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Laptop

Open laptop

A system architecture that hands you exactly one thing to design — and sockets it.

baseline: MNT Reform — CERN-OHL / GPL, full KiCad published
CPU i.MX8M Plus (socketed SOM)display 13.3″ 1920×1080 eDPbattery 8× LiFePO4 18650design open KiCad

MNT Reform is fully open — schematics, PCB, firmware, mechanicals. Its design makes the point for us: the processor lives on a swappable module, isolating the single high-value part so everything around it is settled and reused.

7 of 8 parts are reuse — 1 is the slice worth designing. That ratio is the NRE bill. The descent below is how you find it before you pay it.

Exploded

Decompose the product into its stack. Each layer is colour-coded by what it is to the next build.

13.3″ eDP display Common · stable
Processor module (SOM) Opportunity
Open motherboard v3.0 Common · stable
Keyboard + trackball (RP2040) Common · stable
LiFePO4 packs + BMS Common · stable

Bill of materials

stable ×7 cyclic ×0 Opportunity ×1

Every part is a real, sourced component from the open baseline — no invented part numbers.

i.MX8M Plus SOM NXP Opportunity · the slice openWafer designs
Processor module — Quad Cortex-A53 on a socketed module (RK3588 / LS1028A / RISC-V alternates)

The socket isolates the one part worth designing. openWafer’s slice: an open RISC-V application SoC for that slot — energy-optimised, no vendor boot blob — dropped into the interface MNT already standardised.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
Reform motherboard v3.0 MNT Research Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Mainboard — open KiCad; carries system controller, bridges, hub, audio

Settled open design. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
LPC11U24 NXP Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
System controller — Cortex-M0; power rails, charger, keyboard link

Mature MCU. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
LTC6803 + LTC4020 + INA260 Analog Devices / TI Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Battery management — 8-cell monitor + LiFePO4 buck/boost charger + V/I

Standard BMS chain. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
18650 LiFePO4 ×8 various (JGNE / Eremit) Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Battery cells — 3.2 V cells in two packs

Commodity cells. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
13.3″ eDP (Innolux / BOE / AUO) Innolux / BOE / AUO Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Display — 1920×1080 via SN65DSI86 DSI-to-eDP bridge

Standard panel + bridge. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
RP2040 Raspberry Pi Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Keyboard controller — Kailh Choc switches, open firmware

Open input controller. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →
RP2040 + PAT9125EL Raspberry Pi / PixArt Common · stable · reuse as-is — zero NRE
Trackball — 5-button optical trackball

Open trackball. Reuse.

https://mntre.com/documentation/reform-handbook/hardware.html →

The slice openWafer designs

Reform’s architecture is itself the lesson: the processor lives on a socketed module, so the open motherboard, the LiFePO4 management, the mechanical keyboard, and the trackball are all settled and reused. The socket isolates the one part worth designing. openWafer’s slice is that module — an open RISC-V application SoC, energy-optimised, with no vendor boot blob, in the slot MNT already standardised. A good system architecture hands you exactly one thing to design; Reform proves it mechanically.

Open sources — decomposed and linked, not hosted