Split-flap display
A from-scratch mechatronic build. The hard part isn't the look — it's making an open-loop stepper behave like a closed-loop system: re-homing every move via a Hall sensor, per-unit EEPROM calibration, custom firmware.
A from-scratch mechatronic build. The interesting engineering here isn’t the split-flap look — it’s making an open-loop stepper behave like a closed-loop system without the cost of a closed-loop motor.
The real problem
Open-loop steppers don’t know where they are. Skip a step, lose a flap, and the display silently lies from then on. The fix is to make every unit re-establish truth on every move.
- Re-homing on every move via a Hall sensor read as an analog threshold, so the unit finds a known zero before counting steps to its target.
- Per-unit EEPROM offset calibration, because no two assembled units land on exactly the same mechanical zero.
- Firmware tuned for reliable positioning — acceleration profiles that don’t skip steps and don’t take all day.
Status
In progress. A kit version is in the works — a clean, calibrated unit you can build yourself. No sales push during the credibility phase; if you want a heads-up when it’s ready, the best move is to get in touch.