Extremely Low Cost, 3D Printed DIY Seven Segment Display

(and custom displays/indicator panels)

(SHORT ARTICLE)

After needing a simple seven segment display for another project, and then seeing the prices of them online for any that I didn’t have to wait weeks of shipping for, I decided to make my own low cost(sub $1) alternative.

The display itself is extremely simple and leaves the option of common anode/cathode up to the maker. It takes about 20 minutes to print at modest print speeds & layer heights, about an additional 10 minutes to assemble, and requires no glue to hold the LEDs. The maker also has his choice of color and light diffuser. Purple/UV LEDs were used in these examples.

The STL is available for download from thingiverse HERE

Alternatively, You can download it directly from this site HERE. Please rename the file extension to .STL

And of course, You also have the luxury of creating completely custom shapes.

(Proper light diffusion is needed to prevent bright/dark spots like above)

With an FDM printer, you can step down in size to a .2mm nozzle. This would allow you to create even more intricate and detailed designs.

Any thin, semi transparent film can be used as a light diffuser. In the pictures, a blank, white shipping label sticker is used, as I found that was the cheapest solution that also had the sharpest contrast. I have seen people stretch black pantyhose over larger displays with passable results. Car window tint would also work nicely for this, provided you lightly scuff one side with very fine grit(think 1000+) sandpaper for a more even light diffusion.

The ease of use and rapid prototyping of this process, coupled with the extremely low costs involved lend itself very nicely to creating professional looking, custom made displays/indicator panels, such as for a dashboard instrument cluster in a car.

Later in the future, I will take this method and combine it with using a very inexpensive(<$100) laser cutter to cut even finer, more detailed(and hopefully more robust) templates out in black vinyl electrical tape to transfer onto a 3d printed body.