Assemble the components on the base

Now we are starting to putting the laptop. To start with we start to assemble the PCB's and other components on the base.

1) Screw the raspberry pi 2, and the display driver on their appropriate locations.(SEE PLANS)

2) Hot Glue the batteries(Powebanks) to the base.

3) Coil the HDMI Cable to make it shortest and hot glue to secure it.

4) Hot glue the charging ports on the respective places.

5) Solder the connections of the Raspberry pi 2 and Display Driver to the switches.

NOTE: Pour appropriate amount of hot glue on the batteries. The glue is pretty hot and more glue will probably heat it up abnormally and affect the lithium battery cell inside. "Cells hate heat" !

Charge Indicator LED's (charge status indicator)

Since raspberry pi doesn't have a feature to show up the battery status we need the external arrangement to add the indicator. My power-bank had LED's to show the current status of the charge left in the battery. This indication can be digital (you need to make separate slot) or just 3 LED's(My preference). I soldered extension wires to the led's and hot glued it to the frame. The wires passed through the gaps between the MDF and frame.This completes the arrangement of the Charge status Indicator LED's.

NOTE: This step is completely optional, but its better to know the current charging status while working. Most powerbanks shutoff the power output if the battery is below its critical level. We don't want this interruption so better add the charge indication.

Assemble The Display

To assemble the display section

a) Mark holes for the hinge on the frame.

b) Drill holes on the frame, Be careful not to split the wood, because there is no going back at this stage.

c) Screw the hinges on the frame.

d) Put some Double tape adhesive on the display screen.

e) Attach the display connector to the display screen and check if it is working as expected.

f) Press the display screen into the slot we made in earlier steps.

Put everything together..

Choosing the Operating System

The choice of the operating system totally depends on the type of work you do. I wanted the functions of a desktop so I went with the Ubuntu Mate OS. There are a few other's to be considered:

1) Ubuntu Mate: Ubuntu MATE is a stable, easy-to-use operating system with a configurable
desktop environment. Ideal for those who want the most out of their computers and prefer a traditional desktop metaphor. You can download the image here: UBUNTU MATE

2) Raspbian: Raspbian is the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s official supported operating system. You can install it with NOOBS or download the image here : RASPBIAN. Raspbian comes pre-installed with plenty of software for education, programming and general use. It has Python, Scratch, Sonic Pi, Java, Mathematica and more.

3) OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open source media player based on Linux and founded in 2014 that lets you play back media from your local network, attached storage and the Internet. OSMC is the leading media center in terms of feature set and community and is based on the Kodi project. Download here: OSMC.

There are many other operating systems to play around. Check them out here :https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/

Installing The Operating System

Once you are decided with the operating system you want to go with, time to install it on the raspberry pi 2. Raspberry pi 2 boots from the SD card. So we have to get the image onto the SD card.

Which type of SD card is Best?
The recommendation of the size of the sd card depends on the Operating system we install. I used 16GB class 10 micro SD card. This gave me following advantages: a) I got more space for storage (i did have to manage partitions to get the remaining space on the card ). Class 10 cards are faster to boot and perform read write operations. This is how you chose the SD card.

Writing the IMAGE of the O.S to the SD card is done by Burning the image file using the Win32 Disc Imager.

1) Using the SD Formatter tool Format the SD card. (Format type : QUICK; Format size adjustment; ON)

2) Open the Win32 Disk Imager and locate the image you downloaded. Click on "Write" once ready.

3) Wait for the writing to complete. The speed of this process depends on the CLASS type of the SD card (Class 10 is faster than class 4)

4) Once the writing is finished, safely eject the SD card from the computer.

5) If you followed the steps correctly the raspberry pi should Boot successfully with the OS.