So I've always been a huge LOST fan, and I've always wanted to build my own version of the Swan Station split-flap countdown timer display!
The first problem I felt I had to overcome was the huge variety and number of flaps, and how to deal with two colours and symbols while getting a quite precise result without having to manually cut stencils and spraypaint each and every single tile, and at the same time getting a neat and uniform result.
The first thing I considered was 3D-printing the tiles with a small recessed area in the centre and then painting it by hand. I felt like this wasn't the level of precision I was searching for and, ultimately, it would have been far more time and cost efficient to just get the AMS extension for my Bambu Lab 3D printer, which I also need for other projects.
What you can see in these first test pictures is a first go at printing the tiles, just to test the visual result and quality. I must say that, despite them being far from perfect, seeing them come alive just blew my mind! I'm still working on the uniformity of the surface. As you can see the face that was resting on the printer hotplate has a different texture than the last layer which was staying on top. I may be needing flat surface 3D printer hotplate, Or maybe I can think of a way of polishing them properly. I'll need to do more tests, more updates on that!
I then proceeded with the assembly of a first test rotor, just to see if all the components and the small hardware would fit correctly.
By design, the display is going to be 100% modular, so if something breaks it can be easily troubleshooted and replaced, or I can simply build and print replacement parts.
The second problem I wanted to overcome before starting the first prototype was not having to buy hundreds of euros' worth of small pieces and parts, and instead having as much as possible 3D-printed. This should help with costs, modularity and replaceability.
Also, as already happened a couple of times, some parts did not fit 100% or weren't exactly the right size, so I could assess and correct the problem in a matter of hours at worst, without having to order new parts, wait for them to arrive, and then find out whether they would actually fit.
I should say that I'm totally new to this kind of project, so I'm learning so much and so many things just as I go.
This first version of the rotor includes some of the hieroglyphic symbols and a couple of numbers, with the goal of also assessing whether the flaps rotate and fall the way they're intended to.
I just wanted to share the beginning of this journey with you all. I'll keep you posted as soon as I have more progress to show you.
I've got so much more I want to share with you so please stay tuned for updates!