Braille business card writer

pinshape

Here is a little pocket gadget that lets you quickly give out your contact information in Braille format using just four lines with 14 characters each. This keeps things simple for names and phone numbers, or even learning cards. It can fit any standard 89mm x 51mm business card or small piece of paper - rigid paper gives better results. Once assembled, pass the paper/card between the two barrels and turn them by hand to emboss. The tricky part is editing the text wheel to delete dots and create the desired Braille character. I recommend printing the text wheel in SLA or SLS print for great results. I printed my own at home with 150 microns precision using an FDM printer and PLA material. I'd like to give credit where it's due - this design is a remake of Paul_myers' original, which I saw on Pinterest. However, I didn't realize he had already created a Braille version until I was done. So, I recreated the concept with customization in mind to make it more accessible and easy to use. As for the project's past, present, and future, I'm trying to figure out ways to make it easier to customize. My first design involved making the text wheel with notches and inserting individual characters into those notches. However, due to Braille's small size, FDM printing results were disappointing. So, I opted for a bulkier design that you see here today. I'm currently having the parts printed by a local service using an SLA printer (pics coming soon!). If the SLA print goes as planned, I'll probably go back to notches and smaller pieces. Update 1: I got it printed, but it's still not what I hoped for - the gearing isn't stable, and the cover is too flimsy. I'm likely going to scrap this one. For the gearing, I switched to a more reliable herringbone gear design. I'm also modeling with the goal of being able to FDM print most parts. Update 2: Here's a simplified version that works as it should! To make things even better, you'll need four skateboard bearings at the end of each barrel - this greatly reduces friction and makes turning the barrels much easier.