How to use an old tablet screen as a touchscreen PC monitor

Hey guys,

I am just finishing up the mechanical end of a CNC conversion that I did on my mini milling machine and I’m almost ready to start putting together the electronics. I have an old computer that I am going to dedicate to controlling the machine with a program called Mach3. Since the program displays a virtual interface for manually controlling the axes of the mill I was thinking about using a touchscreen to conserve space among many other reasons. I have an old Acer Iconia tablet that I was hoping to be able to integrate into my electronics enclosure but I’m not sure how to make the screen work with my computer. I have used programs like splashtop and idisplay that allow you to mirror the screen of your desktop computer on a tablet through wifi but there is a lag and it wont be fast enough for what I’m looking to do. Without extensive programming knowledge is it possible to connect the LCD of the tablet to a VGA cable and the digitzer to a USB cable so I can use the screen like a miniature touchscreen monitor? I am assuming I will need additional electronics of some sort but I’m not sure where to start. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim