I Tested 9 Mechanical Displays
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
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Grab some of the merch featured in this video:
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I also have a Patreon if you want to see some exclusive behind the scenes content: / engineezy
The electric screwdriver I used to assemble and disassemble this thing many times is a game changer: geni.us/f6oJ
This is the DIY Split Flap by Dave Madison:
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These are the channels I referenced in this video:
/ @flower-3d
/ @karakurist
This is the PCB Design Tutorial:
• Video
After going through a plethora of different no-video display options, I finally settled on building a Split flap display. This whole project is a side quest from my real life platformer game. Going from mechanical counters, to rack driven 7 segment displays, with some stops in crazy mechanical adventurs along the way. This video tested my mechanical design skills, my electronics skills, and my arduino programming skills. I even learned some new things as well!
0:16 - Why?
2:25 - E Paper Display
2:50 - The Mechanical Counter
3:40 - Side Quest: Sliding 7 Segment Display
4:08 - Side Quest: Rack Driven 7 Segment Display
5:35 - Side Quest on Side Quest: PCB Design
6:34 - Some impractical (but cool) displays
7:32 - A Single Split Flap
8:47 - A Better Single Split Flap
9:50 - Building the Full Display
11:05 - The Full Display in Action
11:40 - Setting the High Score - Наука та технологія
We are completely blown away!! It’s A huge pleasure for us to be a part 🎉🎉🎉!
Thank you so much!
China!!!!!
@@KTPDAILY?????
@@Bananapower1313 🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍞
@@KTPDAILY banana banana banana banana banana banana banana banana banana banana bread
As a mechanical engineering myself I love the mechanical game. If you use a conveyor (or even a slat conveyor) you could have a longer pattern. You could even have a slat conveyor or rotating wheel which is magnetic that different obstacles attach to. You could stack the obstacles in a chute and then a cam releases them onto the wheel. Just a thought 😄
The multiple magnetic objects is a future project! For this one I have a different approach
@@Engineezy the real challenge would to make it completely mechanical ! Back to the day of programming with cams and levers 😂.
I recently worked on a ~100 year old hydro power station and it amazing how they controlled everything, so many functions which are now done with plc ‘s systems are all done with levers and valves and mechanical electrical switches, awesome stuff. One of the mechanical electrical switch is controlled by the flexing of a horse shoe shaped lever arm with two input shafts applying apposing torque to it from two different systems, it’s basically a, this is > then that then do this switch. I don’t think people could design systems like that anymore a lot of that expertise is gone.
I like this line of thinking. I'm also reminded of the rock climbing treadmill.
That's kinda what I was thinking, have a belt with obstacles that are on hinges and normally lay flat with an electromagnet or some other actuator underneath that stands them up for you to try to avoid them. Every obstacle that goes past without you knocking it back over (think hurdles) gets you points.
@@karlnowakowski7866aw man such isn't taught in advanced mechanical engineering?
Finally, a longer video. The wait was worth it.
Thanks for being patient with me!
cool
Agreed!
@@Engineezy hopefully you dump that sponsor. I checked it out on your word because it sounded cool. Their website triggered my mental “scam alarm bell” immediately, which confused me. I started reading a few articles that seemed far fetched from the front page and they weren’t even sourced. When I looked up the owner, it was, of course, a billionaire Trumper. Even with that guy’s obscene amounts of money, it’s still obviously a fake news site.
Was an aviation electrician with the Marines now I'm finishing my computer science degree to do stuff exactly like this one day. Its awesome to see people just as passionate about all things mechanical and electrical. Keep it up fam, thanks for sharing!
Appreciate it! Good luck with the degree 🫡
Such an incredible reality game it is similar to the T rex game😀 we all play when the internet doesn't work at times. the idea of mechatronic scores was what made the game 100% display-free!
Absolutely! Thats one of the inspirations when I was asking myself if this would be any fun!
Love seeing your 'side quests'
This is crazy cool/interesting.
The 'failed' paths like e-paper, 7 segment versions, etc.
The flap display versions.
And the idea of a IRL side scroller game.
Just perfection upon perfection!
As a lover of graphics/display technology, there is a special place in my heart for stuff like this. I think this is my favorite project of yours since the 3D-printed clock. Keep up the great work!
Appreciate it! Going to be doing lots more like this!
Maaaaaan this is my favourite thing you've ever made. Yes, the split flap display is incredibly satisfying (and it's really cool to see a legitimate use for multicolour 3D printing), but that analog platformer game looks SUPER fun. You might've already thought of this, but I could see this being a huge hit in a bar or arcade. The start of the Engineezy analog video game empire?
Thanks Morley! Super excited about it, who knows- could be
So good. Awesome idea, great use of prototyping to build features.
Thank you!!
Brilliant idea and video! I hope you enjoy building these contraptions as much as we all love watching them!
I absolutely do! Thanks so much for the support
We got geometry dash in real life before GTA 6.
🙌🙌
I’m a Geometry Dash Player
Bro, that clock is amazing. I went to your website bought the 3-D print files. The fact that you gave a step-by-step on how to build it what servos to buy what boards the code for the boards is way more than I thought I was buying. Thank you very much. I am very excited about it.
The reason the small stepper motors were so slow is because they have a built in gearbox. They are really meant for slow operation because of this and apparently they are used for controlling things like AC vents.
Something that may be of interest to you is very tiny stepper motors, they can get ridiculously small but could be useful for something due to their size. I have never seen them actually used but they are easy to get and very cheap so something must use them. Potential uses I can think of are in cameras, where you need it to be very small but still need something to rotate precisely, possibly for zoom or focus.
the small stepper motors need to be geared for them to have any decent level of precision too. They have a vastly lower number of poles, so they can't position themselves in very many places.
I bet the built-in gearbox is to increase their torque enough to be useful. That's a great way to save money if you don't need the acceleration.
I bet the built-in gearbox is to increase their torque enough to be useful. That's a great way to save money if you don't need the acceleration.
@@creativecraving well that's one of the few reasons to use a gearbox in the first place. If you don't need the torque or precision (or going the other way, speed) then you are often better off not using one. They always have a trade off like if you want more torque then you decrease the speed. Like I said these stepper motors are often used for low speed tasks in consumer goods and appliances.
Love this project! Can't wait to see the next version of the game wheel.
Thank you!! Very excited to bring it to life
We will all wait for the STL!! I wanted one ever since Vestaboard's kick starter
m
Very cool. Appreciate the side quests detours. Looking forward to the next iteration
Thank you!!
I looked up “Straight Arrow News” and it is owned by Billionaire businessman and founder of TD Ameritrade. Omaha World-Herald describes Joe Ricketts as a leading funder of national conservative causes. The Center for Responsive Politics has listed him as a Republican megadonor. AllSides who lists SAN as “Center and balanced” was founded by John Gable, and lists Gable as Right leaning. Before his tech career, Gable worked for the RNC, Bush, McConnell and other republicans as a professional campaigner and exec director. AP and Reuters are “just the facts” news already.
AP, Reuters, AFP, and all the other wire services are also owned by corporate interests. Which facts they report and how they’re spun are what matters.
every single major news company is owned by powerful rich people including AP and Reuters. that being said this app is clearly a bad ripoff of ground news which everyone who’s interested in this should get instead.
right! AP and Reuters literally just state what is happening with explicitly only facts. They leave it up to you on what to think of the situation.
Every time i see an ad for a 'centrist balanced free speech' news network, it's ALWAYS owned/ founded by some extreme right-winger.
I swear all they do is take """left leaning news""" and add a right-wing spin on it and pass it off as "centrist".
Yep, saw that coming a mile away. Anyone looking for "just the facts" news just want to ignore the biases of their fav reporters tbh.
Yeah exactly- they’re the ones choosing which “facts” to report. What if they ignore an important world event? That’s still facts I guess. What’s the center view on human caused climate change? Only one side has evidence, the other (climate change deniers) have their feelings
Very nice video with all those mechanisms! Really like the concept of the game and that sneak peak looks already very cool!!
Thank you! Definitely fun to play but there’s a long way to go!
5:52 "Routing traces is incredibly zen" As a PCB Design Engineer: Yes. Yes it most definitely is.
This was an awesome video, the 15 minutes went flying! Great work!
I was starting to type my comment to mention that you could have the obstacles go up and down to add variety to the runs and then you show the next ideas you had lmao
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks 😊
@@Engineezy No problem, thank you for replying! :D
m
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This is so cool, great video as always
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed :)
This is amazing! Looking forward to seeing more projects from you!
More to come! Thank you!!
If my company would like to use your solution how much will it cost? Working in a small sign making company and i'm gladly to promote your name.
I love how he liked it but didn't answer you😂
@@bennettsprague4804usually you wouldn’t communicate business over youtube comments… usually they immediately take it over dms on another social media platform
@bennettsprague4804 They basically said "Will you make this for me for free advertising".
@@kevinli6544 Literally asked for a cost
@@kevinli6544no they said: hey you had a really cool idea, do you mind if we make it as well?
With a mum who was pretty controlling with screen time, I could have used one of these. I love this project, and can't wait to see more like it!
Haha definitely would’ve fallen into the loophole
If the video game is video free, it's not a video game, it's just a game.
Not untrue!
I bet you're fun at parties
☝️🤓
This is really cool! Can't wait to see where you take it in the next vid.
You and me both! Haha! Appreciate it
We love a good deep dive! Thank you for collabing with us!
So sick! Looking forward to the next level.
Thank you!! Me too
You should hide obstacles within the wheel, and make them pop up with a servo or something so that the track can either be completely random, or you can develop patterns for levels. That way, the single drum can have a ton of possibilities! Ramps, walls, and blocks that pop out are all possible by just lifting surfaces.
You can actually make this a pretty fun and challenging game! The perfect bar/party game.
P.S. you totally need to finish the “main character” robot… add a cute little body and maybe some tiny arms that lift up to cheer or wave around in defeat… etc. so many possibilities with this concept… so cool!
Those are all in the works already :) greats ideas
@@Engineezy Great minds I guess… haha
Awesome! I’m looking forward to this one, I really like all of your projects but this one is definitely instantly in my top 3! Great work!
Thank you! Top 1 for me 😎
I'm here from your rebranding community post. Id never wtched you before but keep moving forward at your own pace in your own way. What engineering is all about!
Appreciate you watching! Absolutely what it’s about
0:17 Soooo you mean A GAME?
Too boring and simple
wow, def. not disappointed!! looking forward to the next one!!
Appreciate it!!
@@Engineezy it's a really delightful idea, and your execution of it is super fun
0:30 ... Not saying a word. 😂
😐😐
bro
bro 😐😐
Amazing how much effort you put in this video. Keep up the awesome work and keep having fun.
if its a videogame with no video isnt it just a game?💀
Yeah I guess so!
Dude, your project is really awesome!
What you're creating is not an Anti-Video game but an Electromechanical Game (most famously pinball), the predecessor to Video Games.
I suggest checking them out as they have a cool history and can help you with inspiration. They have some cool effects achieved with lights, mirrors and projections. Sega was pretty famous for them.
No, it's an Electromechanical Game.
Dude this is so freaking cool. I want to build a split flap so bad. Huge undertaking. The game looks so addicting!!!
Thank you! Indeed it was!
11:00 for the part that you came here for
Sick work my friend. The side quests were TOTALLY worth it.
Thank you! Glad you can appreciate the deviations 😀
The names at 1:18 lol
😅😅
Bro the sponsor is basically ground news but worse and fake
I wouldn't know
Sponsorblock goes hard
I haven't looked into them so I wouldn't know for sure but comparing The talking points they've given this guy on multiple occasions and then comparing all the different talking points I've seen for ground news I would say that's probably a reasonable assumption
@@DAm0n.I personally don't like sponsor block not because of the concept but because that way I can't filter out content creators who take money from genuinely scummy companies. Like for example aging wheels taking money from better help and apparently potentially the sky for taking money from news company that claims to speech truthful when in fact they may not be
Reverse the rotation of the game at the pivot, add a servo to move left and right, and change view point to look at the top of the wheel. It's now a vertical 3 lane scroll game like dozens of cellphone games
That’s really cool. It’s like reinventing the beginning of games. I like it.
I came here from TikTok and was really impressed and thought it was so cool seeing how you though up of switching the motor and normally coming from TikTok to a UA-cam channel usually isn’t good but I think ima start watching your channel every day
Awesome! Thank you!
Definitely my favorite thing you've made, and that's saying something. This is such a great idea.
Glad you like it! Thanks 👊👊
this is amazing, now I just need to find an excuse to build myself one of those split flap displays so I can listen to that sound all day
Now that’s a project you can count on!
Definitely a number of projects you can count on 😎
@@Engineezy Yeah, they quickly add up 😁
I like the new name, the videos are still awesome and I think you dont need the outro. another awesome vid! I'm trying to pick up a used 3d printer because of the stuff you do buddy. keep up the great content!
Thank you!
Congrats! you just made, a game! im sure you are definitely the first person to ever do that |:D
Wow, thanks!
I do believe that the channel of the wooden counter had a video showing a switch that decouples the counters when linked together, to allow for each counter to be shifted to a specified number, which would be an easy way to reset the displays quickly, but having the that would involve a bit of tracking code to keep tabs of what each display is at, so that when you have it reset, it will know how far back it needs to roll each of the displays.
So coool!
You could add a sort of level system to the game.
For example you could limit the power of the solenoid for the first levels (and so the heigth of jumps).
So at a certain point when obstacles are getting taller or longer the player will not ne able to pass them. Unless he catches a special item along the way. Like a coin or a star that's floating in the air.
Could be awesome! Continue the great job man 👌
That’s exactly what I have in mind 👊👊👊
the proof of concept game is awesome! reminds me of an elaborate pinball machine. I'd love to see it expanded and have more "levels" or "worlds" like how a classic platformer would have. I love to see it
Suggestion: Only score up when the roller is in the downmost position. Just use a light bartier to detect whether the lever is deep enough so the wheel is on the floor of the big wheel. No (or minor score) for hitting the button endlessly while you try to save yourself from a nearby collision. 😋
9:09 This felt like the perfect, "you vs the guy she tells you not to worry about" moment.
😂😂 so true
I am hype for the full game!! If it turns out to be fun and not too error-prone I bet you could license it, too! In either case it should be easy to repair since all the parts are either 3D printed or off the shelf 😁
This isn’t a video game without a video it’s a game that looks like a lot of video games
You can reset the counter with just one motor if include a "geneva tab" that engages only in reverse at number cero. Maximum movements to cero are as many turns as digits.
Didn't some have a button that you could push and they would all snap back to zero? I have a height gage at work with an inches counter that works that way. I'm pretty sure you could have a single drive motor and a reset solenoid.
Definitely worth looking into!
This is awesome. As someone who coincidentally spends WAY too much time thinking about what the definition of a Video Game is and what constitutes one, I think this is specifically a Computer Game, and not a Video Game. It's an Electronic Game unlike something like chess or darts, and it runs on a computer unlike a Pinball Table (afaik, I don't get how those things work), but there's no video element to it like a typical Video Game.
Side note, we call them Video Games but a more specific name would be Computer Video Games. A literal "Video Game" that's not also a Computer Game would somehow not run on a computer yet still have video; this is the opposite, a game that does run on a computer, but has no video.
This is honestly such a helpful distinction! Haha going to riff on this in the next video
Oh my god, I love this soo much, especially since it is "videoless ideogame" that makes it x100 better! Please finish this project 🙏🙏🙏
This is so awesome! A quick suggestion to make beating high score more fun: once the high score is beaten, the high score section could increase in sync with the score, like it did in many actual video games. Also, the moment when the high score is beaten could be marked by all high score flaps making a full revolution (or several).
Great ideas!
You inspire me so much as a soon to be engineer student, keep up the good work!
Love to hear it! Good luck
As a pilot myself for 40 years, this was the best bit of sailing I've ever seen!
⛵️⛵️
Hope the STL will be available to purchase at some point! Having a blast with the segmented display and this looks like it will have to be my next project!
I’m not planning to post this atm, but check out the one by Dave Madison!
I’d honestly spend hours playing this, It is amazing!
Thanks! Me too haha
That is prettysweet. Can't wait to see the next version of your mecanical game.
Thanks! Excited for it!
The way this turned out finally is so awesome! The astronaut version was hilarious 😂
😂😂 thank you!!
Hey Jay, Your oldest and biggest fan here. Know you so well. Can tell you know even before you say it, nope, not done, can make it better and faster 😂😂. Still awesome as ever. Thanks for SAN. Put on my phone and IPad. I use Ground News and this is going to be a great addition for what I use them for. Always a pleasure, keep being brilliant 😎
Old man here as well, I may have you beat. Think Corvette split window coupe. Jay is one of, if not my favorite UA-camrs. Love his presentation and thought processes. I wholeheartedly agree with his news commentary and will definitely be downloading that news app.
Thanks John! And Tony! Hopefully this steers you in the right direction
I never would’ve expected a solenoid, something I used to pull triggers with on machine guns to slaughter people, to be used to create such a cute game. Truly wholesome engineering - human ingenuity without the violence. Amazing work!
Wholesome indeed!
Brilliant game! Love the sounds and the scoreboard off course
Thank you!!
Brilliant concept and implementation, as usual.
Thanks Michael! Always appreciated
IT WAS YOU!! Ever since I've seen clips of your videos I've been obsessed with learning how mechanical clocks work, i really want a flip dot clock and now I want this too 😭😭😭
Glad you like them!
Amazing. I remember playing these at the classic arcade in Disneyland and Knott's back in the day
Awesome!
Very cool. I definitely want to see gameplay improvements next. Dynamic obstacles is a great start. But then how about parallax scrolling background. Trinkets you can collect for bonus points. Power-ups like double jump. Excited to see where you take this.
Those are all in the plans :)
This is absolutely incredible!!! I WILL BE MAKING THIS WITH MY SON.
🙏🙏
Wow this is so cool. Imagine having multiple of these disks which you could swap out and it would be a new level - then you could literally craft a new level using carboard bits!
That would be awesome!
Put a plate that slides down the face of the "game over button". You can have it move downwards, acting as a lever, to increase difficulty or set different starting difficulties.
Great design, I really enjoyed this video and I'm looking forward to your next one with the second version of your game! :)
It just makes me a bit sad to think about these beautiful displays. Until the 2000s, every medium sized or big German railway station had some of them on each platform and in main buildings, but today, everywhere is only boring stuff like backlit LC-displays. :(
So boring right?!
This is really cool!! I think you should modify the circle track that the side scroller runs on so that the obstacles change shape size and position !
That is the game plan!
those side quests are crazy 😂 great vid!
Thanks Steven! Love me a good side quest 😂
For future project, you could make the obstacle course harder and harder by adding hills or cavities. The transformation of the obstacle course could be proportionnal to the number of steps!
Excellent work I love your channel!
Very cool idea! So many possibilities
You can detect collisions by measuring the speed of the wheel. Or the torque the motor exercisces to move it.
Another way is to make the obstacles from metal and measure the conductivity between the roller and the obstacles.
You can count scores by counting the jumps using a sensor triggered by the lever. That way the player would not be able to "pump scores" by repeatedly pressing the button.
Great ideas 👊👊👊
This entire video was a side quest and I am all for it
Come on man, are you really not going to release the files for us to purchase?? The 7 segment display brought me here and I’m hooked, I want that split flap sound in my life!!
Haha I decided not to because it’s such a specific design. Also there’s an amazing free one that is so well documented, I didn’t think I could beat it. Its linked in the description!
@@Engineezy But yours is all 3D printed and it sounds so cool with these fast motors! If I can speak on behalf of others, we'd pay good money! Haha
I love the final split-flap display. Are the STL files available for that one?
I’m not an expert on electronics but I have an idea for the scoring to sync it to the actual progress of the game instead of how many clicks. Im thinking an encoder could work so every rotation or partial rotation will advance the score instead of every click which would in theory incentivize skill over button mashing. But this project is cool as is and I love what you are doing with this.
Thats a great idea! I was thinking something along those lines. Appreciate it! Excited to bring it to life
would be really interesting to have two large drums moving the terrain with different speeds, so it kind of has a parallax effect. Then just have your bouncing guy have a roller that is wide enough to spread across both drums and capture hits across either drum. Looking forward to what you come up with though!
I personally loved the side quests, if you're not making full videos on them, should for sure at least make shorts, they're really nice, the spinning figures was quite relaxing and mesmerizing, I wonder what you could do with other shapes and many, really many of them, code some cool patterns of movement, could be incredible.
Can't wait to see the full game :D
Might have to mess with that one day! For now there is a lot of work to do on the game 😬😬
@@Engineezy Yeeah, I'm sure it'll be great once you're done :D
I love stuff like this it reminds me of the trend where people have been storing data in the most unconventional ways
Haha nice! Thanks 🙏
So cool! Can't wait for the finished product, it looks phenomenal! Assuming dino game is your inspo lol
Dino game proves that even the most basic of games can be super fun! So yes 😀
That looks so fun. Can't wait to see the next part
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏
This is such a cool design. I would pay for one of these!
(I'm sure this has been suggested but...) You should give reflow soldering a try! It really makes assembling your own PCBs *significantly* easier. When ordering from your PCB supplier, you can usually get an SMT Stencil cut for a few dollars more (with JLC it's usually an extra ~$10, I think the cost is similar with PCBway). Then get some solder paste (T3 is usually fine) and squeege it onto the boards and reflow them -- the best option is to use a reflow oven like the T962 (smaller) or T962A (bigger), which can be ordered from Amazon or eBay. But you can also get good results with a heat gun and hot plate.
Love the split-flap displays -- they are my second favorite mechanical display after flipdots.
Definitely need to give it a shot!
You should check out the work of Tim Hunkin. Over the years he’s built whole arcades of non-video games, many are stightly twisted as well!
He has a UA-cam channel.
I found him through his Secret Life of Machines years (decades) ago on BBC rebroadcasts. Those are classics as well.
Literally just heard about Tim for the first time yesterday!
7:14 hahaha 🤣😂 that's ludicrous, yet awesome.
I never would have thought to make the segments a model of some sort like that, but now my head is swimming with ideas of other weird things to use, lol
So many fun possibilities!
Great video, I have been looking for a turns counter for a vacuum variable capacitor but they are super expensive. Looks like I'm going to have to build something similar
You've basically made one of those infinite runner games! If possible, you could maybe add controls to move the player left and right to avoid tall obstacles that can't be jumped over and randomize the popup obstacles.
That could be fun!
if you make the wheel like a contour gauge, with lots of pins that can be pushed in and out of the wheel, you can "procedually" generate maps for the game, that would be awesome.
Thats a cool idea!
Amazing work of art!
Scoring should be based on the degree rotation of the stepper motor relative to start position:
- Stops you having to repeatedly click to score, if you get a good jump, the score increments automatically. Rewards good jumps/timing
- Because it's based on rotation rather than time, the score increments faster as the difficulty (speed) of rotation increases. Combined with your existing function to increase rotation speed over time, more time = more speed = score increments faster
Definitely going to be improving that on the final version!
The "boing" sound you added for the jumps really reminds me of the Big Top Burger animated series by worthyKids :)
Love the game! Looking forward to the next generation. Score should be tied to rotation of the drum though. A magnet embedded in the drum and a Reed switch in the arm that supports the "runner" should do it.
Definitely going to be improving that moving forward! Thanks