2023 - 2025
I started building this e-ink frame back when there were almost no such products in the market and no open-source designs available. E-ink uses very little power so I wanted to challenge myself by developing a solar charging system into the frame in a way that is invisible to the user. The power architecture is the most advanced one in the whole field, and it makes this one of the few energy-independent consumer electronics devices in the world.
The frame is CNC machined from acacia wood. The backboard for V3 was resin-printed, while V4's backboard was CNC machined from ABS to develop it closer toward injection molding. The diffuser is 60% translucent and coated with a diffusing spray to hide the solar cells while allowing sufficient light transmission to continuously charge the device.
The first version was done with an acrylic backplate and different boards soldered together on a resin printed holder and had individual solar cells soldered together on nickel strips.
The form factor turned closer to the final product, and had a better diffuser made from special coated translucent acrylic. And second-generation custom PCB that skipped the display driver IC that the first generation had and instead used low-level driver firmware to drive the display directly with the ESP.
DFM and DFA were the major focuses of V3 and V4. The total number of components was significantly reduced and the backboard was designed for injection molding. The hardware assembly featured a unified solar cell, an improved main logic board with refined power architecture, production opimizations, and SD card holder, and a secondary board with button and USB-C port, connected via ribbon cable.
For more information about the project, including technical specifications, repositories, and the latest updates, visit the official project website.