Air Powered Segment Display: 3D Printed Microfluidic RAM?

Can you build a segment display powered by air?

Ad / Werbung: Special thanks to PCBWay for supporting this build! Check them out for PCBs, CNC, 3D printing, and more: https://pcbway.com/g/HYFQb8 (Affiliate Link)

In this video, I take on the challenge of building an air powered, 4-digit, 7-segment display. I’m using microfluidic logic, silicone membranes, and air pressure to create a display that doesn’t just show the time, it “remembers” it.
By integrating vacuum-powered transistors into a 3D-print, I’ve accidentally created a pneumatic RAM (Random Access Memory). Unlike electronic displays that rely on high-speed flickering, this clock uses mechanical latching to “write” data to its silicone skin, one digit at a time.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Circuits running on Air
1:28 – The Vision
3:25 – Building a Single Segment
5:22 – The Digit: a 7-Bit Memory Array
8:55 – The Microfluidic Display
12:40 – It’s Alive!
15:24 – Is it RAM?

References:

[1] Jensen, E. C., Grover, W. H., & Mathies, R. A. (2007). Micropneumatic Digital Logic Structures for Integrated Microdevice Computation and Control. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 16(6), 1378–1385. https://doi.org/10.1109/jmems.2007.906080

Dieses Video enthält eine Produktplatzierung und wurde durch die Unterstützung von PCBWay ermöglicht. (This video features product placement and was made possible through the support of PCBWay.)

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