Flipdiscs

soblemprolver 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It is so sad to see both this and the title "It's ok to abandon your side project" on the front page while I have three flipdisc displays sitting in the basement without the time and equipment to get them up and running.

No, it's not ok to abandon those flipdisc displays! :(

Admittedly I read neither of the articles. But who doesn't sometimes get caught up in the conincidence of titles on here may vote me down :D

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lgrebe 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Andrew Zolty under the artist name BREAKFAST has created quite a few stunning kinetic artworks with flipdisks.

Just one example: https://theartistbreakfast.com/works/traverse

Also created a larger more sculpted derivative the „brixel“ a rotating brick as pixel. Eg https://theartistbreakfast.com/works/oceans

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simonjgreen 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There is a fairly impressive installation of these at Heathrow airport in Terminal 5 outside the BA lounges. Struggling to find a decent video on YouTube, but this one’s not terrible https://youtu.be/G03WA30yFMI?si=hx5aLlrj_BH21yr2

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W0lf 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I did the same for my office and bought used LAWO flipdot panels for this. Screenshot of the thing here: https://github.com/aivju/flipdotz

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ricardobeat an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If I’m not mistaken (their pricing is a bit hard to find), nine of the flip fits display modules will set you back ~$5000 alone, plus the rest of the hardware. While I love the idea that is a lot of fun budget for other projects…

	▲	stavros 25 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Thanks, I've been looking for that. Interesting how nowadays it's orders of magnitude cheaper to buy a 4k 65" panel and fake the dots (and sound) on it.

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OuterVale 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They've been slowly replacing the flip-disc displays on the buses where I live with LEDs and LCD panels which has been such a shame. There is a beautiful mechanical satisfaction to a panel of flip-discs inverting and I genuinely find them easier to read.

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Gigachad 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

They seemed less reliable than LEDs. When they were common here they would always have tens of dots stuck in the wrong position.

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Perz1val 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I'd imagine the vibrations didn't do them any good

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OuterVale 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Interestingly, I've never noticed any stuck discs. I'm pretty observant of them as well, because I think they're so cool.

	▲	Gigachad 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The ones here could have been nearing the end of their life to be fair. They have basically all been replaced with LED signs now.

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xattt an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The Luminator MAX 3000 is an interesting hybrid between a flip dot display and an LED display. I find it very pleasing to the eye and easy to read, particularly at night.

In front of the flip dots is a frame that has a mini-LED that faces and front-lights each flip dot. This gives the appearance that each flip dot is glowing.

(1) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ru1DSs1tjQ

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sschueller 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yes, even the ones that have an LED behind each disk which are on in the dark. This display [1] is the same but in the dark [2] you see the LEDs instead.

[2] https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/...

[1] https://cdn.unitycms.io/images/2padXosoqh99o13dcrN3co.jpg

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nandomrumber 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The LED / LCD displays are probably lighter (less heavy), and someone figured they can save 0.001 gallons of diesel a year fleet wide if they replace displays.

Net Zero Fatigue is real.

	▲	pastel8739 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Much more likely, I think, the mechanical displays had some maintenance cost which cheap LED displays will not.
	▲	Rodeoclash 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		You've confabulated a reason why they replaced them, linked it to initiative then complained about them doing it all in two sentences. A gold medal in mental gymnastics is warranted here!
	▲	MrBuddyCasino 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		They’re probably just cheaper and require less maintenance. You’re not doing your cause any favors by projecting everything on an ill-fitting frame.

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grumpysysop 14 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I wonder how small they can be. Would be an amazing watch display.

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yigalirani 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> as a pleasant bonus, they emit a sound like rain hitting a window each time one of the disc flips

must be vrey annoying very fast if you have to sit next to it all day

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kaipereira 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This is insanely cool, the noise they make is also really satisfying!

What was the cost/time breakdown of the entire project because the flipdisc prices are hidden behind quotes and it seems like it would take quite a lot of time to complete the whole display!

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sen 6 hours ago | parent [-]

The prices I’ve seen mentioned are around USD$3-5 per “pixel”.

Similar to all the ePaper projects that show up here, they’re expensive but cool gimmicks.

	▲	londons_explore 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Whole dollars per pixel is insane! The whole mechanism looks very 3d printable... I wonder if one could design one with PCB coils and a large 3d print only? If so, cost could probably come down to cents per pixel... You'd probably also need a single 'C' shaped piece of steel for the magnetic flux path, but you might be able to find a supplier for the right shape already used for something else you can buy in large quantities very cheaply (eg. Steel staples).

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laserbeam 34 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Damn, I really wish there was a T in "Quick jazzy vibe flows from exploding pixels", 'cause the sentence is just cool!

	▲	scrumper 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		From the exploding pixels and then you're fine. You needed an H as well anyway.

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shermantanktop 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There’s a very large one of these at “Climate Pledge Arena” in Seattle. Perhaps 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide. Pretty cool, but stuck pixels are even more annoying when it makes you want to reach out and poke them.

I use quotes because it will always be the Colosseum to me, where I saw the Butthole Surfers, Dead Moon and Nirvana. Don’t get me started on the Kingdome.

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helsinkiandrew 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Mikeselectricstuff did a 26minute deep dive into flipdots a few years ago which is worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26N-pQY2U4

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ofrzeta 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I bought a flip dot display on eBay and now I am stuck with the old thing and my lack of knowledge to make it work. Here's a great resource about technical details (only German though) https://radow.org/flip-dot.php

EDIT: "They have high readability, a long lifespan, and achieves anywhere between 25-60fps" - I think you can't achieve 60fps with a flip dot display.

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londons_explore 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Depends how much power and noise you're willing for it to make!!

Remember that texas instruments DLP technology which is in use in pretty much every office/home cinema projector is effectively micro flip-dots micromachined in silicon, and that can operate at ~10,000 FPS.

	▲	ofrzeta 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		With my rudimentary physics knowledge I'd think that smaller structures can be moved faster than bigger structures. EDIT: also when you google a bit you can find a guy who maxed out flip dot displays at 30fps (which honestly I thought would not be possible either)
	▲	IshKebab an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Uhm yeah they are a lot smaller. That makes a difference obviously.

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abhiraj_patwa 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's crazy that I was trying to find good resources for split flaps and then flip discs just yesterday and was just thinking, damn, there aren't any good or recent information about flip discs, just decade-old proprietary stuff to be found Great work!

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nandomrumber 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That display needs some Conway’s Game of Life action pronto.

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test1235 5 hours ago | parent [-]

they have a gif at the bottom of the article which looks like game of life

https://github.com/simpsoka/office-flipdisc/blob/main/scenes...

	▲	nandomrumber 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Dunno where your link is going, but yeah I see the gif at the bottom of the article now. Still, I wanna see and hear it on the display.

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bovermyer 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The author mentions SubSpace (the computer game, from the 90s), and the limited pixel budget for player banners in it.

It would be interesting to see if you could run a pared-down version of that game on a display like this.

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po1nt 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I would love to see the cost of the whole hardware mentioned. I guess it would be around a 1000USD

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jimnotgym 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Lookmumnocomputer did some nice work for thismuseumisnotobsolete with flip displays.

See on YouTube or visit in person

	▲	grishka an hour ago \| parent [-]
		If you're into electromechanical machines, he also has a working telephone exchange and a bunch of videos where he restores its various components and explains how it works (I still don't quite understand how it works though). That's the original reason I subscribed to his channel, but his wild musical contraptions are also cool.

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b800h 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Popular in UK train stations until very recently. I suspect that there are still a few out there!

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Magi604 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'd like to see someone play DOOM (or any game, really) using that flip disc screen!

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kelseyfrog 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I was thinking of Bad Apple!![1], but maybe that's too niche.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtutLA63Cp8

	▲	addandsubtract 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Someone on reddit did it: https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/1rcs8dc/flipdot_di...
	▲	Magi604 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		You made me wonder just how often Touhou is even mentioned on HN, so I did a quick search and... less than 15 results! (not counting dupes). Niche indeed...
	▲	gsliepen 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I wonder if you could have it play the music as well by the right timing of flipping, just like how the Floppotron works.
	▲	jllyhill 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		The first thing I dig in the article was a search for "bad". Glad I'm not the only one.
	▲	a_t48 6 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Not niche enough :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NXSMdUH_Cg

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socalgal2 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSeQucVAjLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ6rfI28zJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSdiop75jIg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQVp-srqRBY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJU2-1X8kHQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiFSnoJQU7I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWIKOjGXTEM

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albert_e 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Tetris seems like a good fit -- given the frame to frame changes are minimal adjacent pixels, the responsiveness should be acceptable

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harikb 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is the last photo on that page, describing the cabling, a screenshot of another photo displayed using flipdiscs? that is a whole lot of discs!!

	▲	razorbeamz 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think it's just a simulation of what it could look like if it were flipdiscs.

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tamimio 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I remember seeing those at the airport when I was a kid it was fascinating, one of the screens was close to the ground and I got over the chairs just curious how do they flip, now we have the boring soulless LEDs.

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polyterative 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Technology is so cool and you're using it to build a mirror. Would have loved to see generative or other weird graphics.

	▲	bovermyer 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Did you read the article? The author goes into several applications beyond just that.

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einpoklum 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I have a question about those wire ferrules they said they were using:

I occasionally connect wires to terminals, but - I've never used ferrules: I just self-twist the thin strands, push the thing in, and use the lever or tightening screw depending on the terminal's mechanism.

Why would I use a ferrule? Or perhaps, under what circumstances is that advised?

PS - Link to the ferrules they mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R6QQ7MW/

	▲	orangewindies 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The wire will crush over time and the connection will become looser. That will increase the resistance of the connection and in high current applications will cause heating. If you're really unlucky it will cause a fire.
	▲	fgfarben 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Ferrules often have insulating shells around the base which are good strain relief. Ferrules also evenly distribute the clamping force and prevent crushing of the strands. Ferrules solve the problem of having to align the threads every time you re-post them in a terminal block.