Custom 12-segment led alphanumeric display - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: ratatax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:30:32 pm
content: Hi,I worked on a 12-segment star shape design which is quite funky looking. I contacted some Chinese suppliers and they may be able to manufacture it.Do you think you or someone else could be interested by these kind of displays ?Tooling cost is quite expensive so it's a lost of wasted money if I just make a few for myself.Also if you have ideas to improve this design (even by adding segments) feel free to suggest.I feel that we're so used to the traditional 7-segment and 14-segment displays that it's hard to compete on the easy-to-read aspect, even if some of these letters are closer to their natural shape than the 14-segment equivalent.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:38:42 pm
content: Do some actual text using this font. What is shown here looks miserable to read. And 14 segment display is perfectly legible and all the letters have consistent height.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:41:59 pm
content: Looks like a runestone inscription.And who needs it? Dot-matrix (=humanly readable) is the standard today, cheap and easy with integrated controller.

author: ratatax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:47:30 pm
content: I was thinking for products looking for a certain style of display, when aesthetics are important. Or for hobbyist for funSince nothing seems to be available outside the 7/14/16 segment types.I'll check if it is possible to make the height more consistant.

author: zhir
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:48:59 pm
content: You should sell the design to Disney or Netflix. It would look awesome in a science-fiction show.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 10:59:44 pm
content: Doesn't look like something I'd want but who knows, maybe it's just right for someone? What is the use case you have in mind?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 11:01:22 pm
content: Quote from: zhir on January 17, 2023, 10:48:59 pmI was thinking graffiti artists. But they don't buy displays or pay royalties.

author: retiredfeline
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 11:03:07 pm
content: Not worth encapsulating in hardware for 2 less segments than the 14 segment display, and you'd be up against the incumbency advantages of 14 segments. Maybe it could be a novelty font.

author: ratatax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2023, 11:29:06 pm
content: A variant which uses 13 segments, much more readable (I think) while still a bit "different"

author: retiredfeline
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 12:18:52 am
content: Re: 13 segment font. That hook on the northeast corner jars and will be difficult to illuminate evenly. I would just make the top and right bars straight, and also change the inclination of the 1 o'clock segment to match. Also you don't really need the centre dot which will be too bright if a LED as its area is smaller. But when you have made those changes, it's become a subset of the 14 segment font, so what for?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 12:32:41 am
content: I don't think you'll find customers for this.If it's your hobby, feel free to spend money on producing the parts.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 12:42:30 am
content: Quote from: ratatax on January 17, 2023, 10:30:32 pmThese types of designs aren’t new, and there’s probably a reason they’ve never caught on.I’ll just leave this here:

author: ratatax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 01:27:42 am
content: I found a product that uses a slight variation from the 14-segment display, it has dots in the corners. Did you already see that display elsewhere or that may be custom made for their product?

author: ratatax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 01:51:05 am
content: This time only 10 segments, slightly modified design from someone else. With text example. The slanted "L" in Hello World looks cool I think!

author: retiredfeline
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2023, 03:08:51 am
content: This 10 segment font is sufficiently deranged that it's cool to me. But TBH the era of needing to save segments is long over. For other reasons like other language glyphs, accents, symbols, etc etc, raster displays are the way to go. So I wouldn't put money into manufacturing hardware unless you're willing to pay for your hobby horse.