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Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

flipdisc.io

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Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#81

Post by simpsoka »

risenshinetech wrote: post #77
crazygringo wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see what the distinction is? You might as well say a motor has no moving parts, because it's done with electromagnetic impulses. But that would be absurd. Obviously the hinge of each disc will wear and tear and eventually fail. Buildups of dust and oil will affect them too and prevent them from flipping. Flipdiscs are as mechanical as mechanical parts get. You writing in the intro: "...have no moving p…

It's amazing the type of pretty tame criticism that gets downvoted here these days. Your criticism is entirely factual and has zero hint of malice. I felt the exact same way when I read these things in the article -- just pure nonsense.

So sorry to have caused the confusion. I've updated the post to be more detailed. Honest mistake. I was referencing the mechanical parts of the board that move the dot. For example, unlike Vestaboards, which have a gear to move the panels, flipdisc boards use magnets. Good thing pixels on a webpage are easier to update than pixels on a flipdisc board!

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#82

Post by aembleton »

risenshinetech wrote: post #76
leetharris wrote: post #33

This is so cool. I love to see Javascript used for stuff like this. It blew my mind that the James Webb Telescope uses a custom Javascript runtime for a lot of the onboard functions.

Why do you love to see a particular language used for something? It would be like being excited at seeing someone using aluminum to build something over steel/wood/etc.

Not the parent, but I like seeing particular languages used for something like this because it may be a langauge that I am familiar with along with all of its libraries and tooling. This makes a project like this that interacts with hardware easier to acheive.

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#84

Post by amelius »

omoikane wrote: post #37

> near limitless lifespan The lifespan is probably not as limitless as you might have imagined, the discs tend to fall off or get stuck. But they are really neat while they are working, especially how they sounds. I was at an office with these flip dot displays, and eventually we dismantled the display. I took some picture of the pieces and you can see how stuck discs look like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/onpHefUVL8oe…

> The lifespan is probably not as limitless as you might have imagined

How do you remove dust from them? I imagine that's when they break.

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#85

Post by amelius »

proee wrote: post #18

Breakfast studio offers some amazing art pieces using Flipdisc modules. https://breakfaststudio.com/flip-discs

They have a work that shows melting polar ice, but I wonder how energy efficient it is (I expect it does not consume energy when nothing flips, but still ...)

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#86

Post by lanewinfield »

BeefySwain wrote: post #15

How exactly did the author get the panels? I've looked into stuff like this before and it's basically impossible to source outside of things like eBay. Unless you're willing to buy industrial quantities at industrial prices. How did they buy them, and for how much?

Speaking as someone who also recently purchased these panels (and read the second paragraph where they mention where they got them), they're from the company AlfaZeta.

They build and ship from Poland. They don't have a publicly available price list but they cost approx 220 EUR per 7x28 panel. Expensive, but few places still manufacture them.

If you continue reading the post, they also link out to other manufacturers including ones on AliExpress that seem to be cheaper.

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#87

Post by wrs »

amelius wrote: post #84
omoikane wrote: post #37

> near limitless lifespan The lifespan is probably not as limitless as you might have imagined, the discs tend to fall off or get stuck. But they are really neat while they are working, especially how they sounds. I was at an office with these flip dot displays, and eventually we dismantled the display. I took some picture of the pieces and you can see how stuck discs look like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/onpHefUVL8oe…

> The lifespan is probably not as limitless as you might have imagined How do you remove dust from them? I imagine that's when they break.

The linked Alfazeta manual has recommendations for very carefully vacuuming the panel.

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#88

Post by lanewinfield »

elaus wrote: post #42
tivert wrote: post #41

> We used 9 Alfazeta panels in a 3x3 grid or 84x42 discs. Each board has (2) 28x7 panels. So how much do one of those cost? The website ( https://flipdots.com/en/products-services/flip-dot-boards-xy... ) notably has no prices listed.

This [1] page talks about 500 EUR per display which would result in about 3000 EUR for a 3x3 grid or 1.27 EUR per pixel. I love the idea but that's WAY to expensive for me. [1] https://hackaday.io/project/159415-flip-dot-display-diy-cont...

Each board is, as of this year, 220 EUR per 7x28 panel. Still expensive! But specialized.

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#89

Post by wrs »

yyyfb wrote: post #50

I built a lo-fi device like this (with a LED matrix instead of a flipboard) and I didn't really find great software for building animations at a low pixel count. I ended up doing something super low level where I draw to a buffer directly using ImageMagick. If there's a better library I'd love to know.

The stack here is lo-res but not lo-power. “…we’re leveraging existing web tech that we’ve found to work well - PIXI for general 2D rendering, Three.js for 3D rendering, Matter.js for physics engine, and GSAP for animations. We also utilize node-canvas, and node-gl for server-side rendering.”

Re: Show HN: I built a JavaScript-powered flipdisc display

#90

Post by wrs »

yojo wrote: post #40
scosman wrote: post #36

Love this. Reminds me of the “flip flap” boards in old train stations. Like https://www.vestaboard.com/

Man I love those things. I have warm memories of standing in Italian train stations as a kid and letting the clacking wash over me when they did a full board refresh. It’d fade out like a rain stick as the stragglers that started furthest from their target letter trickled in. Now it’s all LED, which is way more practical and so much less magical.

I wish they would just fake the sound effect (hey, electric cars do it).
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