We at Tom’s Hardware know that we love SBCs.A normal goto board is raspberry pi, today we share with you an exciting LattePanda 3 Delta project. This work is provided by Protolino, plancooter. According to Protolino, it’s a mix of Cyberdeck and his regular PC, and in operation he’s powered by a LattePanda Delta 3 x86 computer.
Designed to look like a laptop, the lid opens and closes. There is a screen built into the top of the lid. I’m not sure exactly what model of screen is used, but it looks like his LVDS connector is between the base of the laptop and the screen. The LattePanda 3 Delta has a display connector, which could also come from the HDMI display control board. For input, the PLANKuter is fitted with an OLKB PLANCK 40% mechanical keyboard (presumably PLANKuter’s source for his PLANK). The keyboard sits flush with the building platform on which the breadboard can be placed.
Beneath the keyboard is a drawer that extends outward with a small support piece to hold the keyboard upright. This drawer can be stuffed with manufacturer goodies like wires and modules to tinker with on the go. On the back of the laptop is a special holder for his TS80P soldering iron with replaceable nibs. The TS80P nearly made it onto our list of best soldering irons, losing out to the Miniware TS101. The PLANKuter housing was designed from scratch using CAN and 3D printed using his probably one of the best 3D printers.
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The unit features a 100Wh battery consisting of 18650 cells arranged in a 4S2P configuration. The battery powers the machine and he connects to two her 5A buck converters to power the USB Type-C and USB Type-A ports. It also powers the soldering iron.
One of the special things about the LattePanda 3 Delta is that it has an integrated Arduino MCU. This allows you to program your project using the built-in GPIO. PLANKuter takes full advantage of this feature by making his GPIOs accessible from the top of the unit. Between a drawer full of components and his GPIO access, PLANKuter looks like a manufacturer’s dream laptop.
If you want to know more about this project, check out the official plancooter Hackaday project page. You can find out more about our newest LattePanda, LattePanda Sigma, in a recent episode. Pi Cast is Coming to YouTube There, Les shows off his board up close. There’s also a list of Raspberry Pi projects if you’re interested in his other SBC-related work.
