Samsung 8.4 Tablet Install Build (Pics!!!)
 

Hey guys, got rid of my iPad mini dash bezel a month or so ago and have been wanting to do another. But instead of an iPad I chose to go with the new Samsung 8.4 tablet.

I chose the Samsung 8.4 Pro Tablet bc the following:

-Operating Temperature Limits (not sure what Samsung's is yet but the iPad is only 32F to 95F)
-Screen Resolution (2560x1600 or 359 pixels/inch vs iPad mini 2048x1536 or 326 pixels/inch)
-Aspect Ratio (Samsung tablet is 16:10 vs iPad's 4:3)
-Multitasking (I can run Navigation and Play Music app at the same time in split screen!)
-GPS and Glonass (Ipad mini only cellular ones do)
-Expandable storage (up to 80GB=16GB internal+64 micro SD card)

Also I chose to do two different options to see which I liked best. The first is just a flat pan. The second is a side slider pan. The benefit of the side slider is that you can charge the tablet and connect via USB.

Option 1....(Flat Pan)
Heres the steps.
#01 Wrap the tablet with painters tape
#02 Tape off a flat surface on a table
#03 Tape the tablet to the table (**this keeps the resin from seeping under the tablet, makes it a bitch to get the tablet out of the mold)
#04 Spread some mold release, or car wax, or pam cooking spray on the tablet
#05 Fiberglass


http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps0d0ddb62.jpg

Option 2....(Side Slider)
This version is a lot trickier. For this I:
#01 Wrap the tablet with painters tape
#02 Tape off a flat surface on a table
#03 Then I made a little ramp on the back side of the tablet using cardboard
#04 Tape that "ramp" to the tablet
#05 Tape the tablet to the table (**this keeps the resin from seeping under the tablet, makes it a bitch to get the tablet out of the mold)
#06 Spread some mold release, or car wax, or pam cooking spray on the tablet
-Fiberglass

Heres what you should end up with...
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps8287c8a4.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psb6642916.jpg


Heres with the tablet mocked up...
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...pscbbfec77.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps439938b0.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...pse9ea7876.jpg

Now we need to make the mold a little wider to allow the tablet to slide horizontally. To do this we will cut the mold and insert a piece where that cut is made to make the mold bigger

#07 I made a line to cut the flat portion of the mold
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psdcb7de83.jpg

#08 And went ahead and made line .75" the way around the mold to clean it up
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps24c70ba9.jpg

-Here's the mold cut in two, now we can determine how wide we want to make the mold
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps691ff872.jpg

#09 Now spend some time here. The idea here is only make a gap or extend the mold just enough for the tablet to slide enough to the right to clear the charger so the tablet can come out. So with the cut mold measure out how much you want to extend the mold. Now tape the two halves together with the gap in-between. Then place the tablet back in the mold to help hold it together. Make sure everything is square and the correct overall width that you are looking for. I ended up extending the mold 3/8". And when your ready flip the mold so that the tablet's screen is facing down.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psc6a63c1a.jpg

#10 Now cut some strips of fiberglass enough to fill the gap.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps79d41f68.jpg

#11 And one large piece to hold it all together
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps09c3757c.jpg

Once your resin has cured you should end up with this.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psb1f252d9.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps7de30c8e.jpg

-Now with the tablet **Notice the small gap to the right of the tablet, the tablet can slide horizontally
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps1b0f52ea.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps78e05b3a.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps4bb818fb.jpg

Next comes body filler and sanding!!!

Thats all I got done tonight. Stay Tuned

sweet , in for more pics .

In for results

in for mass production!

Thanks guys. I need to get some light weight body filler like Rage Gold or some thing. Bondo just sucks. Next I'll make a flat piece for with a whole cut out for the front of the pan.

Get Evercoat Quantum you will never want to use anything else!

*****Update******

This post will be all about sanding & filler techniques....

More body work on the panels. Bare with me guys this is what makes the difference between a piece of shit and something professional.

Also stopped by the paint store and was allowed to open several different body fillers to try and find one as smooth and hopefully as easy to sand as possible. There was a 3m professional lightweight body filler that I liked even better than rage gold. So i might pick that up only $40 for a gallon vs. rage is $60 per gallon.

I started using bondo and trying to sand it before it dried hard as a rock. It just sucks for what we're trying to do. I actually ground out as much as that as I could with a dremel. Had some Bondo glaze/spot putty and decided to use it b/c its very easy to sand and dries in like 10min.


What you'll need
-Spot Putty/Glaze or 1qt Body Filler
-Sand Paper (60Grit & 100Grit)
-Piece of sheet metal the length of the tablet
-3M Sanding Sponge (Medium Grit)
-Glue
-Something round (I'll explain)


I have come up with some very good techniques for you guys to make your sanding come out perfect. So I'll try to shut up, heres some pics.

***Sanding Tip #1***
Remember your fingers are not flat!!! If you sand constantly with your fingers you will not sand flat. Fingers have their place but use these methods to keep things as square and straight as possible...

***Sanding Tip #2***
Glue a large piece of sandpaper to something very flat to sand the top of your pan perfectly level (I glued to a board with 60 grit on one side and 100 grit on the other side of the board) .
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps3ywafdey.jpg

Heres the fiberglass after sanding with this method. I generally used 60 grit when it was bare fiberglass and 100 grit when I was sanding down the filler around the edges.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psitx3j0s3.jpg

***Sanding Tip #3***
Before you spread filler on the curved areas find something metal like a socket, or drill bit that you can wrap sandpaper around. Then when you sand down the filler it will make the curve the correct radius.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psushekojz.jpg

***Filler Tip #1***
I wanted to keep my edges as straight as possible, so with a scrap piece of sheet metal lay it parallel to the edge that needs a little TLC.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psm2gngvlk.jpg

Line it up like so...
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psn4jyhx3i.jpg

Then spread some filler on that B.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psy7ccuwqq.jpg

This should help you fill in all the low places and build up that lip to a 90 degree angle...
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psb2mk9rma.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psoyxcky1x.jpg

Now start your sanding, using your socket or drill bit wrapped in sand paper.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...pszos5skt6.jpg

Then flip the mold over and sand the top carefully. You should end up with something like this.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psu5a0v20r.jpg

Keep repeating until your satisfied.

Now you can either choose to smooth out the bottom or not. I'll be putting suede down so as long as its flat its fine. I still decided to smooth it out so that I can make a nice mold of this one and possibly make other pans easily from that mold.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psha6jx5r2.jpg
This is where the sanding sponge comes in handy. Use it to sand the bottom, you can also wrap sandpaper around the foam block if you need a different grit. Remember, fingers are not flat.

*****Sanding Tip #4*****
Now you should have a reasonable pan now. I got thinking how I can make those edges as perfect as possible and came up with this. Using that piece of scrap metal again.
-Lay the metal up to the edge just like before, take your time and try to make the entire edge as straight as possible.
-Then put some filler on one more time.
-Let it dry.
-Sand the top of the pan with your paper glued to something flat.
-Then place the metal up to the edge again.
-Line it up to were you just had it and SAND it now.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psfjlamaqr.jpg

Now check out this edge!!!
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps8hgdjzni.jpg




Like I said guys take your time on the sanding. It sucks and its tedious but it'll be worth it. Tomorrow I should be able to finish sanding, start the front piece to these pans, and hopefully make the molds of these if you guys are interested. Here's where I left the pans tonight.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps5hxgaejy.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...psrhfxbx5q.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps6gposndp.jpg

Also as far as electronics go. I will be usb'ing this tablet to an Alpine head unit so that I can use my steering wheel controls. And my iPhone is bluetooth'ed to the head-unit, so when I get a call the music automatically fades out and I can either answer or deny, then the music fades back in.

Now what do you guys think.
Head-unit location:
#1 Head-unit in stock HVAC control location
#2 Head-unit stuck behind dash (no access)

HVAC controls location:
#1 HVAC controls in stock location
#2 HVAC controls behind tablet (accessible through cutout in pan)
#3 Relocate HVAC Temp and Location control to traction control button area, and fan speed to ashtray.

I Keep thinking of combining these ideas.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l3...n/P1010083.jpg
http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4cf77ce5.jpg

And I have some ideas on how to make the HVAC controls look more stock down there...

Wow man you got a lot of work into it, I'd say if you can fit the hvac controls into the cubby where the 2nd switch is it would look the best.

Matty what do you mean by the 2nd switch? Traction control area?

Yeah that's the one.

now that you have the beta version done have you thought about vacuum forming
these out of plastic.
Just pour the existing one full of plaster of paris or por rocks to make a male plug mold and
suck away with a shop vac.

I have thought about vacuum forming. I actually already have a table for that but I never had very good results with vacuuming. I might give it another try though. If not then probably gelcoat and fiberglass...

I wouldn't think the vacu-forming would give you the crisp edge (like you built up in the post on sanding and filling) unless the plastic was to thin to be viable to use for this application.

another version with good results is to use both a male plug mold and a female and press it instead of vacuum.
some have used the female as nothing more than a ring to push over the sheet while male mold is under the plastic.

Sry I haven't put up any updates guys should be able to get back to this project this weekend

Any updates?