After 2+ hours, use stencils (if so desired) for table design. Tape off Sugru area and use white enamel spray paint to cover any woodworking errors. Step 10: Wait for Sugru to cure (12 hours). I used 12 packets of Sugru in total, though this may vary depending on one’s skill with it. I also used Sugru to create rubber pads for the monitor to rest on, so that it was at the right height (roughly the table surface). Step 9: Use Sugru or some other silicone product to line the holes. Leave the bottom wood platform out for now. Step 8: Assemble the IKEA HEMNES according to the directions. Step 7: Wipe it all down again to get rid of sawdust. Screw a 1/16 inch screw of appropriate length (5 cm/2 in?) into the hole. Placing all the pieces correctly for alignment purposes, drill a small hole through the support segments, the spacers, and some of the table, without going through. Step 6: Insert a small drill bit (1/32 inch) into the power drill, taking care to insert it so that the amount extended will pass through the support segments, the spacers, and part of the table itself, without breaking the surface. The table thickness is a bit over 2 cm, which was more than adequate for the depth of the monitor below the table surface. I also used some spare pieces as spacers to account for the depth of the monitor. If the width of the cutout is approximately 57 cm, this should span the 34 cm gap, with 4-6 cm additional on either end to attach it. They should be approximately 4 cm wide, and long enough to span the gap north to south. Step 5: Cut out two support segments from the monitor cutout. Step 4: Wipe it down to get rid of all the sawdust. The monitor should pass through completely, but just barely. Carefully try to pass the monitor through the hole, sanding and shaping more as necessary. The monitor corners are more square than it might first seem.

Edges should be smooth, corners should be close to 90 degrees without creating a sharp angle. This is time consuming and messy, but necessary. Step 3: Use the rotary tool to sand and shape each of the holes. Some creativity with the jigsaw can make it a 3 minute job. This is a smaller version of the monitor step. Step 2: Do the same for the Leap Motion controller. These should match up enough to pop out the cutout. If they are close enough together, it should be easy to create a space for the jigsaw blade. Step 1: drill two (2) holes at the corners of the monitor area. Step 0: Identify a place (work bench, some old boxes, etc.) to place the IKEA HEMNES parts for working and cutting. I decided to skip other features in the above TinkerCAD design for the moment, with the idea that I could add them later as needed. I did the same for the Leap Motion controller. (Contrary to habit, I actually made it slightly larger, since I was going to fill the edge with Sugru.) I upturned the monitor to trace it in pencil. I measured the dimensions of the monitor (57 cm wide by 34 cm tall) and centered this on the table, with a slight bias toward more space on the “south” side (closest to intended seating). Nonetheless, measurements were important. Thankfully IKEA furniture is inexpensive enough and ubiquitous on Craigslist, so messing up is not catastrophic. – Jig saw (IKEA FIXA) (…I regretted using this) – Monoprice Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort – Intel NUC small form factor computer (D54250WYK1) – CRC All Purpose Enamel Spray Paint, 10 oz, Gloss White – Krylon 11 oz Low Odor Clear Matte Finish Aerosol Spray I was able to get almost everything from Amazon, eBay, or IKEA. Purchasing the components was a planning process in itself. Also, I think the HEMNES matched my existing décor.

Initially I was going to use the LACK, but the wood of the HEMNES seemed more amenable to shaping with conventional tools. The IKEA HEMNES table seemed ideal for my purposes. I was pleasantly surprised when I found TinkerCAD, which worked beautifully with Chrome. Then I looked for a free, web-based CAD program to sketch out a 3D design. My research on existing solutions was a bit disappointing: mostly insanely expensive, large, or platform locked, they did not fit my vision of a ‘desktop’ that would allow me to fit it into my existing workflow, rather than hope that applications would support it (like the Microsoft Surface).įirst I tried to draw out what I wanted on paper, but it turns out that even the 11×17 paper I borrowed from work wasn’t quite enough space to work with. I had been thinking of my Touch Table project for a long time.

Google earth multitouch