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README.md

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@@ -35,10 +35,6 @@ Here's a video of a large 108-module display powered by 18 Chainlink Driver boar
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## Stable v2 Mechanical Release
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As of 2025-01-19, the v2 refresh of the mechanical and sensor design is considered stable and recommended for new builds.
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<img src="https://github.com/scottbez1/splitflap/assets/414890/9ffab4fa-a2db-4b5e-915a-915f81faa193" height="200" />
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<img src="https://github.com/scottbez1/splitflap/assets/414890/d89254a4-46de-4303-8402-8a4d7989d25e" height="200" />
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<img src="https://github.com/scottbez1/splitflap/assets/414890/9193a9e3-a4f5-4a54-868a-badd74168181" height="200" />
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**Here's what's new in v2:**
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- **52 flaps per module** for more character/symbol options
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# Table of Contents
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- [Design Overview](#design-overview)
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- [Mechanical](#mechanical)
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- [Combined front panel (script)](#combined-front-panel-script)
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- [Flap font/sticker generator (script)](#flap-fontsticker-generator-script)
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- [Electronics](#electronics)
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- [Sensor PCBs](#sensor-pcbs-1-per-module)
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- [Chainlink Driver](#chainlink-driver-1-per-6-modules)
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- [Older designs](#older-designs)
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- [Classic controller](#classic-controller-electronics-deprecated)
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+ [Miscellaneous Tools](#miscellaneous-tools)
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- [Flaps and Fonts](#flaps-and-fonts)
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- [Combined Front Panel Generator](#combined-front-panel-generator)
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- [3D Printed Tools](#3d-printed-tools)
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- [Chainlink Driver Tester](#chainlink-driver-tester)
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* [Code](#code)
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### Combined front panel (script)
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By default, the design will have a separate laser-cut faceplate for each individual module. For larger displays you may want to combine front panels into a single piece, and the repo has a script to help with this.
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You can modify:
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* Number of rows and columns
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* Horizontal and vertical spacing/separation of modules
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* Overall outer width and height of the panel
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There are a lot of options; see the `--help` for explanations.
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#### Example 1 - Laser cut 6x1
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<img width="640" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/splitflap-artifacts/master/3d/3d_front_panel_raster-52-3.175-20x4margin-12x2.png"/>
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</a>
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If you want to cut a front panel with a CNC router (useful for _very_ large displays), use the `--tool-diameter` argument to remove kerf-correction and instead add dogbones to the tab slots.
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With the dogbones added to the tab slots, these would be unsightly if cut as through-slots, but because this is CNC cut rather than laser-cut, you can do partial Z-depth slots. For example, for a 6mm thick MDF front panel, I'd recommend cutting the dogbone tab slots to a depth of 4mm. This way, only the 2 front bolt heads are visible from the front, and not the tab slots.
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For CNC cutting, the script supports rendering a vector file optimized for thicker material (e.g. 6mm MDF) where only the bolt-holes will be through-cut. In this mode, the slots for the top/bottom enclosure pieces can be cut as ~4mm pockets so they aren't visible from the front face. The script automatically generates dog-bone shapes for these pocket cuts.
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This example also demonstrates use of the --frame-margin-x and --frame-margin-y options to add an additional margin of 20mm horizontally and 4mm vertically to the front panel dimensions.
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```
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### Flap font/sticker generator (script)
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If you'd like to customize the font or character set of your display, you can use the `generate_fonts.py` script to generate a vector file that can be used for cutting vinyl stickers or can be sent to a print shop that can produce printed flaps directly.
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If you'd like to print your own flaps, or cut custom vinyl letter stickers, the project includes a script (`generate_fonts.py`) to generate vector design files, which is extremely configurable:
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* Font for text
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* This is further customizable in `flap_fonts.scad` -- this is where font parameters are defined like the overall font scale, position offsets, and even per-character scale and position overrides in case you need to tweak particularly problematic letters (e.g. a really wide "W" or an "@" with too thin of a stroke).
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* Character-set - which letters/numbers/symbols/colors are included and in what order
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* Bleed - extends rendering past the borders of the flaps to compensate for slight misalignment of printing and cutting operations
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* Keepout areas - option to highlight keepout violations for manual review, automatically clip them, or ignore them
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* Rendering options:
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* Single-sided - useful for previewing how all letters will look on flaps
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* Front/back - for batch duplex printing, generate separate front-side and back-side files (e.g. sign shop printing on a flat sheet of PVC)
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* Side-by-side - for individual flap printing, each flap's front design is laid out side-by-side with its back design
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There are a lot of options; see the `--help` for explanations.
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You'll also need to edit `flap_fonts.scad` if you want to use a custom font -- this is where font parameters are defined like the overall font scale, position offsets, and even per-character scale and position overrides in case you need to tweak particularly problematic letters (e.g. a really wide "W" or an "@" with too thin of a stroke).
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#### Example 1 - Epilogue font, rendered in front+back pairs, default character set, 1mm bleed (for printing)
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### Miscellaneous Tools
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#### Flaps and Fonts
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If you'd like to print your own flaps, or cut custom vinyl letter stickers, the project includes a script to generate vector design files
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that is extremely configurable:
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* Font for text (this is further customizable in OpenSCAD)
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* Character-set - which letters/numbers/symbols/colors are included and in what order
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* Bleed - extends rendering past the borders of the flaps to compensate for slight misalignment of printing and cutting operations
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* Keepout areas - option to highlight keepout violations for manual review, automatically clip them, or ignore them
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* Rendering options:
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* Single-sided - useful for previewing how all letters will look on flaps
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* Front/back - for batch duplex printing, generate separate front-side and back-side files (e.g. sign shop printing on a flat sheet of PVC)
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* Side-by-side - for individual flap printing, each flap's front design is laid out side-by-side with its back design
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TODO: finish documenting this and render some example images...
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#### Combined Front Panel Generator
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If you'd like to share a single front face across multiple modules (rather than each module having its own front face), the repo
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includes a script to generate a combined front panel for laser-cutting or CNC milling/routing.
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You can modify:
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* Number of rows and columns
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* Horizontal and vertical spacing/separation of modules
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* Overall outer width and height of the panel
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For CNC cutting, the script supports rendering a vector file optimized for thicker material (e.g. 6mm MDF) where only the bolt-holes will be through-cut. In this mode, the slots for the top/bottom enclosure pieces can be cut as ~4mm pockets so they aren't visible from the front face. The script automatically generates dog-bone shapes for these pocket cuts.
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TODO: finish documenting this and render some example images...
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#### 3D Printed Tools
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The project also includes a number of optional 3D printed designs to make assembly easier. These include:
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