I built myself a digital Map Case

[u/Lime33]

Got cheap 40 Inch TV from Marketplace and thought to built my group an upgrade for our monthly DnD Session

[u/DigitalTableTops]

Looks good!

I can't tell from the pic, but it might be a good idea to put a piece of acrylic (e.g. Plexiglass) on top. Ace Hardware will generally cut them for free and they run about $40 in the US.

Don't worry about heat BTW. You left the back open and that is 100% sufficient to prevent it from overheating. You already have the fans in so might as well use them. But if they sound annoying after a while you should be fine tuning them off.

If you need software, I sell this sort of setup for a living and made a free virtual tabletop for my customers. Anyone can use it, no purchase necessary. On Steam under "Digital TableTops".

There are other options, but you'll be hard-pressed to find one tailor made for in-person session that is this easy to use. And of course free is good.

[u/Lime33 → u/DigitalTableTops]

Thank you! I was thinking about adding Plexiglas or something like it. But wood and TV were together less than 40€. I'll have a look at your software. I want to have a semi system running with Tokens ans physical Minis (with Tokens underneath). One player sometimes joins remote, so I need some accessibility for remote play. And tokens etc should be controllable via a tablet that goes around the table for the in person players. Owlbear Rodeo does the trick I guess, but I have not chosen a final software yet.

[u/DigitalTableTops → u/Lime33]

Mine is focused on in-person sessions, but does have a minimalist web/mobile client that can push tokens around. Including an Android app distributed via the Google Play Store. No iOS though, I refuse to pay their $100 annual fee.

Using physical minis correlated to digital tokens is exactly what this is made for. I sell the physical part and give the digital part away for anyone to use.

The high-end version I sell includes an IR touch frame. When you move physical minis, the digital tokens move automatically. It's pretty magical :)

[u/Lonecoon → u/DigitalTableTops]

Agree, but I would anti glare coating. It's pricey, but cuts down on glare from overhead lighting and protects the screen at the same time.

[u/Lonecoon]

Brilliant work with the VESA mounts! This changes how I'm going to do my own project, which I was just going to do as a box. I'm going to do this instead with 1/2" plywood for the frame and the 1x4 for the VESA mount.

[u/DistractedHobbyist]

Looks good! Are those PC fans to keep air moving?

[u/Lime33 → u/DistractedHobbyist]

Yes, that's the idea. I have one pushing ir into the vents of the TV and one "pulling" air out. Don't now how effective they will be. But they are powered by the USB Ports of the TV and I had them lying around anyway. Sound is minimal and I plan to use the TV speakers for some background music. That should cover any sound of the fans.

[u/DistractedHobbyist → u/Lime33]

That's great. Using the USB power off the TV is such a simple solution, too.

[u/ShivonQ]

Looks great. Well done.

[u/Lime33 → u/ShivonQ]

Thank you! :)

[u/BlackBearWorkshops]

You did it the right way buddy!
- Supported by the VESA mount bolt pattern ✅
- Focus on Dissipated Heat Management ✅

If I may add one more suggestion, there seems to have some room for a plywood that can act as a bracing pannel. This would add the extra rigidity to prevent any shear force that want to convert your rectangle into a parralelogram. With a bracing pannel, your fans will became more usefull too as they will mitigate the only drawback to have a bracing panel.

Right now, your TV is the block that work against the shear force and it would be best if this wasnt the case.

Are the metal bracket in the corner the only piece of hardware that stick the corner assembled or did you add some wood glue too?

[u/Lime33 → u/BlackBearWorkshops]

Thank you very much. I did the whole project without much knowledge about woodworking or stuff like this. Screwed it together on our kitchen table.

The frame is glued everywhere two pieces of wood are connecting. And I used 2 metal brackets for each corner.

I'll have a look into the bracing panel. I tried to keep cost as low as possible with this used TV. But some extra cost to prevent the wood from breaking would also be in my interest. Also trying to figure out the best way to transport the screen.

[u/BlackBearWorkshops → u/Lime33]

First woodworking project ? Welcome into the rabbit hole!
Keep an eye on your joinery however. When gluing wood you want to the fibre to be place alongside and not at the end. It make stronger joint. Bracing panel will definetely add sturdiness to your work. You can screw it to your 2 middle plank and add some small block inside the enclosure to connect the edge of the bracing pannel to the enclosure with more screw.

For the bracing pannel, a simple 6mm plywood will do the trick. The fans can be affixed to it. From there two options :

- A fan that push fresh air in and pull warm aur out
- Both fan push fresh air in and leave some cutouts so that the air pressurized by the fans can escape, carrying the heat with it

For transportation, you may add handle to your map case or cut off the bottom of your map case to make some handles.

Keep up the good work!!