looking for reliable supplier

[udi zamwel]

Dear friends
i'm looking for an established and reliable supplier for LCD screens for my project.
currently i was only able to find Chinese suppliers via ebay or Alibaba.
i'm looking for someone i can trust, with professional support and long-term supply capabilities.

Any recommendations?

Thanks, in advance.

 

[shrtrnd]

As far as I know, because of the hazardous chemicals involved in production, only China actually makes LCD screens presently.
Environmental laws make it cost-prohibitive for companies outside China to do them.
You might look for a supplier who handles the Chinese wares, but I don't think you're going to find anybody else who makes them.
Good luck with long-term support, as most companies have given-up that ghost.
They go for the profits-now.
If you expect to support your device, determine what you're going to use, and plan on buying a bulk-buy of replacement screens, as
whatever you buy, will quickly be out of production, and you will have the only available screens to support your device.
Sad, but the way it is nowadays.
Just wanted you aware of the fact that whatever you buy, will only be what is made now, and will not exist in the future.

 

[udi zamwel]

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed (yet depressing) answer.
So... assuming i'm building a product and want to plan for "production" (in the hundreds), and i need LCD screen for it, what is your suggestion,assuming quantities are still unclear?
should i buy hundreds of screens and plan for redesign or SW update every once in a while?

 

[shrtrnd]

A production run of hundreds is manageable.
Design your product, find the best screen available for your device when you're ready to produce it, and include a request for 10 to 25% extra screens so that people who buy your device and
keep using it will be able to go to you for replacement parts.
The issue here, is that the LCD displays, their size, their mounts, their interface accommodations change with each new production run.
You buy what you need and integrate it into your instrument. 3 years later one of your customers contacts you to replace their LCD, and no one makes one that will fit properly
in the chassis for your instrument. Hopefully you will have a drop-in replacement available.
Otherwise, as you noted, when somebody wants to replace the LCD's in your instrument, you'll be asked to re-engineer it to accept whatever is available at that future date.
This is just my opinion. You may get others from some of the other fine minds on this site.
When you think you're ready to go into production, THEN find the LCD display you want that's presently available, and design the interface for it to your instrument.,