S Pen too light? I'm building a Smart Pen for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8
18.10.2017
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a stylus that really doesn't feel great. However, as the South Korean manufacturer is working on its ecosystem, I am working on modifying the parts of the ecosystem. So I can install a Samsung S Pen in a biro.
In the review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the phone comes off extremely well. Powerful hardware, a great camera and the only phone in the current generation of flagships to have a stylus built in. Without losing any of its waterproofness, mind you. But: the built-in stylus feels far too light and too thin. It may well be that you're not worried about the pen, but I'm a journalist and sensitive when it comes to pens. My current pen is a Lamy with a wooden barrel, bulky and wide. Pretty much the opposite of the Samsung S Pen.
Samsung itself also realised this last February, teaming up with pen manufacturer Staedtler and equipping a pencil with digital technology. It was this pencil that gave me the idea. Manufacturers always work economically so that the margin on the sales price remains as high as possible. That's why I assumed in my head that an S Pen essentially consists of two elements that can function independently of each other.
- The casing
- The digital refill
Further to this, I was able to deduce that I would probably be able to take the S Pen apart and transplant the refill into another pen. After some planning and the repeated thought "What could possibly go wrong", I set off with video producer Stephanie Tresch to Zurich's Dynamo. What many people may not know: Dynamo has an open workshop where anyone can realise their projects. The Dynamo provides tools - including large items such as welding torches and sandblasters - for you to work with.
Evil tongues from the editorial team claim that I shouldn't be let loose on a workshop like that. I don't see the problem. Because "What could possibly go wrong?"
I understand Stephanie's instruction about "Don't fuck around. I've got expensive camera equipment here that needs to stay intact".
Centimetre by centimetre
I find the first problem before I get to work with the fretsaw. I have no idea where exactly the board of the mine starts. I take a wild guess and think that there is no lead until the groove on the pin. Nevertheless, I want to be careful and don't want to just saw away at it. So I saw off a small piece at the back of the S Pen.
I hope Samsung doesn't go for wasted material and go all the way to the top of the cavity left for the mine, because if that's the case, then maybe I can look in the back and see where the mine ends up.
I want to remind you that I have no idea what I'm actually doing. I'm also not really sure whether I would tackle the project in this form if I had to buy all the individual parts myself. I'm almost certain that I would only be able to create a proof of concept and not a finished product. That would probably require a few more iterations of the "S Ballpoint Pen" project.
After the first cut comes disillusionment. Yes, the pen is hollow, but unfortunately I can't see anything. The hollow space is cross-shaped and has a diameter of maybe two millimetres. I haven't sawn anything, but I'm not a bit smarter about where exactly I can and can't saw. So I keep going slice by slice. I get more nervous every time I start. The damn board has to start somewhere. With every slice that falls into the shred of leather under the workbench, I get closer to the board. If I saw too far, I'll have ruined my only S Pen. Experiment over. Everything is broken.
In the end, it turns out that I was almost right. The circuit board, which I simply call the lead, is much shorter than I thought. It looks something like this.
It goes from the tip to about a third of the way along the pin. Nevertheless, I advise caution. Better cut off slice by slice. The plastic of the pen is extremely easy to cut, so it shouldn't take too long.
I can remove the refill from the barrel quite easily, but I need a bit of force to do so. It doesn't seem to be glued, but well embedded in the plastic. But I realise that I'm losing the button on the side of the pen. I can't simulate it on the pen. But that doesn't seem too bad to me, because the Staedtler Smart Pen can manage without it and I very much doubt that Samsung and/or Staedtler would have allowed this if functionality was irretrievably and irreversibly lost.
The installation in the pen
Installing the removed circuit board, my refill, into the biros is easy. There are only two or three small pitfalls. I deliberately chose a pen that is a little wider so that I can hopefully fit the circuit board into it without any problems. Because most biros refills are slimmer than the circuit board.
In addition, the Caran d'Ache pen just feels really good in the hand.
So I unscrew the tip of the pen, take out the nib and the lead and drill out the tip. An opening of 4 millimetres is fine here. I attach the refill inside the tip and the pen with Sugru.
For those who don't know Sugru. Sugru is something like modelling clay, but hardens within 24 hours. Sugru was invented by Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, an Irish product designer from Kilkenny. The name is borrowed from the Gaelic "súgradh", which translates as "to play". And you can buy it over at Galaxus. I mean, you should buy it. Because Sugru is awesome.
But I'm making a big mistake here. This is where the project becomes a proof of concept and not the final product. Because one of Sugrus' many properties is its insulation. The part insulates electrical current. But I need it to supply the pen with power. So if you want to tackle the project, attach the top end of the pen with Sugru and fix the tip at the bottom of the pen with something that doesn't insulate.
The pen also has a metal tip, which doesn't help the whole thing either. But at least if I pull the tip further out of the pen and wipe off the Sugru, it works great. It just doesn't look elegant. Just proof of concept.
In the end, I have something that works perfectly but still needs at least one more iteration. But I have other projects to work on and Stephanie has other shoots planned. But if you really want us to finish the project properly, let us know in the comments. Or else: What should we build next? We're always open to ideas.
We also want to know: What have you already built? Because that's a lot of fun, isn't it?
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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