Some say that handing out business cards is an antiquated practice due to the ubiquity of smart phones which can be used to trade or record contact information in mere moments. Instructables user [sponges] however, doesn’t agree and is pushing a “business card renaissance” of sorts with his POV business card.
Hand-built in his basement, the cards feature a handful of SMD LEDs that display his name, followed by his phone number when waved back and forth. Constructed to be nearly the same size as a standard business card, his verison uses a PIC to manage the display as well as a tilt sensor to monitor the card’s motion. His walkthrough is quite thorough, and includes tutorials for each of the steps required to build the card. He discusses constructing your own etching tank, converting a laminator for PCB transfer purposes, building a solder reflow oven controller, as well as hacking an aquarium pump for use as a vacuum-powered pick and place.
The end result is a sharp looking business card that ensures you won’t forget meeting him. Keep reading to see a video of the card in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud7QIuD4lUM&w=470]
The idea is great, but i want to see pictures or movies of it.
I do find it rather unpractical because is quite hard to get the name out of it…but then, the impression might be great enough to remember him/her…
it would be more ausome if you could spinn it like a top.
has anyone make a top POV?
That would be kind of cool.
I bought a POV top at a educational toy store a few years ago, it didn’t display alpha-numerics but stepped through various patterns while spinning and playing music. Alas and alack all that is left of it is the PC board, which I might attach it to a drill someday just to watch it again.
Excellent hack… but you’re a little soon on calling business cards antiquated.
agreed on calling business cards antiquated. also i would as well like to see a movie of it.
great idea however.
It would be pretty hard to create a POV top because you would need to accurately measure the speed of rotation to sync up the LEDs (in order to display meaningful stuff and not just patterns)…plus the actual construction and weighting of the top would be a challenge.
@Brennan,
POV tops are pretty common. They function at top speed then stop once they slow down beyond a threshold. My kids had one.
yeah, mine (okay, my daughter’s) had a centrifugal switch consisting of one contact on a weighted spring. As the top slowed down the switch opened.
nice design, would like to see it working and estimated cost
his write up involves stuff other than just the pcb design..not sure people would bother doing all of that
@t&p @Brennan – POV Top – http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/pov-top.html
have you guys tried following the link to the instructable? there’s a video on the first page.
awesome idea, excellent execution. It even looks pretty slick with the circular etching design.
In the video it looks like the card is attached to a spinning bike wheel
@Brennan
in theory, an accelerometer could sense the outward forces on the top and calculate the rotational speed of the top.
you also might even be able to use it to balance the top, like how they balance tires by spinning them on that machine
I’m still waiting for more than anecdotal evidence that anyone at HR actually hung on to any of the “supacustom1337haxxxored” cards one can see around the net (let alone actually hire someone based on it);
Engineers these days are nothing more than “cannon fodder” for industry, a required ingredient for the machine that churns out PRODUCT (they pretty much get valued accordingly too, sadly). Unless you try to get hired at NASA, Boeing or a fusion research lab (yeah good luck with either), your would-be employer is interested in good little lemmings who stay in the line and deliver on schedule, not rebel geniuses who’s card they can’t even pocket properly…
…oh, and while we’re on the subject – sorry, Santa isn’t real either.
@mrbt – The video on his Instructables page is new and was posted after we published this story – thank you for the heads up, it has been added.
Hahahaha, why the hell would you need a reflow oven for this? Mass production? I don’t think that will be necessary ;)