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Archive for the ‘Split Flap Display’ Category

Those old-school split-flap character displays are super fun to look at, not to mention listen as well from the click each time a letter changes. Sadly, these have largely been replaced by more modern and efficient LED screens, leaving those who love the tactile feel a little on their own. Thankfully, Dave Madison has created a DIY version that supports 40 total characters per digit with eight digits total. 

The whole thing is housed inside a laser-cut acrylic enclosure, with each digit module consisting of a single stepper motor, a wheel with cutouts for 40 pins, and the roll of split cards. Madison was able to generate 39 different characters ranging from the 26 letters, 10 digits, and three extra punctuation marks onto a piece of vinyl which he then cut out and glued onto the cards.

In terms of electronics, the system uses a custom-designed PCB that packs four status LEDs, a shift register, stepper motor drivers, and headers for inputs and outputs. An Arduino Nano runs the firmware that takes in characters from the serial terminal and converts them into split card movements using some clever math. 

In the future Madison plans to add the capability for WiFi control along with a web server. But even now the project looks great, and you can read more about it here in its write-up.

The post Recreating an old-school mechanical split-flap display with Arduino appeared first on Arduino Blog.

Were tarot card readers deemed non-essential in your part of the world (and do you think they saw it coming?) More than ever, we all need diversions that are for entertainment purposes only. And what better basis for entertainment than a mystical fortune-telling robot that can read your tarot cards?

This fantastic-looking ‘bot stands on the shoulders of [Scott Bezak]’s trailblazing method for easy DIY split-flap displays. Push the rather inviting-looking button on the top, and the flaps start flipping around to find your fortune. Once the fates have aligned, a thermal printer on the front spits out an image of your card along with an interpretation.

It’s obvious that [i_mozy] put quite a lot of effort into this slick machine, and we think the stickers look especially great. All the details of physical tarot card readings are accounted for, including a random number to decide the card’s position, and LEDs to represent the card’s element. Suspend your disbelief and check out the demo/promo video after the break.

Split-flap displays are a great choice no matter what you want to show. We’ve seen them used to display everything from the weather to the current Spotify track.

Via r/duino

Split-flap displays show information using characters changed by an electric motor. While they’ve largely been replaced by more modern means, hobbyists like “gabbapeople” have been keeping this this technique alive, in this case as a four-character weather display.

The device is built using laser-cut plexiglass, and uses four individual servos to actuate the character flaps. Control is accomplished using an Arduino Mega programmed in the XOD visual programming environment, along with the requisite driver modules. Weather data is pulled from the AccuWeather API. 

You can see it flapping away in the video below, displaying the weather in abbreviations such as “ICLO” for intermittent clouds, as well as the temperature in degrees Celsius.

Let’s face it, there’s something magical about split flap displays. Common throughout older airports and train stations, the electromechanical devices are used to show changeable alphanumeric text (e.g. arrival and departures), fixed graphics, or in Jonathan Odom’s case, Internet slang.

With three-letter abbreviations like BRB, LOL, OMG and SMH commonplace in today’s smartphone and online conversations, the Maker decided to bring text and animation back to its mechanical roots with his own split flap display. As you can see in the video below, an arcade button under each frame enables him to cycle through all 26 letters to spell out his thoughts in acronym form, while a fourth frame reveals an animation of the very first cat video (by Eadweard Muybridge).

Structurally, the DIY gadget consists of 3D-printed parts, laser-cut acrylic for the tongue, flaps, brackets, wheels and spars, and plywood for the base. Everything is assembled by hand using screws and nuts. In terms of electronics, an Arduino Uno and Adafruit Motor Shield control a set of servo motors.

The configuration I built has four modules, but you could build as many as you want and connect them. The Arduino motor shield has 16 channels, so if you want more than than that you’ll have to find another means of controlling the rotation.

Want one for your desk? You can find all the necessary files and code on its project page, and see the final product in action below!



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