Building a 10-module split-flap display

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I’d been wanting to build a split-flap display for a while. Back in 2020 I started gathering parts for Scott Bezek’s design - the laser-cut version with custom PCBs. I bought a bunch of 12V 28BYJ-48 stepper motors and hall-effect sensors and then… life happened, and the project sat in a box.

Fast forward to 2025, and I decided to actually finish this thing. But, the thing which kept me from finishing the project during the pandemic was still relevant: cutting out and labeling hundreds of individual flaps wasn’t a very appealing use of time. Thankfully, there’s more mechanical design out there these days. I modified a 3D-printed design from Makerworld, designed and built some custom electronics, and with a bit of debugging I have a fully working display! Here’s the finished product:

I2c on Robert Ying

Building a 10-module split-flap display