crystals can flow, but their molecules carry a crystal-like solid orientation.

Liquid crystals are responsible for producing an image flashed onto the LCD screen. They don’t emit light, though. Backlights are used to illuminate these crystals.

A display screen is made up of several tiny color blocks called pixels. The term is a portmanteau of “picture” and “element”, denoting pixels as little elements making up an entire screen picture. A screen is typically made up of millions of pixels.

Every pixel on the display screen is made up of red, blue, and green light. These lights can be quickly turned on or off to create an overall moving picture or image.

Now, in LCD displays, pixels are regulated by using liquid crystals for rotating polarized light. Polarized light denotes light waves with vibrations occurring in a single plane. In LCDs, this is achieved by using polarized layers.

Each pixel has polarizing filters on both its front and back. Tiny nematic (twisted) liquid crystals are placed in between these filters. The liquid crystals can be switched on or off electronically through tiny electronic transistors.

When the liquid crystal is turned off, electricity controlled by the transistor stops flowing. The pixel is then turned on, brightening up due to the 90-degree twisting of the nematic liquid crystal. This allows light to pass through both polarizing filters on the pixel, illuminating the pixel by letting light pass through.

When the liquid crystal is turned on, electricity flows through the nematic liquid crystals. They completely straighten out from their twisted state. The polarizing filter in front of the liquid crystal blocks out the light, resulting in the pixel turning off and becoming dark.

A single LCD contains millions of pixels, nematic liquid crystals, polarizing filters, and transistors. They all work together to create images on the screen.

Most LCD monitors have a lifespan ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 hours. That’s equivalent to 5-7 years using the monitor for 24 hours per day. It could also translate to 10-20 years with running the monitor for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

The backlight’s life expectancy is the biggest factor in determining the LCD display lifespan. It’s because liquid crystals do not give off light from themselves. The liquid crystals depend on the backlight for illuminating them. Hence, the LCD screen wears off when the backlights dim as it reaches its maximum lifespan.

The backlight serves as the illuminator of the entire LCD display device. Without a backlight, the LCD device remains darkened and hard to use. Backlights are installed directly behind the LCD panel to lighten up the display.

Simple devices such as pocket calculators don’t use a backlight for their LCD screens. Users rely on natural light to see the numbers displayed on such calculators. However, the majority of modern LCD screens such as televisions, computer monitors, smartphones, aviation screen panels, outdoor signages, and medical monitoring devices use backlights as their internal light source.

This type of backlight is the most popular and widely-used light source for LCDs today. Light-emitting diodes are semiconductors that emit light once electric current flows into it. Particles carrying the electric current are called electrons holes. These combine with electrons in the semiconductor, releasing photons (light particles).

Band separations called bandgaps determine the photons’ energy. Furthermore, the photon’s energy dictates which color the LED emits, depending on the emitted light’s wavelength. Various kinds of semiconductors and their corresponding varying bandgaps create different light colors.

Edge-Lit White LED (EL-WLED)– One or more LED rows are placed on the screen’s edge. A special light diffuser is used to scatter the light evenly across the entire display screen. Computer monitors, laptops, notebooks, and even HDTVs are now lit in this way.

White LED (WLED)– The LCD panel’s rear side is lit up with several white-colored LEDs. A diffuser is set in front of the LEDs to help evenly smooth out the light throughout the screen. Some computer monitors and large-screen LCD TVs use this LED technology.

Red-Green-Blue LED (RGB LED)– This technology works like WLED. The difference is that it uses red, green, and blue LED combination lights instead of white lights. Better picture quality and higher color gamut are its advantages over WLED and EL-WLED.

ELP uses electroluminescent materials such as colored phosphors instead of heat to create light. This material is placed in between two conductor layers. The material emits light as a result of an electric current flowing through it. ELPs are mostly used in small LCD screens.

CCFL backlight uses a cold cathode fluorescent lamp as its main light source. This lamp consists of a cathode that isn’t heated electrically by a filament, hence the connotation “cold”.  A diffuser is placed in front of the CCFL lamp to evenly distribute light across the entire screen.

The cathodes used in CCFL produce light by creating a non-heated thermionic emission of electrons. This is accomplished by using discharges in mercury vapor to create an ultraviolet light. This light, in turn, creates a fluorescent coating inside the lamp, resulting in visible light.

Computer monitors and TV screens predominantly used CCFLs for backlights. However, modern manufacturers opt for LED technology instead of CCFL for their devices’ backlights.

HCFL backlights have filaments that need to be heated to excite mercury atoms, cause the current to flow, and ultimately emit light. HCFLs are often used in LCD equipment such as medical devices, custom task-oriented lamps, scanners, and outdoor LCD signs.

Liquid crystals are the heart of an LCD display. This unique substance flows like a liquid but retains many characteristics of solid crystals. They have long and cylindrical-shaped molecules that can twist when changes in molecular orientation happen.

Different liquid crystal families are used in LCD displays. One requirement of such liquids is to exhibit mutual attraction. Also, the molecules in the liquid crystal need to be anisotropic. This means that the liquid crystal molecules have that average structural order along a molecular axis.

Liquid crystals are often sandwiched in between the color filters and the polarizers. They twist and straighten in response to electrical currents applied to them. The movement of liquid crystals controls whether polarized light will pass through the filters or not.

The nematic phase is characterized by the crystal molecules freely moving around the liquid. However, these molecules point themselves to one direction only, making it unique from pure liquid molecules. Nematic liquid crystals are the most common liquid used in LCD screens.

In the smectic phase, the liquid crystals keep their similar orientation and direction. But the molecules are now lining themselves into layers. The smectic layers have restricted movement, creating a solid-like state in the liquid crystals.

Also known as the chiral nematic phase, the cholesteric phase happens when the liquid crystal molecules align themselves at a slight angle to each other. The molecules become stacked in very thin layers as well. The cholesteric phase also allows molecules to change color from exposure to different temperatures.

Now, molecules in liquid crystals move as a reaction to an electric field. Their arrangement changes as a voltage are applied to them. This allows liquid crystals to control polarized light, which, in turn, defines which pixels on a screen will be illuminated or not.

Color filters are found in between the liquid crystals. These filters determine whether the pixel shows red, green, or blue colors when activated. The filters work by independently controlling the pixel’s red, green, and blue sub-pixels. With this, the LCD screen can reproduce all possible colors found in the color space.

The color filters aren’t active elements, though. It’s the liquid crystal molecules that control the light passing through the filters. The color filters simply determine the color the pixel shows based on how much light is passing through them, as determined by the applied electric voltage and the movement of the liquid crystal molecules.

An LCD cell is made up of two polarizing filters. They enclose the LCD display and color filters. One polarizing filter is located in front of the backlight and is horizontal in orientation. The other one is found just beneath the pixel in front and is vertical in orientation. Polarizing filters are typically made of transparent crystals or glass substrates.

The role of polarizing filters is to control which light patterns can pass through the LCD screen. Without these filters, visual images generated by the LCD panel will have a poor contrast ratio and an inferior quality image.

Now, light emitted by your panel’s backlight source enters the first horizontal polarizing filter. It then passes through the liquid crystals. The polarized light vibrates vertically if the liquid crystals are in a twisted state. Hence, these light waves can then pass through the second vertical polarizing filter. The pixel on the screen turns on and is illuminated properly.

Meanwhile, if the LCD display is arranged in a straightened way, the horizontal light waves that came from the first polarizing filter will be blocked from entering the vertical polarizing filter. The pixel is then turned off and no light illuminates it.

The two polarizing filters need to be vertical and horizontal in orientation, respectively. If the filters are oriented in the same way (ie; both horizontal or both vertical) will block all the light passing through, displaying nothing on the screen.

TFTs are responsible for providing electrical voltage to the LCD display. Each screen pixel has a corresponding transistor, enabling the pixels to easily be controlled in unison through changes in electrical current.

Using TFTs requires less charge and less power to operate the LCD display screen successfully. TFT use also leads to sharper images because each pixel has its own transistor controlling it. The charge given to a certain pixel can be actively maintained even if the screen is refreshed to display another image.

That’s all the basic information you need to know about LCD display screens. Now, you know how an LCD screen works, its possible lifespan, its components, and how it compares to other display technologies.

Armed with this information, you can better appreciate and take care of your LCD display devices. And in case you’re planning to add display devices to your business, the information you’ve learned will help you make educated choices regarding the display technologies you’ll utilize.

Responsible for performing installations and repairs (motors, starters, fuses, electrical power to machine etc.) for industrial equipment and machines in order to support the achievement of Nelson-Miller’s business goals and objectives:

• Perform highly diversified duties to install and maintain electrical apparatus on production machines and any other facility equipment (Screen Print, Punch Press, Steel Rule Die, Automated Machines, Turret, Laser Cutting Machines, etc.).

1. Before you can download any software upgrades, make sure your appliance is connected to WiFi and our SmartHQ app. If you haven’t already set up your appliance with your WiFi, follow our instructions and you’ll be on your way.

2. Once your appliance is fully connected, open your SmartHQ app on your mobile device. You’ll see a notification that your appliance has an upgrade available. You can choose to download immediately or later.

To resize a LCD is literally to cut the glass, polarizers, circuits and circuit boards to a new size. Years ago, it was thought impossible to preserve the original performance of a previously manufactured LCD once the glass circuits are cut. However, Litemax has done the impossible, over and over again, becoming the world"s leading pioneer and leader in LCD resizing solutions.

Squarepixel series is designed for high brightness with power efficiency LED backlight. It provides LCD panel with specific aspect ratios and sunlight readable for digital signage, public transportation, exhibition hall, department store, and the vending machines.

The spirit of Durapixel indeed lies with its name: durability. Why Durapixel? Commercial-grade LCD displays, due to the competitive pricing structure, are unable to offer more than MTBF of 30,000 hours, which will not be sufficient for any applications that require around-the-clock operations. System designers, integrators and users serious about rugged, industrial displays for demanding environments need to look no further – the unfailingly robust and high-quality Durapixel is the key to each of your success.

UbiPixel, industrial LCDs are used in many professional applications. High bright sunlight readable and low power consumption display technologies offer the highest quality LCDs for specific industrial applications. Our embedded LCD can be manufactured in an open frame, VESA mount, or fully enclosed housing for HMI display, KIOSK, Vending machine, home automation, point-of-sale terminals, digital signage and more. UbiPixel, industrial LCDs are used in many professional applications. High bright sunlight readable and low power consumption display technologies offer the highest quality LCD screen for specific industrial applications. Our embedded LCD can be manufactured in an open frame, VESA mount or fully enclosed housing for HMI display, KIOSK, Vending machine, home automation, point-of-sale terminals, digital signage and more.

Marine displays from Litemax are internationally recognized and certified with a proven track record of satisfying all types of scenarios, applications and environments for maritime professionals and organizations. Whether the project involves system building, maintenance, repair or equipment upgrade of a yacht, a submarine or any relevant maritime structure, Litemax"s marine displays guarantee high quality and performance from the dock to the engine room.

Litemax"s 2.5” Pico-ITX boards feature fanless operation, low power, compact designed for space-limited embedded applications. With built-in AMIO expansion interface to develop high flexibility and scalable capabilities.

Litemax"s 3.5" SBCs feature rich I/O ports, wide-temperature support, and wide input voltage range and low-power to robust high -performance computing modules designed for outdoor applications or harsh environmental requirements.

Litemax"s Mini-ITX embedded board provides the performance, expansibility, and durability to meet needs across a wide variety of applications, such as industrial control, industrial IOT, gaming, smart healthcare, and digital signage.

This high performance series supports Intel, AMD, Nvidia processor with multi I/O expansions, mini PCIe/M.2 expansion cards, and wide temperature range, being ideal for automation system, machine automation, factory automation, and IoT platforms.

Featuring a modular designed, this series can be fitted with a number of modules to expand its base capabilities. On-site maintenance and future upgradability are easier than ever by deploying our panel PCs and monitors.

Litemax rugged panel PCs go beyond that of the standard industrial panel computes with elegant, full IP68/65-rated construction, powerful performance and flexible mounting options making it ideal for harsh environments and demanding applications, such as machine controller, command centers, and fast, efficient computing.

The Litemax ITRP series is fanless Passenger Information System, It features stretched LCD display, with high brightness to ensure easy readability even in light-insufficient environments. It serves as a reliable platform to provide passenger information on wide versatility of vehicles, such as bus and trams.

Litemax develops an embedded artificial intelligence application platform for AI edge computing to meet client vertical market applications and various needs and solve the changing challenges of the operating environment. In response to the increasing demand for AI computing, computer vision, deep learning, edge computing, etc., Litemax offers a series of fanless BOX PC with Intel Edge Computing and NVIDIA® Jetson Nano™ to effectively improve the cooling performance of fanless systems. Field applications can smoothly provide powerful computing performance, support high-level AI computing chips, and provide a solution platform for a variety of application scenarios to integrate software and hardware to create more flexible and better vertical functions. Simplify the manpower required for the client to invest in AI system integration.

Intel® offers the Intel® Smart Display Module (Intel® SDM) specification and reference design that can be integrated into the sleekest all-in-one designs. Intel® SDM delivers the same level of intelligence and interoperability as the Open Pluggable Specification, but in our smallest form factor yet eliminates the housing and advances the thinnest integrated displays.

The new Intel® Smart Kiosk Module (Intel® SKM) is a revolutionary solution that makes it easier to scale and maintain interactive kiosks, which are increasingly being used by businesses and governments worldwide to offer customers around-the-clock access to information and services.As the market for interactive kiosks increases, so does the demand for smarter multi-function kiosks with advanced capabilities such as workload consolidation, artificial intelligence, smartphone and social media integration, 5G connectivity, telepresence, remote manageability, and data analytics.

LITEMAX power board provides maximum output from 60W to 100W, it is an intelligent vehicle power converter with wide input voltage range from 9V to 16V DC.

Through intelligent thermal management technologies, Litemax is enabling smarter platforms for various vertical markets deploying display systems. Through the intelligent thermal control board, Litemax helps system integrators and engineers around the world improve efficiency and reliability.

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LCD panelscan be categorized as flat-panel displays. What makes them distinct from other display technologies is the layer of liquid crystal material within. In this thin layer, liquid crystal molecules are aligned between two glass substrates. On the inner surfaces of each of those substrates lie electrodes that control charge carriers like electrons that then interact with the liquid crystals, creating an electric field that runs through them; this, in turn, can change the alignment of the crystals, also changing the overall behavior of the molecules. On the opposite sides of the substrate, polarizers are used to control the levels of light passage, affecting the overall image of the display.

Unlike CRT monitors, LCD monitors cannot illuminate themselves, and so they require a light source: the backlight. This backlight is most frequently made of the well-known LEDs which stand for light-emitting diodes. Sourced from the backlight, light is moved through the back polarizer and back substrate, into the liquid crystals. Now, the light waves can behave in a variety of ways. Backlight used in LCD displays can be LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlight or CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlight. LED backlights use less power which becomes more popular, while CCFL is lower cost for large size LCD displays such as large LCD TV. Recently, quantum dots technology is used to increase the LCD contrast.

Electrodes are the controlling factors of the liquid crystal behavior, and thus also the light behavior. By conducting or not conducting a current into the crystal layer, the light may or may not be able to pass through the liquid crystals in a manner that will allow passage through the polarizer. Because of this role, electrodes in LCDs are often made of indium tin oxide (ITO). ITO has good conducting properties and can also make for a transparent electrode which is essential to the appearance of displays today.

How the electrodes affect the liquid crystal alignment can vary depending on the method of alignment used (twistednematic,multi-domain,in-planeswitching). For example, twisted nematic liquid crystals are oriented in a twist when no electric field is present which then polarizes the light passing through the layer; when the electrodes apply the field in full, the twist will straighten out, no longer polarizing the light, and so no light passes. In each of these alignment types, the electrodes are placed differently within the structure, altering the properties of the display, such as width of viewing angle, power consumption, and response time. Despite these different alignment methods, the liquid crystal layer’s purpose remains the same: to polarize the light so that the polarized light passes through to the surface of the display. By polarizing the light transmitted from the backlight, the liquid crystal molecules play a role in how much of the light passes through the polarizing filters, whether it be all, none, or a partial amount.

Liquid Crystal Displays or more commonly known as LCDs are one of the most common electronic components which help us interact with an equipment or a device. Most personal portable equipment and even gigantic industrial equipment utilize a custom segment display to display data. For many portable consumer electronics, a segment LCD display is one of the biggest contributors to the overall cost of the device, hence designing a custom segment display can drive the cost down while also utilizing the display area in the most optimum manner. These displays have the lowest cost per piece, low power requirements, and a low tooling fee too.

At first thought, designing a custom segment LCD might look like a Herculean task, but trust me that it is easier than it seems. In this article, we have summarised and compared the display types and available technologies which are required to construct a custom segment LCD. We have also provided a flowchart that can act as a step-by-step guide while you design your own custom LCD. We have also provided the process we followed, a require gathering sheet we used for communicating our needs to the manufacturer, and a few other data and the quotation we received from the manufacturer.

Icons: A silhouette of any shape can be placed on the glass which enhances the ability to display data. For example, a symbol of a heart can be made to denote heart rate or an icon for a low battery to show that the battery needs to be charged. Icons are counted as a single pixel or segment and can give a lot more details than similar-sized text.

LCD Bias– It denotes the number of different voltage levels used in driving the segments, static drives (explained later in this article) only have 2 voltage levels or 2 bias voltage while multiplex drives have multiple voltage levels. For example, 1/3 will have 4 bias voltages.

LCDs utilizes the light modulating properties of liquid crystals which can be observed by using polarizing filters. Polarizing filters are special materials that have their molecules aligned in the same direction. If the light waves passing through polarisers have the same orientation as the filter, then the molecules of lights are absorbed by the filter, hence reducing the intensity of light passing through it, making it visible.

In Layman’s language, when an electric current is applied to the electrodes, i.e. to the segment line and common line, it twists the Liquid Crystals w.r.t to the polarizing filter, obstructing the light in that particular area as shown in the figure below. Hence, that area becomes darker and prominent.

A custom LCD is important for maximizing the efficiency of the display area by adding custom symbols and characters. It also helps in reducing the cost and improving energy efficiency of the product. A higher number of custom symbols and specified placement of numerical and alphanumerical characters make the display more informative and readable for the user. This makes it look better than the plain old boring displays we get in the market. Furthermore, we can specify the viewing angle, contrast, and other specifications which can increase durability or give a better value for money for our intended usage.  A typical Custom Segment display is shown below, we will also show you how to design and fabricate the same further in the article.

The LCD display doesn’t emit any light of its own, therefore it requires an external source of illumination or reflector to be readable in dark environments.

While designing a custom segment LCD display, we have the leverage of choosing a lot of parameters that affect the final product. From the color of the display to the illumination technique and color of illumination as well as the type of input pins. Some important considerations we need to take while designing a custom 7 segment display are - the type of display, i.e. positive or negative, illumination method, driving technique, polarising type, and connection method. All these design criteria are explained below:

Positive and negative displays can be easily distinguished by the colour of the background and characters. Some common differences between the positive and negative displays are:

So, which one should you choose? When the displays are to be used in areas with higher ambient light, we should select positive segment LCD display as it has better visibility than negative segment LCD displays without using a backlight.

As we know that LED displays don’t emit any light, hence to illuminate it and make it visible in a dark environment, we can use different methods of illumination. The most common LCD Illumination methods are compared below:

For displays that need to be used for budget-friendly devices that should be small and rugged, LED lights are preferred for the displays due to the high durability and low cost of operations. For high brightness, CCFL and Incandescent lights can be used.

A polarizer film is the most important component of an LCD display, which makes it possible to display characters by controlling the light. There are 3 types of polarizers that can be used in the LCD display, the properties and difference are given below:

If your products need to be used with a switchable backlight, then trans-reflective reflectors are best to be used for front reflectors. If the device has to be used without backlight, then we can select a reflective polarizer for the back-panel as it gives the best contrast ratio.

Displays can be categorized into two types, passive displays, and active display, passive displays are simpler to construct as they have 2 connections at each segment, the conductors comprise of an Indium Tin Oxide to create an image, whereas the active displays use thin-film transistors (TFT) arranged in a grid. The name is due to its ability to control each pixel individually.

If your displays have fewer segments, then static LCD drive is preferred as it is easier to control and cheaper to construct, and has a better contrast ratio. But let’s say that if the number of segments in the display are more than 30-40 then a multiplex LCD drive should be preferred as it has multiple common pins, hence reducing the total number of pins required to drive the display.

Choosing a connector type!!! For the prototyping phase or if you need to connect your LCD display on a Microcontroller directly, a pin type connector is the best and most economical option you have. If you need to connect your LCD display in a final product with a high volume of production which also requires to be extremely durable, but at the same time should not take up a lot of space, a Flex type LCD Connector will work best for you

LCDs have limited viewing angles and when seen from an angle they lose contrast and are difficult to be observed.  The viewing angle is defined by the angles perpendicular to the center of the display towards its right, left, up, and down which are denoted by the notations 3:00, 9:00, 12:00, and 6:00 respectively. The viewing angle of LCD can be defined as the angle w.r.t. to the bias angle at which the contrast of segments is legible.

To improve the viewing angle in an LCD, a Bias is incorporated in the design which shifts the nominal viewing angle with an offset. Another technique is to increase the Voltage, it affects the bias angle, making the display crisper when viewed from a direction.

For example, the viewing angle of a TN type TFT LCD is 45-65 degrees. Extra-wide polarising film (EWP) can increase the viewing angle by 10 degrees, using an O film polariser can make the viewing angles 75 degrees but these come at a cost of reduced contrast.

Anti-glare filters are bonded with the top polarising filters using adhesive. It improves the viewability by re-directing light waves so they don’t reflect back towards the viewer thus reducing glare. Newer materials are capable of reducing the front glare by up to less than 0.3%.

LCD Control chip or LCD driver chips can be mounted on the flex cable, display, or externally on a PCB. The placement of LCD control chip can affect the cost and size of the display. The 2 most common methods of chip placement are-Chip of Board (COB)and Chip on Glass(COG) which are described below:

COG can be used as it is cheaper and makes the assembly process simpler, but if the dimensions are a constraint, then the COB is also a viable option.

We planned to design an air quality monitoring system for which we needed a custom segment LCD panel for an air quality monitoring device. Our product needs to display the following data: 2.5-micron and 10-micron particulate matter (PM) suspended in the air; the units should be in parts per million (PPM). CO2 in the air in PPM along with total volatile organic compounds present in the air in parts per billion (PPB). To make the product more usable, we included time in 24-hour format, Temperature in ºC, Battery status, loudspeaker status, Bluetooth status, and Wi-Fi status. And for some personal touch, we also added how good the air quality in the room is by using 3 different smileys.

We realized that it was impossible to provide all these data in a generic LCD available in the market, thus decided to build a custom LCD for our project.

A step-by-step flowchart is shown below to walk you through each and every step of selecting components and getting your custom segment LCD manufactured.

We started by listing down our requirements and drew a mock-up of the display on paper. After finalizing the placement of all the segments and icons on the prototype sketch of the display, we then decided which all icons and segments have to be kept on for the whole time and which needs to be driven. Realizing that there are too many segments, characters and icons, hence we selected a multiplex drive with 8 common pins which helped us bring down the total pins from an estimated 180 pins to less than 40 pins.

Since the device was meant to be used inside houses and offices, which are more often than not well lit and protected from environmental conditions, we opted for a positive mode display. For superior contrast ratio and better viewing angle, we chose a Film Super Twisted Nematic Display (FSTN) with a drive condition of 1/8 Duty and bias of 1/4.

Usually, the displays are mounted at a height of 4.5 feet from the ground, thus the viewing direction was selected to be 12"O clock with an operating frequency of 64Hz. We selected a Transmissive polarizer for the front glass and a reflective polarizer for the rear glass so that the natural light can pass through the front panel and the display can achieve the maximum contrast without the need for backlighting and we opted for the pin type connectors as they are easy for prototyping and are suitable for harsh environment with a lot of vibrations and shocks which best suited our purpose.

In the above image of a custom display design, we sent to the manufacturer, the red lines over multiple characters indicate that all these are considered as a single segment. For the sake of simplicity, we added test like T, S, U, B to denote Text, Symbols, Units, and Battery respectively. These characters were followed by numbers to simplify communication between us and the manufacturer. For example, if we needed any particular text or symbol to remain on, we can easily specify that to the manufacturer by using the corresponding text for that segment.

We mailed our requirements to multiple LCD manufacturers, (you will find a lot of LCD manufacturers on the Internet). Most LCD manufacturers have competitive pricing, and reply within a week. A sample requirement sheet is shown above which a customer needs to fill to specify all the details to the manufacturer.

This is a sample Custom Segment LCD quotation we got from one of the manufacturers. As you can see, the cost is based on the quantity. Higher the quantity, lower the cost. Apart from the cost per quantity, there is one more component called tooling fees. Tooling fee is a one-time fee charged by the manufacturer. It is for the technical design, support, and customization of the product. Customization of PCB or tooling of LCD can drive the tooling price higher or lower.

The tooling time and cost depend on how detailed and accurate designs you sent to the manufacturer. They then send the exact dimensions and technical details of the product they will be manufacturing. Once you confirm the design, they manufacture and ship the product which might take 4-8 weeks to arrive depending on the size of the order and mode of transportation selected.

A custom segment LCD can help you personalize your product while also saving the overall cost of your product. The whole process will take you around 2-3 months, which will include the designing phase, prototyping phase, and getting your custom segment LCDs delivered to your doorstep. Higher ordering quantity will reduce the cost per piece of each unit, thus driving down the cost of your final product.