...The primary design goal was to make something that's possible to fabricate at home in small or single quantities and can be customized and built by an intermediate hobbyist at a reasonable price. This meant using widely available materials and avoiding any tooling with a high upfront cost. Following that philosophy, the design uses store-bought vinyl stickers for the letters, is driven by an ubiquitous and cheap 28BYJ-48 stepper motor, and uses common PVC ID badge cards cut to shape for the flaps (though custom die-cut flaps are also available). Even the enclosure, spool, and gears, which are all made from laser-cut MDF, can be easily ordered online.