At one time limit mechanical seven section shows had been ubiquitous, over time many locations have changed them with different sorts of shows. [Sebastian] has a gentle spot for these outdated mechanically actuated shows and has constructed an open-source 7-segment show with some very good options.
We’ve seen variety of DIY 7-segment shows on this website earlier than, the best way [Sebastian] went about it resulted in a stupendous nicely thought out outcome. The case is 3D printed, and though there are two colours used it doesn’t require a multicolor 3d printer to make your personal. The true magic on this construct revolves across the customized PCB he designed. As a substitute of utilizing a separate electromagnets to maneuver every flap, the PCB has coil traces used to toggle the flaps. The good placement of some small screws permits the small magnets in every flap to carry the flap in that place even when the coils are off, tremendously slicing down the facility wanted for this show. He additionally used a modular design the place one block has the ESP32 and RTC, however for the extra blocks these parts can stay unpopulated.
The work he put into this venture didn’t cease on the {hardware}, the software program additionally has a large number of considerate options. The ESP32 operating the show hosts an internet site which lets you configure a number of the many options: the real-time clock, MQTT help, timer, customized API capabilities, firmware updates. The top result’s a extremely customizable, show that sounds superior each time it updates. Make sure you try the video beneath in addition to his website to see this superior show in motion. Additionally try a number of the different 7-segment shows we’ve featured earlier than.
