Here we'll outline the important details about how this type of display works, the capabilities of it, and some key things to be careful about when creating one.
- Materials
- Parts
- Assembly
- Electronics
- Software
HIPS appeared to have all the ideal properties for being the flaps. It is lightweight, impact-resistant, and makes the perfect split flap noise when impacting another flap.
Perspex was chosen as it allows people to look inside the module and see how it works, as well as the flaps from behind. This was purely an aesthetic choice.
The base structure isn't intended to be seen by anyone, so MDF was chosen due to its strength and low cost.
The front of the base will always be seen, so a high quality wood was chosen. The wood patterns also give it a fairly vintage look which matches the intended style.
A steel rod was chosen to hold the spool in place. It is easily lubricated as well as being very strong, which makes it ideal to be used as a moving part.
MDF was chosen due to the low cost. It was also spray-painted black to match the colour of the flaps.
The front panel also had to be black in order to match the flaps (and make the white letters really stand out), so MDF was once again chosen.