The ultimate list of (active) split flap projects

Written by

There must be something about split flap displays. I can’t explain it any other way that there’s so many projects, companies, videos and repositories that deal with split flap displays. This post aims at collecting and describing them.

Publicly Available Designs / Open Source Project

Here are all projects that you can build yourself – because the instructions are publicly available.

Scott Bezeks Split Flap Display

This is what made it start for me. I think that Scott can be safely credited with building the most popular reference design and open source split flap display project.

The split flap modules you can build using his design are laser cut from MDF or Acrylic (including the central drum) and assembled using a a few M4 nuts and screw. And raw strength, as there’s quite some press-fit connections. They’re driven by a 28BY-48 motor – we’ll encounter that one rather often in this post.

He’s also providing the electronics, a system called Chainlink, that goes with the modules and makes bigger installations feasible and possible, as well as the option to buy ready-made flaps from his Etsy Store.

One of the outstanding aspects is not only the ongoing dedication he’s personally putting into this – the project has been going for over 10 years – but also some of the technical details. Most noteworthy is that the hardware is actually designed in OpenSCAD, a declarative CAD engine where you basically write your design in code. A very interesting rabbit hole.

Scott also has some videos that explain the basics of Split Flap Displays (well, most of it) in a lovely way, can highly recommend having a look at those.

David Kingsman’s 3D Printed Split Flap Display

This is a fully 3D Printed Split Flap Display that’s based on a design by Walter Greger with quite the community around it.

It’s impressive in multiple ways – the project contains a full set of multicolor, 3D Printable flaps (you’ll need a MMU or patience, but ideally both), build instructions and also ready-made firmware for a custom PCB (which is also part of the project).

My take is that this project has been fundamental in making split flap builds accessible to the 3D Printing crowd, and the use of available components – 28BYJ48 as a stepper, tons of filament and a few fasteners – really make for a very low entry barrier.

3D Printed Split Flap Display by MorganManly (is that a real name)

That is a real maker project – instructions are on instructables.com, and it’s basically just a wall of text and images. However, the hardware is a notch more refined than the other 3D Printed models. The case is especially not just functional, but looks designed with aesthetics in mind – and while it’s hard to put a finger on it, so does the whole project.

We’re again in the territory of the 28BYJ48, ULN2003 and so on when it comes to driving a motor: All open source displays with public designs use the same stepper and same electronics for driving them.

Stefan Frech’s Split Flap Build

I stumbled over this one not too long ago – and it’s novel in many ways. It’s the first one I’ve seen using a (powerful) motor with a dual shaft – and it’s the first one that has PVC Drum sides that are cut with a water jet. It’s the first one that uses a sheet metal case as a default, and it’s the first one that comes with manufactured flaps and discloses where they are from.

It’s also the only design that I’m aware of that does a proper back panel with card edge connectors – Stefan really put a lot of energy into polishing all edges of this project. The result shows this. And look how happy he is!

Makers building Displays on YouTube for Fame

So this is an interesting one – there’s more than one person on YouTube that built a Split Flap Display without sharing their designs. That’s absolutely fine, I still want to mention them – since there’s always something to learn from every build.

Engineezy’s Score Counter Split Flap Display

So, that’s an interesting one. He set out to build a scoreboard out of split flap displays and started with a 28BYJ48-Based design, but then pivoted to using a much more powerful NEMA-type stepper. Since it’s not using a full alphabet drum, this seems to be overkill – but the combination of ideas that went into this design and the assembly is just nice to watch. Belt and pulley, NEMA Stepper, Laser Cut frame that ensures perfect alignment between the modules.

I highly recommend watching this, even if it’s just for the entertainment aspect.

Companies building and selling split flap displays

Vestaboard

This is the most polished commercially available split flap display. It comes in two different form factors (Note and full size) and two different color ways – but always looks awesome.

After building many display modules myself I can safely say that if you want to have a working split flap display: This is the most economical, fast and beautiful way to get there.

The Oat Foundry

The Oat Foundry is a US-Based company that is specializing in building and renting out commercial split flap displays. There’s nothing not too love about those folks – their showcases are jaw-dropping.

Unfortunately, their designs aren’t publicly available – understandable, but still a pity. From the visual appearance, it looks robust: Metal case, probably a beefy stepper on the inside and eye-catching animations. 10/10. Except for your purse, I guess.

Flip Forward

And there’s one more – flip forward, this project here. While the designs aren’t yet published, they will be – but you can already play with our virtual split flap display at play.flipforward.de.

Our design is based on a sheet metal frame, a NEMA-Type Stepper, Screen-Printed flaps and a sophisticated firmware and communication protocol that allows for seamless installations of small and large modules alike.