raspberry pi tft display projects manufacturer
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Raspberry Pi is a Palm Size computer that comes in very handy when prototyping stuff that requires high computational power. It is being extensively used for IOT hardware development and robotics application and much more memory hunger applications. In most of the projects involving the Pi it would be extremely useful if the Pi had a display through which we can monitor the vitals of our project.
The pi itself has a HDMI output which can be directly connected to a Monitor, but in projects where space is a constrain we need smaller displays. So in this tutorial we will learn how we can interface the popular 3.5 inch Touch Screen TFT LCD screen from waveshare with Raspberry pi. At the end of this tutorial you will have a fully functional LCD display with touch screen on top of your Pi ready to be used for your future projects.
It is assumed that your Raspberry Pi is already flashed with an operating system and is able to connect to the internet. If not, follow the Getting started with Raspberry Pi tutorial before proceeding.
It is also assumed that you have access to the terminal window of your raspberry pi. In this tutorial we will be using Putty in SSH mode to connect to the Raspberry Pi. You can use any method but you should somehow be able to have access to your Pi’s terminal window.
Connecting your 3.5” TFT LCD screen with Raspberry pi is a cake walk. The LCD has a strip of female header pins which will fit snug into the male header pins. You just have to align the pins and press the LCD on top of the Pi to make the connection. Once fixed properly you Pi and LCD will look something like this below. Note that I have used a casing for my Pi so ignore the white box.
For people who are curious to know what these pins are! It is used to establish a SPI communication between the Raspberry Pi and LCD and also to power the LCD from the 5V and 3.3V pin of the raspberry Pi. Apart from that it also has some pins dedicated for the touch screen to work. Totally there are 26 pins, the symbol and description of the pins are shown below
Now, after connecting the LCD to PI, power the PI and you will see a blank white screen on the LCD. This is because there are no drivers installed on our PI to use the connected LCD. So let us open the terminal window of Pi and start making the necessary changes. Again, I am using putty to connect to my Pi you can use your convenient method.
Step 2: Navigate to Boot Options -> Desktop/CLI and select option B4 Desktop Autologin Desktop GUI, automatically logged in as ‘pi’ user as highlighted in below image. This will make the PI to login automatically from next boot without the user entering the password.
Step 3: Now again navigate to interfacing options and enable SPI as show in the image below. We have to enable the SPI interface because as we discussed the LCD and PI communicates through SPI protocol
Step 4: Click on this waveshare driver link to download the driver as a ZIP file. Then move the ZIP file to you PI OS. I used Filezilla to do this, but you can also use a pen drive and simple copy paste work. Mine was placed in the path /home/pi.
Step 7: Now use the below command to restart your Pi. This will automatically end the terminal window. When the PI restarts you should notice the LCD display also showing the boot information and finally the desktop will appear as shown below.
Hope you understood the tutorial and were successful in interfacing your LCD with PI and got it working. If otherwise state your problem in the comment section below or use the forums for more technical quires.
STONE Technologies is a specialized manufacturer of intelligent TFT LCD modules for HMI. Depending on the application, STONE Technologies offers industrial, advanced and residential smart TFT LCD modules in different sizes.
In this project, I will control LEDs with the help of STONE HMI display and Raspberry Pi GUI design. command data is sent to Raspberry-pi via Display, which is sent in frames, as Display sends data in frames and receives it in frames of HEX code. If you want to understand the data frames and how they work, I am using the STWI056WT-01 model in this project? You can download the datasheet from here.
Once opened, you have to create a new project for this purpose, select “Project” from the top and then select “New”, you will be asked to provide the same details as shown below, now give the project name and select the screen size according to your display size, here I am using 640X480 size display and after filling all the details also select the project path and click “Create”.
Step-6 :-This step is for, to upload the GUI-Designin the display.For this first connect the display with power supply of 9-12 volt through power port. And then connect USB to USB to your PC with Display. It will look like this.
After connected the display now first we have to download the ‘Default’folder through GUI-Tool. For this go to at Debugand click on Downloadthen select the location where you want to download it.
Now we have Defaultfolder in our local machine will upload in the Display memory, for this first connect the display as mentioned above in the image through USB to USB communication with your PC. You will get a storage device in your PC there you have to delete first previous Defaultfolder as mentioned in below image.
After pasted the default folder in display storage, just remove USB from Display and also remove the power supply, and after 2-3 sec just connect the power supply again to the display. Then you will get like this GUI which we have designed.
Now first connect Raspberry-Pi through VNC server or you can connect directly through display as per your convenience. Then there are two codes which are given below. The first one is for testing the all buttons which we have created and second one the Whole code with I/O setup and it has logic.
Here the purpose of testing code is to check all buttons so for this you need to connect first USB-0 of Raspberry-Pi to you Display TTL connector and then copy this code in Thonnyof Raspberry-Pi as given in below image and then click on run button to test it.
By click any button which is on display will get a particular button name which we have assigned in the starting as we discussed it earlier. You can see after pressing Button-1on display we are getting output string as button1because we have done the slicing of whole from which we are getting from display.
Here as in testing code these line of code, here l is variable which is receiving the frame from display size of 20, and then q is storing the sliced value as per our requirement.
GPIO.setup(red_led,GPIO.OUT) GPIO.setup(green_led,GPIO.OUT) GPIO.setup(blue_led,GPIO.OUT) GPIO.setup(led1,GPIO.OUT) GPIO.setup(led2,GPIO.OUT) GPIO.output(red_led,GPIO.LOW) GPIO.output(green_led,GPIO.LOW) GPIO.output(blue_led,GPIO.LOW) GPIO.output(led1,GPIO.LOW) GPIO.output(led2,GPIO.LOW) ######################
Now that we have understood the logic behind the code, let’s run the second code in Raspberry-Pi, which is the complete code, but before making the circuit connections as shown in the circuit diagram below.
Raspberry Pi OS provides touchscreen drivers with support for ten-finger touch and an on-screen keyboard, giving you full functionality without the need to connect a keyboard or mouse.
The 800 x 480 display connects to Raspberry Pi via an adapter board that handles power and signal conversion. Only two connections to your Raspberry Pi are required: power from the GPIO port, and a ribbon cable that connects to the DSI port on all Raspberry Pi computers except for the Raspberry Pi Zero line.
Rather than plug your Raspberry Pi into a TV, or connect via SSH (or remote desktop connections via VNC or RDP), you might have opted to purchase a Raspberry Pi touchscreen display.
Straightforward to set up, the touchscreen display has so many possibilities. But if you"ve left yours gathering dust in a drawer, there"s no way you"re going to experience the full benefits of such a useful piece of kit.
The alternative is to get it out of the drawer, hook your touchscreen display to your Raspberry Pi, and reformat the microSD card. It"s time to work on a new project -- one of these ideas should pique your interest.
Let"s start with perhaps the most obvious option. The official Raspberry Pi touchscreen display is seven inches diagonal, making it an ideal size for a photo frame. For the best results, you"ll need a wireless connection (Ethernet cables look unsightly on a mantelpiece) as well as a Raspberry Pi-compatible battery pack.
Several options are available to create a Raspberry Pi photo frame, mostly using Python code. You might opt to script your own, pulling images from a pre-populated directory. Alternatively, take a look at our guide to making your own photo frame with beautiful images and inspiring quotes. It pulls content from two Reddit channels -- images from /r/EarthPorn and quotes from /r/ShowerThoughts -- and mixes them together.
Rather than wait for the 24th century, why not bring the slick user interface found in Star Trek: The Next Generation to your Raspberry Pi today? While you won"t be able to drive a dilithium crystal powered warp drive with it, you can certainly control your smart home.
In the example above, Belkin WeMo switches and a Nest thermostat are manipulated via the Raspberry Pi, touchscreen display, and the InControlHA system with Wemo and Nest plugins. ST:TNG magic comes from an implementation of the Library Computer Access and Retrieval System (LCARS) seen in 1980s/1990s Star Trek. Coder Toby Kurien has developed an LCARS user interface for the Pi that has uses beyond home automation.
Building a carputer has long been the holy grail of technology DIYers, and the Raspberry Pi makes it far more achievable than ever before. But for the carputer to really take shape, it needs a display -- and what better than a touchscreen interface?
Setting up a Raspberry Pi carputer also requires a user interface, suitable power supply, as well as working connections to any additional hardware you employ. (This might include a mobile dongle and GPS for satnav, for instance.)
Now here is a unique use for the Pi and its touchscreen display. A compact, bench-based tool for controlling hardware on your bench (or kitchen or desk), this is a build with several purposes. It"s designed to help you get your home automation projects off the ground, but also includes support for a webcam to help you record your progress.
The idea here is simple. With just a Raspberry Pi, a webcam, and a touchscreen display -- plus a thermal printer -- you can build a versatile photo booth!
Various projects of this kind have sprung up. While the versions displayed above uses a thermal printer outputting a low-res image, you might prefer to employ a standard color photo printer. The wait will be longer, but the results better!
Projects along these lines can also benefit from better use of the touchscreen. Perhaps you could improve on this, and introduce some interesting photo effects that can be tweaked via the touchscreen prior to printing?
How about a smart mirror for your Raspberry Pi touchscreen display project? This is basically a mirror that not only shows your reflection, but also useful information. For instance, latest news and weather updates.
Naturally, a larger display would deliver the best results, but if you"re looking to get started with a smart mirror project, or develop your own from scratch, a Raspberry Pi combined with a touchscreen display is an excellent place to start.
Many existing projects are underway, and we took the time to compile six of them into a single list for your perusal. Use this as inspiration, a starting point, or just use someone else"s code to build your own information-serving smart mirror.
Want to pump some banging "toons" out of your Raspberry Pi? We"ve looked at some internet radio projects in the past, but adding in a touchscreen display changes things considerably. For a start, it"s a lot easier to find the station you want to listen to!
This example uses a much smaller Adafruit touchscreen display for the Raspberry Pi. You can get suitable results from any compatible touchscreen, however.
Alternatively, you might prefer the option to integrate your Raspberry Pi with your home audio setup. The build outlined below uses RuneAudio, a Bluetooth speaker, and your preferred audio HAT or shield.
Requiring the ProtoCentral HealthyPi HAT (a HAT is an expansion board for the Raspberry Pi) and the Windows-only Atmel software, this project results in a portable device to measure yours (or a patient"s) health.
With probes and electrodes attached, you"ll be able to observe and record thanks to visualization software on the Pi. Whether this is a system that can be adopted by the medical profession remains to be seen. We suspect it could turn out to be very useful in developing nations, or in the heart of infectious outbreaks.
We were impressed by this project over at Hackster.io, but note that there are many alternatives. Often these rely on compact LCD displays rather than the touchscreen solution.
Many home automation systems have been developed for, or ported to, the Raspberry Pi -- enough for their own list. Not all of these feature a touchscreen display, however.
One that does is the Makezine project below, that hooks up a Raspberry Pi running OpenHAB, an open source home automation system that can interface with hundreds of smart home products. Our own guide shows how you can use it to control some smart lighting. OpenHAB comes with several user interfaces. However, if they"re not your cup of tea, an LCARS UI theme is available.
Another great build, and the one we"re finishing on, is a Raspberry Pi-powered tablet computer. The idea is simple: place the Pi, the touchscreen display, and a rechargeable battery pack into a suitable case (more than likely 3D printed). You might opt to change the operating system; Raspbian Jessie with PIXEL (nor the previous desktop) isn"t really suitable as a touch-friendly interface. Happily, there are versions of Android available for the Raspberry Pi.
This is one of those projects where the electronics and the UI are straightforward. It"s really the case that can pose problems, if you don"t own a 3D printer.
Inside this part of the shop you can find all the bits and pieces you need for your prototyping needs. Here you can kit out your maker station with tools and consumables, as well as other components such as headers, sensors and accelerometers to bring all those epic ideas to life!
Inside this part of the shop you will find a plethora of add-ons for your Raspberry Pi and other micro computers. Our Maker Emporium includes everything from plug-and-play HATs, to breakout kits and boards including sensors, drivers, motors, wearables and much, much more. Here is where any maker can equip themselves with the gizmos and gadgets they need to take their embedded projects to new heights and beyond!
There are so many great things you can do with the Raspberry Pi - almost too many to list! These kits & bundles are one of the best ways of getting involved with everyone"s favourite single board computer. Whether you want to build a bespoke project, or just get your hands on the gear you need to get your ideas off the ground, we think these bundles are the fast track to optimum levels of fun!
We carry a large range of power supplies and power solutions which cater to any need that you might have in your maker adventures. Whether you just need a standard mains supply, to be able to make your projects portable, or something a bit more heavy duty, we"ve got you covered so you never get caught short.
Here at Pi Supply, we love everything offered by the Raspberry Pi... but we love other single board platforms too! We like to offer a range of options that is as wide as possible to help make all your maker dreams a reality. Here is the range of other micro computers that we carry, including Arduino, BeagleBone and micro:bit.
Take a look at all the original products we have to offer here at Pi Supply! Whether you are looking for self-solder kits or fully assembled HATs, you can explore new horizons with Pi Supply, and do even more to unlock the potential of your Raspberry Pi. Check out our range for LED & IR toys, ePaper applications, power solutions and much more to expand your range of projects.
This is a 5" Raspberry Pi LCD touchscreen with 800*480 resolution and 108×64.8mm display area. The product supports Raspberry Pi DSI display interface and comes with a capacitive touch panel on its screen and supports 5 touch points.
The special holes design on the back of the screen is convenient to directly install the Raspberry Pi in the product. There is no need to provide external power for the touchscreen as the Raspberry Pi power supply is adopted. In addition, the screen supports hardware backlight adjustment. The function can be realized by turning the potentiometer on the back of the display.
The official Raspberry Pi 7” Touchscreen allows you to add touch inputs to your programs, creating a new way to interact with your projects. It also makes for a fantastic desktop screen for day-to-day use of your Raspberry Pi. Wrap it in one of our screen cases and take it anywhere – events, Raspberry Jams or even just your friends house for a coding evening!
For smaller projects, LCD and ePaper displays are a fun way to add a visual element to your projects. With simple code and wiring, they’re great for projects that require text, menus and navigation.
There’s a lot of interest in these little Pi-shaped screens, but there doesn’t seem to be one that is truly “plug n’ play” working straight out of the box.
I may have found something that makes it a little closer to that true plug n’play goal – the 3.5″ TFT screen from NeoSec Solutions. They offer a similar product to the PiTFT however overall I’ve found it a lot easier to set up.
It’s hard to look at any small touch screen for the Pi without comparing it to the ever popular PiTFT – so rather than pretend to not be comparing it – this review will face the boards off against each other and see what’s the best screen in each category. I don’t normally do this, but it just makes sense in this scenario.
The NeoSec 3.5″ TFT is a small touchscreen LCD display that pushes on to your Raspberry Pi (Model A/B) via the GPIO pins. The screen makes use of nearly all available space above the Pi, allowing a decent 480×320 resolution. It comes packaged in a small clip-top box with everything inside.
The GPIO is accessible via the extra PCB tab below the screen, allowing you to connect any kind of header you want (or none at all). It looks as though this could be cut/snapped off if required, as there are a number of droll holes creating the break for you. It’s subtle and out of the way:
The image file is the big winner here for me. I put the image on to a blank SD card (8Gb as it didn’t fit my 4Gb), turned on the Pi, and it was ready to go. No messing around, no code – just a working screen out of the box. Compare that to the hassle of some other TFT screens for the Pi and you’ll see why I’m so impressed with this.
The screen itself is nice and bright, with rich blacks, and that 480×320 resolution keeping the font to a nice size to see as much as possible on screen. I love the size of this screen, and the way it covers the Pi completely. There’s also very little blank space on the screen itself.
I guess it’s hard to keep us happy – we all want the biggest screen on our Pi, but to achieve that you need to remove the PCB area. A tough balance to strike.
Whilst I dont normally compare products when writing a review, theres an obvious competitor that you cant help but compare to when you see other small Raspberry Pi screens…so this review will focus on the pros/cons of the NeoSec 3.5″ TFT compared to the 2.8″ PiTFT from Adafruit.
Although these screens are different in features and size, they’re suitable for comparison in terms of “Pi sized touchscreen vs Pi sized touchscreen”.
The AdaFruit screen rolls up at $34.95 – including the screen only (no buttons). You also have to assemble this screen, including soldering the main GPIO connector and taping down the screen element.
Verdict: NeoSec wins this one. Considering the extras you get with it, I personally think it’s a better deal for a ‘screen on Pi’ solution. (and the basic $25 package is clearly much cheaper)
The PiTFT requires assembly, including GPIO and button soldering, and taping the screen to the PCB. That tape isn’t very sticky at all so you’ll probably need to get your own – I used No Nails tape.
Verdict: I think self-assembly can be a good learning experience, but considering how many people I’ve heard complaining of the difficulty of assembling the PiTFT, NeoSec wins this one.
The NeoSec weighs in at a more comfortable 3.5″ and a clearer 480×320 resolution. The 3.5″ screen covers more of the Pi, which I think looks much smarter. That extra screen space does come at a price, which is the slightly more delicate feel it has, and no mounting holes for support screws like the PiTFT:
The font on the NeoSec screen seems smaller yet clearer, allowing more on screen, but there may be a way to match this on the PiTFT that I haven’t discovered yet:
Verdict: You can’t argue with the bigger screen of the NeoSec, and it does seem to have much better colour and clarity. It seems an easy decision when considering these two as being in the same product market – however the PiTFT certainly feels more sturdy with that PCB surround. I’m going for the NeoSec here – but it is tight.
The PiTFT has holes around it to use nylon screws as a screen support. It also has PCB area around the screen acting as a bit of protection. The PCB covers the entire underside of the screen, ensuring no light comes out of the back.
The NeoSec screen doesnt have any support holes, and has no PCB area around the screen (but its a bigger screen, which is more important in my eyes). I can’t see the NeoSec doing well on a Model A without that Ethernet port holding it up. The NeoSec’s PCB doesn’t cover the rear of the screen either, so light comes out on to your Pi.
Verdict: The PiTFT wins this one, it feels much more secure, and I’m pretty sure light bleed from the back isn’t meant to happen – even if it does look cool.
The PiTFT has an optional upside-down connector to attach a belt to breakout to a breadboard. I don’t like the whole belt thing, it feels a bit too 90’s computing for me, and the upside down back to front thing makes it hard to do something different like add a regular GPIO header.
The NeoSec is a little more traditional with the GPIO, and simply gives you a mirror of the GPIO next to the screen. This is good if you want a simple prototyping access, but perhaps not as ideal if you just want a screen, as it does stick out. It looks as though it can be removed as drill holes indicate an easy option to cut or snap it off.
Verdict: Tie – it all depends on what you want the screen for. The PiTFT may be better for breakout projects, whilst breaking off the GPIO tab on the NeoSec may be better for those looking for a simple screen solution.
The PiTFT comes ready to fit 4 tactile buttons to, however these need to be purchased and fitted separately. The blue PCB of the Adafruit board is attractive when compared to traditional colours.
The NeoSec on the other hand, was much easier to get going. I simply installed the image provided on the DVD supplied (no long download required) and it worked straight away. You have to tweak a couple of settings if you’re using a Rev1 board, but with a Model A/B it’s real easy. You also don’t seem to need to push things to the display using code – it picks up everything as default from what I’ve tested.
I thought I’d add a final section on support, as I had a few questions while writing this review, and previously had questions on the PiTFT when I first used it.
The PiTFT benefits from the massive following and fan base that Adafruit command. Their forums are full of information, and generally a lot of people buy their products, so most people have had the issue and written about it on blogs and forums.
The NeoSec screen doesn’t have that massive following that AdaFruit does, so finding information already out there can be difficult. Fortunately NeoSec counteract this by providing excellent personal support by email and also regularly on the Raspberry Pi forum.
It’s important to stress “personal choice” here. Everyone will have different uses for a Pi-sized screen, so a lot of us will probably sway one way or another purely based on the features and functionality we need.
Sure the PiTFT has that sexy blue AdaFruit styling we all love, and the screen feels more secure and has an overall better ‘feel’ to it (plus those optional buttons are very cool), but the setup involved many hours of my life that I’m unlikely to get a refund for.
I thought it might have been down to my “Averageness”, but a lot of people have had the same problems. I usually enjoy a good challenge with my projects, but this one went on a bit too long for me – especially after spending that much money on it.
The extra size and resolution gives a much better picture too – the colour and clarity are beautiful. Add to that the extras such as the pen and the touchpad, and for a extra few dollars the NeoSec feels like the better buy.
Inky wHAT is a 400x300 pixel electronic paper (ePaper / eInk / EPD) display for Raspberry Pi, a larger version of our popular Inky pHAT display, with more than 5x the number of pixels, and available in three colour schemes - red/black/white,...
Build a full-featured media center capable of playing nearly all of your digital media using any 40 pin Raspberry Pi and the Media Center HAT Raspberry Pi touchscreen display. Native support in...
Inky wHAT is a 400x300 pixel electronic paper (ePaper / eInk / EPD) display for Raspberry Pi, a larger version of our popular Inky pHAT display, with more than 5x the number of pixels - red/black/white version.
If you"re looking for the most compact li"l color display for a Raspberry Pi B+, Pi 2, & Pi 3 (most likely a Pi Zero) project, this might be just the thing you need!
In honour of Raspberry Pi"s 10th birthday, we"ve fused a RP2040 microcontroller with an EPD display to make a stylishly monochrome, maker friendly, e-paper badge(r)...
Pico Inky Pack features the speedy 2.9" e-paper display that you can find on Badger 2040, coupled with three handy buttons for interfacing. Equip it to the back of your...
Waveshare 21435 - 2.8″ Touch Screen Expansion For Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, Fully Laminated Display, Gigabit Ethernet, USB2.0, Optional Interface Expander
In honour of Raspberry Pi"s 10th birthday, we"ve fused a RP2040 microcontroller with an EPD display to make a stylishly monochrome, maker friendly,...
Crisp, high-res, with great viewing angles (IPS), this 1.3" square, 240x240 pixel, colour LCD will add some pizzazz to your Raspberry Pi or Arduino projects.