This time im writing within the wordpress site which i think is how its going to have to work from now on, ill see what happens when i upload a high resolution image, ideally id want it to be accessible to readers in its raw massive state, which is about 3000x2000px, at best all i can get is half that with automatic processing, plus, i have to tell word not to compress photos every single time i do this.
this is the second image below after editing the htaccess file to allow 5mb image files
I think you want to push the front shell sort of inward, as i think it hooks from the outside, or otherwise trying to pull the shell you want to remove outwards.
Look for the easiest point to open up and go with that, once it cracks open, the rest will unhook fairly easily. I think that a butter knife (round) to the corner somewhere or the side should work out. or a safer aproach would be to lever with a credit card and apply force while wiggling, the larger the object being used to pry the case apart, the less likely any damage will occure, and this is pretty tough plastic btw.
the sides though should be the best place to go, also keep in mind that the sides have zero reenforcement like the top does, its just empty hollow space in there so they will be the most flexible areas, perhaps the top corners are the best place to start, i always had trouble from the bottom.
But once you unclick one just wiggle and pull even if it doesnt feel right. Nothing is stuck to that case anyway like buttons or wires, though be careful with your top control button set, they are all one piece but its easy to forget about, i almost lost mine from when i packed the shell away during the repair and didnt realize the buttons were in there, but then fell out.
Excellent info! The credit card suggestion sounds safe. Thank you again, will keep these points in mind on my second attempt!
A second note to say that removing the cover while the base is on is probably not possible (unless I am failing to understand something). The metallic triggers for adjusting the angle would not let the cover fall back, plus, I think that the base screws hold the black plastic in place together with the peripheral and center cover screws. Placing it on a soft surface face down- like you did- seems the way to go!
ah yes sorry, i think ive been able to put the monitor back on without the back case on, back when i was trying to identify what was broken, but i do recall now that i had the same problem you did.
I went for it today but aborted. I was close to removing the back cover but I suspected they were screws below the soft pads at the bottom. I was afraid to rip them for no reason, I wanted to ask you first if there are indeed screws below. The sides felt quite loose but the top(near the buttons) and the bottom middle sections would not pop out. At least I have experience removing the screen from the base now for the next run!
Besides all the screws, there are also clips holding the monitor together which are quite fragile, i wound up breaking most of them but i never really noticed.
Have a look at some of the macro pictures i took that might show the edges. There is so many screws though, it doesnt matter if those clips break, though if you pry them apart the right way it comes apart just fine, same as is done with a phone if youve ever taken one apart, or a laptop screen or keyboard.
All screws holding the back shell on are in plain view and not hidden under any stickers or buttons All are on the back. Once you have all the screws out, you can be a bit forceful in pulling the monitor apart, i never used any tools to pry it apart from the second time onwards. I wouldnt risk it actually, i didnt, since i didnt want to stick anything under there and risk damaging the plastic at that seam.
You should be able though to bend the plastic enough to unhook those clips by hand anyway. Or break them, they are very very thin and small, and once more, very unnecessary, enough wont break that it still stays together without the screws in though.
I see what you mean. I studied the pictures again- obviously the clips on the sides popped easily and the ones at the top and bottom needed a little help. I will know this on my second attempt.
Good to know there are no “hidden” screws below the soft pads at the bottom. Any tips on how to help the clips give in after i separate the sides without dangerous screwdriver prying? I, as you, was afraid to damage the seams- I am sensitive about cosmetic aspects.
That pretty much clears it up for me. I feel confident in giving it a try, when I get some time. Leaving the base on makes it even more appealing and also that I will not have to cut the wires, but simply unplug the fans.
I will surely report back when I attempt it to share how this went for future reference. And if everything goes well, give future reports on how the unit operates with less airflow.
You helped a ton! Thank you so much.
I really wanted to thank you for these posts and the very informative pictures of the inside of a cintiq 24HD. I haven’t found anyone else with similar disassembly experience and I would love to ask you one or two things regarding the placement of the fans inside the unit. I want to attempt to reduce the fan sound – I love the unit but I cannot stand it.
Again, thank you for sharing this journey!
Best wishes,
Andreas
Well, its a pretty safe procedure to get the thing opened up to see for yourself, if you are smart about it, otherwise a second pair of hands might be neccesary to safely get the monitor off its stand or back on when you undo the 4 big screws on either side fastening it.
The fans are barely worth it, there is minimal air flow and everything that needs cooling is either sinking heat into the aluminium backplate, or is just utilizing the slight breeze inside the monitor that the fans create. those copper heatsinks literally just fasten to the backplate, although they are roughly above the CCFLs, and are the warmest parts. replacing the blower fans wit something else is very low risk, actually, the only thing you can really do wrong here, is use fans that are too strong, i think that the gentle air flow in the monitor that maybe cools the display adapter board (where the DVI plug is on) and the power converter, is enough for them, but, if you stepped it up, the excessive flow might attract more dust that might accumulate on the inverter, as it is, the breeze just kind of goes around it.
In short, silent fans are definitely doable, provided you make sure they arent too much stronger, though the monitor probably regulates the fan speed anyway so it might be as simple as swapping them out and forgetting about it. I wouldnt however change the placement, some components may rely on the cooling in the long term.
The fans inside the monitor probably cannot be silenced, they seem rather cheap, and are barely even neccesary, so replacement is likely the only option.
I really would prefer to answer questions here in the blog, so that what we discuss might be usable by others in a similar predicament, although chatting on the facebook page is ok too, ill be sure to respond quickly either way.
Thank you for taking the time to answer. I must admit I originally flirted with the idea of just opening it up and cutting the fan cables, or placing resistors to reduce rpm.
I doubt the monitor life is tied to these fans, I suspect Wacom just “answered” to some public complains about the smaller 21UX getting warm under the painting hand. I can see your point about the long term possible impact on part life though. This thing is as cold as a fridge door at all times.
My main question is: are the fans easily accessible after opening the monitor, or I will have to dig deep to the covering layers? From what I gather, looking at your great documentation, is that after you pop the black outer casing, there is a metallic plate and then you have fan access. Are these two fans at the top the only fans in the unit?
Sunon fans are decent, I cannot figure out how Wacom ended up with a product that was many steps backwards in terms of noise when their previous models were “dead” silent.
As for the blog, it has already been tremendously useful to me and I hope that people could find it easily. I had to search a lot to realize its existence. It definitely deserves more attention.
There is the plastic shell you pull off, then you have that big metal cover which comes off rather easily. Its pretty simple however you need to unplug the top control buttons and feed that those joined wires back through the cover before you can remove it since they go through a hole, you turn the plug side ways, youll see what i mean when you do it, again, very simple. I think it should all be doable without having to take the monitor off the stand either, give it a shot. You may also have to take off a another small part too that holds the button chip in place, but probably not. Either way its very VERY easy.
Theres a lot of screws to take off though, so, while that bit may take some time, dont be discouraged, its only 1 part.
When running with LEDs now, a single spot gets warm, its the LCD controller, the hidden part between the two heatsinks.
I agree with you and can say with 99% certainty that the fans could simply be unplugged, but, i play on the safe side, i see nothing but a list of things that could go wrong, so i dont. Also i dont really care about the noise anyway, so i have nothing really to gain anyway.
But im in the tropics, if you are somewhere cooler, you might be able to get away with it with no long term harm done. When you open the monitor up youll see that the draft from the suction is really quite insignificant. Also the fans are pretty much running at minimum speed all the time besides when you start up. slowing them down more may stall them.
Ill just reiterate that once you remove the metal case, which is most likely just one piece far as i can remember, you’ll immediately have access to the fans. Very easy. Also despite there being multiple heatsinks, there are only 2 fans present. The only hard part is unplugging them, they have a special clip on the plug that you have to squeeze or something to unplug. The wires are very thin so it always felt like i might accidentally break them.
I am 99% sure that the fans being switched off will do nothing, but i have no reason to test this theory out. Ill note that virtually no monitors use fans in them and happily run at uncomfortably warm temps. Its very possible it might just be a comfort thing.