Engineer Puts FLIP Fluid Simulation on Flipdot Display, Just for the Pun
Flip Fluid on Flip Dots
Mitxela built a FLIP (Fluid Implicit Particle) simulation on a flipdot electromechanical display for EMF2026. The project required overcoming expensive panels, slow drive circuitry, and the challenge of tiling. The motivation was partly the wordplay of 'FLIP fluid on flip dots.' The write-up details custom driver boards, power supply, and the event.
FLIP stands for Fluid Implicit Particle, and yes, the primary motivation behind doing this was the wordplay.
- steventhedev
I'm always amazed by the precision work this guy does. My only nit with this article was he didn't link the Eurovision entry:
- aiiotnoodle
He mentions in the video and in the article Breakfast Studio and I happened to watch a video of one of their panels on an unrelated YouTube channel. I've skipped ahead to when the video has the panel. (there is also a cool egg just before that point in the video) it's only about 5 seconds.
https://youtu.be/2fRx64OTAeI?si=FJDW3OGYLRK0rYox&t=681
It's really cool to see some innovation in flip-dots and their colours, seems really quiet too. Shame these things cost an arm and leg and are massive, something like this in your house would look great at like 1/5th scale.
- bobek
I have recently resurrected one from an old bus — https://www.bobek.cz/buse/