iPad Mini 2/3 Retina Display Shell

iPad Mini 2/3 Retina Display Shell

A 3D-printed shell designed to house an iPad Mini 2/3 LCD retina display using an AbuseMarK USB-C adapter board.

While there are a few projects online that repurpose standard iPad displays using driver boards, there don’t appear to be any options for the iPad Mini. After discovering that AbuseMarK sells a USB-C adapter board and a flex cable for the iPad Mini 2/3 display, I decided to develop this shell as I couldn't find an existing 3D model designed to house these components.

Disclaimer

• I won't be responsible if you cause harm to yourself by building this so please follow proper safety precautions.

• I won't be responsible if you break your iPad or screen. I'm assuming you don't care about the iPad if you are building this though.

Important

• The Retina display from the iPad Mini 2/3 is a native portrait display, so if you want to use it in a landscape orientation then you will have to rotate the screen in software.

• As stated on the AbuseMarK website This ONLY works with USB-C or Thunderbolt ports which have DisplayPort Alternate Mode function available.

What do I need to build this?

• Safety Goggles (Eye safety is very important, don't be stupid, wear safety protection)

• An iPad Mini 2/3 (highly advised not to use one with a cracked screen to avoid glass shards flying at you, if you are afraid of this then you can buy just the retina display from places like eBay or AliExpress)

• 2048x1536 LCD to USB-C Adapter

• iPad Mini Retina 2048x1536 7.9" LCD Adapter Cable

• A Soldering Iron

• M2xL4xOD3 threaded inserts and a soldering iron to insert the threaded inserts into the Base. The shell uses 10 of these threaded inserts. I would advise to use a regular soldering iron tip rather than a threaded insert tip as the threaded insert tips are wide and you will melt parts of the plastic shell that don't need melting. The threaded insert holes are close together so a regular soldering iron tip is best.

• M2xL3 screws (see diagram below for the type of screw you need).

• Suction cup with a pull-ring

• Thin metal pry tool (the same ones that are used to open iPod Classics)

• Plastic opening picks

• Hairdryer

• A USB-C cable that supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode, not all USB-C cables support this.

Tips for harvesting the screen from an iPad Mini 2/3

• If you aren't comfortable doing this then don't do it,  get a repair technician to do it for you or buy the retina screen by itself from eBay/AliExpress.

• Wear safety goggles! 

• I would advise against doing this on an iPad Mini with a cracked screen as the risk of glass flying at you is high. You can buy an iPad Mini 2/3 for as low as £10 on eBay that doesn't have a cracked screen. You can also buy the retina display alone for a low price from eBay and probably AliExpress.

• Consult YouTube tutorials and guides to help you do this.

1. Heat up the face of the iPad Mini using a hairdryer using hot air for a few minutes.

2. Use a suction cup tool which has a pull-ring on it and attach it to the top right corner of the iPad Mini display.

3. Pull on the suction cup tool which will allow you to get the thin metal pry tool under the glass digitizer. Use the metal pry tool to try to wedge it under the flat top edge of the iPad digitizer, not on the corner directly. The metal pry tool I used was the one that is used for opening iPod Classics, they are very thin so be careful not to cut yourself.

4. Only use the metal pry tool to initially get under the glass then switch to plastic picks such as iFixit Opening Picks. You will need to keep reheating sections of the screen then keep placing, inserting and moving the 'opening picks' around the screen to seperate the digitizer from the glue. Eventually you will be able to lift the whole glass digitizer off the iPad Mini.

5. You can then follow a screen replacement guide on YouTube which shows you the rest of the process to remove the screen.

What screws do I need?

The screws I used look like the photo below, the underside of the screw head is flat. I used this screw type as tapered screws might dig into and damage the adapter board. The exact screws M2 L3 screws I used were from AliExpress and were called NINDEJIN Phillips Ultra Thin Flat Wafer Head Screw M1.6 M2 M2.5 M3 M4 M5 M6 Carbon Steel CM Thin Head Laptop Screw for Computer

Installation Guide

1. Print the 3 parts. I printed mine in PETG, I haven't tested other materials, I thought I'd play it safe with PETG since I don't know how warm the adapter board can get.
   

   

2. Install the threaded inserts. The same sized threaded insert is used in every hole. 
   

   

3. Connect the iPad Mini 2/3 display to the adapter board. then screw in the adapter board
   

   

4. Screw in the display.
   

   

5. Screw in the IO Shield.
   

   

6. Finally, use double sided tape to attach the Bezel to the Base.
   

   

   

The Tinkercad Files

Here are the Tinkercad files if you wish to make your own modifications:

• Base

• Bezel

• IO Shield

If you want to make modifications you should be able to select the entire model and click ‘Ungroup’ allowing you to modify the model.

Credits

• A user on Thingiverse called Japala developed a Abusemark LCD to DisplayPort Adapter - Dummy board model which I slightly modified to help me model the dimensions of the AbuseMark adapter board and USB-C port.

• I used the USB-C Cutout Template model by @Jellypowered to model the USB-C port on the adapter board.

Thank you both for allowing others to use your model!