[Tfug] 1U keyboard+monitor drawer

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Zack,

On 11/30/2012 4:28 PM, Zack Williams wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 3:53 PM, Bexley Hall<bexley401 at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>>> it up you need a spring/hinge contraption in the back that has the
>>> right amount of torque for the weight of the monitor so that it will
>>> keep it in place at the angle it's adjusted to.
>>
>> I had assumed a "friction hold" where you "bend" a pivot point
>> until it's in the right orientation.  Note that you can also
>> move some of this mechanism to the part of the bracket that
>> is fastened to the drawer (instead of the "monitor end")
>
> Yeah, that's where mine pivot's from - right behind the keyboard.
> You could probably hack together something with a few standard hinges
> and a kickstand on the back, if you can manage to find a sliding tray
> large enough to support the "reclined" monitor.

I was thinking of gutting a 1U server and using the chassis
(i.e., the bottom half thereof) for the drawer.  The real
"issue" is coming up with a support for the monitor.  Mangling
metal is always a chore (the idea of making something out of
*wood* just won't cut it!  :> )

>> Dunno.  I'm not a mech eng but it doesn't sound like it would be
>> an impossible problem to solve.  I would imagine the bigger
>> issue would be "lack of demand" -- why reduce the price and
>> increase the "risk"/effort required on the part of the customer
>> when the customer *probably* has money set aside for this sort
>> of thing in their budget (or, end of year budget boondoggles)
>
> Exactly - "enterprise" = money no object.  Gold plated everything.
> Then, a year later, I buy the $x000 dual port 20 gigabit infiniband
> cards for $15/ea off of eBay.

Yup.  Taken to extreme, you should never buy *anything* -- since
it will always be cheaper tomorrow!  :-/

>> I have a spare arm I got in an auction lot that you are welcome to.
>> It's 1U with about a 20" extension (?) and will easily accommodate
>> a power cord, video, mouse and keyboard cables.  No idea if your
>> existing drawer has provisions to attach it but I'm sure you could
>> drill a hole and run a bolt through it.  Let me know...
>
> Depending on what it is, I might be interested.  These tend to be very
> specific to the unit that they were originally made for.

I sent some pix in a PM.  Looks like you should be able to attach
one end to a rack frame and the other end to "someplace convenient"
on the back of the drawer -- depending on how deep the drawer and
rack are...