Mechanical multi-segment displays have become quite a thing lately, and we couldn’t be more pleased about it. The degree of mechanical ingenuity needed to make these things not only work but look good while doing it never ceases to amaze us, especially as the number of segments increases. So we submit this over-the-top 16-segment mechanical display (Nitter) for your approval.
The original tweet by [Kango Suzuki] doesn’t have a lot of detail, especially if you can’t read Japanese, but we did a little digging and found the video shown below. It shows a lot more detail on how this mechanism works, as well as some of the challenges that cropped up while developing it. Everything is 3D printed, and flipping the state of each of the 16 segments is accomplished with a rack-and-pinion mechanism, with the pinions printed right into each two-sided cylindrical segment. The racks are connected to pushrods that hit a punch card inserted into a slot in the rear of the display. The card has holes corresponding to the pattern to be displayed; when it’s pushed home, the card activates a mechanism that slides all the racks that line up with holes and flips their segments.
This isn’t the first multi-segment mechanical masterpiece from [Kango Suzuki] that we’ve featured, of course. This wooden seven-segment display works with cams rather than punch cards, but you can clearly see the hoe the earlier mechanism developed into the current work. Both are great, and we’re looking forward to the next segment count escalation in the mechanical display wars.
— K.$uzuki🍮 (@BellTreeNursing) October 5, 2022
Thanks to [Matt Venn] and [Cameron] for the tips!
> you can clearly see the hoe the earlier mechanism developed into
Might need some wordsmithing here…
Lol, I’m thinking it’s intentional!
I think Paul Revere would have found this helpful. Nice project.
This is beautiful. It is in-keeping with the tradition of vintage Japanese Karakuri mechanized devices. The word Karakuri historically means “mechanisms” or “trick” in Japanese.[1][2] Karakuri has had much influence in Japan over time when it comes to modern industrial robots and also robot-like humanoid characters so prevalent in Japanese graphic (Manga/Anime) entertainment.
* References:
1. Karakuri Puppet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakuri_puppet
2. Karakuri puppet – からくり人形 – 4K Ultra HD [02:47]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgIDStgaybc
that is just amazing. Completely out of the box. ! Also love the toy aesthetic it has got. Well done
Wow…. talk about a masterclass in compliant mechanisms. Even though I couldn’t understand a word, I could understand both the process and the end function. Very cool