DIY Split-Flap Display Build

I built my own split-flap display! As the flap spool spins, flaps rotate past the front opening to display different characters. The facing character is composed of both a top and a bottom flap with a split in the middle, hence the name "split-flap".
The display is made up of 8 individual 'modules', each of which can display a single character. There are 40 flaps in each module, able to display characters A-Z, 0-9, '?', '!', and '+' as well as a blank.
Messages are sent via USB as plain text (serial). The driving microcontroller interprets those messages and moves the module motors accordingly. Magnets embedded in each flap spool are measured with hall effect sensors to keep track of the display's position.
The build is based on Scott Bezek's open-source design, and I've made a number of improvements to the enclosure, flap lettering, and electronics assembly. Those changes have been submitted as pull requests to the original project and are now included in the latest release (v0.7).
📝 Full Documentation: www.partsnotin...
🗄️ Project Repository: github.com/sco...
🎥 Scott's Channel: / @scottbez1
A huge "thank you" to Scott for making this build possible!
"Industrious Ferret" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...

[@will1am905]

I used to do projects like this. Then my dead end job made me stop. I hope to get the motivation and joy back someday to finish some projects. Thank you for giving me a piece of your process sir!

[@scottbez1]

Wow!!! The display looks great and this video is incredible!

[@dave.madison]

Thanks Scott! Much appreciated.

[@joydenrichiellin5137]

Scott! I HATE YOU

[@muhamadhanisanaqi9914]

​@@dave.madison I subscribed

[@banknotesworld31]

@Themahgf

[@skmgeek]

the split-flap guy himself!

[@portlandprintgoods3421]

Beautiful. May everybody's insights be shared and may a thousand more flip boards get documented and built.

[@somsubhra.g]

This is incredible! I had been thinking about making a split-flap display for quite some time but could gather up the courage to start from scratch. Thanks to you and Scott for doing all the heavy lifting. I was able to create the 3d models pretty easily from the svg files generated using the scripts (I have 3d printed everything enclosure, flaps and all). Can’t wait for the electronics to arrive so that I can put everything together!

[@zakups7777]

can you make a video about that? how good are those parts if they are 3d printed at home?

[@somsubhra.g]

@@zakups7777 I printed with Creality white PLA and the parts turned out clean and sturdy. There is also less risk of breaking compared to acrylic. I might make a video or instructable in future and the models will be uploaded to thingiverse in a few days!

[@xlxbarca]

@@somsubhra.g did you ever come around to uploading the files? I'd love to try and print one myself!

[@partywumpus5267]

Would love some of those 3d models :o

[@somsubhra.g]

@@partywumpus5267 thing ID 5356593

[@almostanengineer]

You have to admire the cute little flap carriers ☺️

[@paullee107]

I'm just starting - hope to learn all the tricks and trades you display. Woot woot!! 🎉

[@aryam6494]

Next level project 😀, flap sounds are so beautiful.

[@vishals2873]

love analog stuff, simply incredible

[@Rudeism]

Proud of you for finishing it dude. Spectacular work.

[@dave.madison]

Thanks Dylan! That means a lot.

[@jackevans2386]

Great work Dave ! 7 segment display drivers are so 'yesterday's tech' after all. Subscribed !

[@dave.madison]

Thanks Jack!

[@dimasnotebookGMD]

Awesome job! 👍

[@fpvgods]

Truly one of the finest videos I have ever enjoyed. Thank you.

[@alessandrorossi5285]

I love this video, not only for result but also for enjoying looking you working 😊, so beautiful sound of flaps

[@RussellEveleigh]

This looks incredible! A really inspiring project! Would love to have one of those in my classroom for a random name chooser or 'word of the week/hour'

[@hqworkshop]

واقعا لذت بردم، خیلی عالی بود حتما تو برنامه هام ساخت این وسیله را قرار می دهم 👌✌

[@bumelant]

Kudos for these special half-card containers!

[@dave.madison]

Of course! Glad you found them useful.

[@quanganhle1680]

I love this project ❤

[@suprememasteroftheuniverse]

Remembers my childhood.

[@andrewevertts8662]

Finally 1 more 3D Puzzle

[@cmyk8964]

The next Wheel of Fortune season should go retro and use a split flap display.

[@davidbernabe9063]

I Loved & Liked It

[@transponderings]

Very impressive - but way beyond my skill level!

[@MaskedMarble]

Nice build. I like the camera shots. What camera did you use?

[@dave.madison]

Thanks! Everything was shot with a Canon 5DmkII and a 24-70 2.8 lens.

[@timbrown9535]

I did not know I wanted to build me a flappy thing until now LOL. Thanks for that.

[@amandaburt461]

His builds are goof

[@Crevatsch]

Great video! Looks like the algorithm picked this video up so be ready to have the number of subs explode :D

[@undekthecreator8044]

I F**KING LOVE THIS VIDEO

[@tylertian5785]

wow this is so under appreciated

[@bigmike102]

This is awesome! Fantastic job!

[@dave.madison]

Thank you so much!

[@lukass7156]

awesome looks and awesome sound - great job!

[@Schoolforthesoul]

SO COOL! Wowzers!

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice video, thanks :)

[@haley8004]

This is flappin amazing

[@arquit3d]

Awesome looking! Didn't expect to feel so retro and great. Thinking about having one at work being updated when receiving emails with the sender's name 🤔

[@dave.madison]

Go for it! That sounds both useful *and* fun.

[@nathanielpangilinan347]

The display on 10 free

[@FriendTest0060]

Great Job

[@porcuplays7211]

I kinda wanna make a split flap clock now

[@biggestdog420]

that is incredibly cool.. mad respect!!

[@SwipeKun]

Bro got an airport 💀

[@Alkatross]

The sound of the display is deeply satisfying. Reminds me of old airport displays. How do you intend to use it? Or was this more of an academic thing?

[@dave.madison]

I'm working on that now. But I can't spoil the next video, that would be no fun :P

[@RandomFandomOfficial]

Yep!

[@gaius_enceladus]

Awesome! I *love* those old-style split-flap displays! Well done! They give me the same kind of "retro buzz" that the old "nixie tube" displays do! I'd like to have a longer sequence of letters though, so you could tease your friends with messages like - (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrt....) "Y.O.U. .A.R.E. .A. .W.*.N.K.*.R." ;))

[@smithdoesstuff]

I would 100% need to buy 3x the flaps and vinyl cuz they’re definitely getting completely screwed up twice or more.

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

scottbez1 turning into admin

[@Fwacer]

Great work and great videography!

[@zaq0723]

すごすぎます！！ これこそ、お宝です！！！

[@bekjanbektenov9343]

So cool.

[@brianamato5560]

So much fun!!!!

[@manavmuthreja1898]

MIND BLOWING VIDEO your skills in video are tooo good KEEP WORKING ON THEM also GREAT PROJECT 🙏🏼🚀

[@fernandaazevedo3339]

SUNNY SPLIT-FLAP

[@StadtFuchs]

Very professional, and i love the solid red case. How many flaps are possible (i would need minimum 50, up to 64 characters)? Thanks for your beautiful work, this helps a lot!

[@dave.madison]

Thanks! The design is based around 40 flaps but it will theoretically scale to any number. You may have torque or alignment issues on the spool at larger flap counts, though.

[@siegmundeurades5753]

Extremely clean end product, my god. Could you share some insight on how you made the flaps? I've been wanting to have a go at making my own for a while, but I can't come up with a method that isn't extremely tedious.

[@dave.madison]

Absolutely! The flaps themselves were purchased from Scott, who had them die-cut from PVC sheet. I then wrote a Python script to generate the letter outlines sized for the flaps and cut them out of white vinyl on a desktop vinyl cutter. The rest is in the video: the letter sheets were weeded and backed with transfer paper, then the flaps were applied to the sheet. The negative space of the vinyl was used as an alignment aid for positioning the flaps, which were then squeegeed flat so the adhesive would stick. After removing the flaps from the first sheet they were flipped and offset to apply the letters to the other side. I then used a craft knife to trim the excess vinyl on the inside edge. The process worked well but it was exceedingly tedious. Scott recently did a large installation and I think he built a rig to silkscreen the letters, although if I remember correctly he had some problems with the paint flaking where the flaps rub together. I know some others had looked into aluminum flaps and laser etching the anodization. I don't recall the results of that experiment, though. If you want to know more about my process I'd recommend checking out the build log, linked in the description. It goes into more detail and also has links to the products used.

[@AadavAlly]

Fifty 2nd class is the first one 👌

[@Dolph1nVR]

That keyboard is gonna wake my mom up😂

[@aminheydari7472]

Amazing

[@MARSICCHIA]

awesome

[@z1531]

This is great! Could you please share the STL files?

[@simonecerrotta4519]

hello dave awesome work Is there any chance you would build one for me ? i really need one for my club in italy

[@darkblack12]

insane!!!!!!!!

[@jennifertran2147]

It was good, I want to try it too! If I had enough tools, then I can make my own!

[@electrobot7370]

Nice

[@babitasalaiman1954]

I wish I had that.

[@Cano_Os]

7:08 HOW MANY PILES ARE THERE

[@markgreco1962]

Very very nice. About how many hours do you have in the build?

[@dave.madison]

I haven't the foggiest, haha. On and off for about 6 months. Past that I'd just be guessing.

[@markgreco1962]

@@dave.madison nope that’s a great answer

[@miguelangelincognita8360]

Muy bien hecho y muy bien desarrollado

[@اناهنا-ب3و]

you don't deserve 3k likes you deserve 3b likes

[@Garanon5]

Someone should sell a kit to make one. For those who aren't inclined to figured out coding, or in-depth wiring. I'd give someone money for that.

[@dave.madison]

Scott used to sell kits, I'm not sure if he still does. But the code, wiring, circuit boards, frames, everything you need is open source if you'd like to build your own.

[@Hambxne]

nice work

[@kpoptrash8323]

what is the material (black sheet) for the numbers? what can i search on the internet

[@dave.madison]

The flaps are made of 30mil (0.76mm) thick black PVC. The build log (linked in the description) has more information and links to all of the parts used.

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

i love you❤❤❤❤❤

[@maurabasilio4734]

Sim ficou bonito

[@walterlippens6675]

Awesome 👍👍👍

[@ChunkyJo]

How much did this cost you to make altogether?

[@dave.madison]

Ballpark around $350-$400 USD. $100 for the flaps, $45 for the vinyl lettering, $130 for the laser-cut enclosures, $50 for the electronic components, $20 for the hardware, and then a few miscellaneous costs like the red PLA filament I used for the cable guides and driver PCB mounts.

[@ChunkyJo]

@@dave.madison yeesh. Looks like I won't be building one of my own. I'm not proficient in coding or engineering or anything in that field. I'm a video editor. Not exactly what I'd call a related field. lol. But these fascinate me and I'd love to "build" my own. I was thinking of just buying a couple/three cheap clocks on amazon and just taking them apart. idk. thoughts? I just don't have the funds to build my own.

[@dave.madison]

I'd recommend saving up rather than getting something cheap from Amazon. You may learn something taking one apart, but if you're not proficient with coding or electronics you may not be able to do much else with it.

[@ChunkyJo]

@@dave.madison gotcha. Thanks for the advise!

[@janecharito3363]

S11 0:11 number 4 is one

[@uiscestudio]

This was 🎉

[@Superov]

what material are flip cards made of? from wood? from plastic? Or can you use cardboard?

[@dave.madison]

The flaps are made out of 30 mil black PVC with white vinyl lettering.

[@KnackiiTM]

Split flap!

[@AshAlice1]

9:32 What color is the screen?

[@MurcuryEntertainment]

I'm curious if you could 3d print and entire wheel of the flip display in one go on it's side. Letters/numbers would be slightly depressed in each flap so that it could be filled in with gel-ink afterward.

[@bekjanbektenov9343]

Remember this

[@charlieshendeleon9840]

I wonder if I could do this myself? I want one of these so badly!!!

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

❤

[@merxellus1456]

Sooo neatttttt…..❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@-indeed8285]

0:13 Hey, what is the name those beautiful keycaps?

[@dave.madison]

The keyboard is a Ducky One 2. The keycaps are the default double-shot PBT in the "skyline" color scheme.

[@-indeed8285]

@@dave.madison Thank you so much. 😊

[@jeebolard]

@Dave Madison How much to build four 3-character displays you can control from a button controller? First digit: just two characters, "+" and "-" and a blank; Second digit: 1-9, "+," "-," and a blank; Third digit: 1-9 and the letter "E"?

[@debug8377]

applying the stickers and making sure they're in the right order looks very complicated

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

i mean love

[@AF-bq6oc]

do you sell it?

[@retrovideoquest]

I want one.... :I

[@benreeves1908]

Where do the blank cards come from?

[@dave.madison]

I bought them from Scott! The original design calls for PVC ID cards which are cut in half and hand punched, but he made some nice die-cut flaps which he currently sells on Etsy: www.etsy.com/listing/979720975/blank-splitflap-display-flaps.

[@natthanonknot2974]

can i order one?

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

No

[@AadavAlly]

😊

[@GiaHuy-oe8ck]

40 Flap

[@AlanGreene-j5t]

😊

[@giveitallyougot9865]

Do you build upon request? How much to build a stack of 4 in segments of 8?

[@AngelaGagliardi-si4le]

Башҡортса

[@cathysaysay5235]

2023

[@CreativeJE]

The project is cool but you should have explained things in detail so that we could build ourselves as well.

[@dave.madison]

Check the description! There's extensive written documentation, as well as links to the build files and all of the parts used.

[@moustick2025]

great video and project, if you ever make your project as a kit let me know I could be interested :) Thank you to share

[@Juno_Stk-ROBLOX]

6:41

[@LeviMoore-vb8pt]

9:52

[@OmniaAhmed-we4hs]

Seven