QUOTE(worn @ Aug 5 2017, 10:05 AM)
I am very impressed. Also, I think you may have solved a problem with my own search for the triple gauge. My problem has been generating the gauge face, which is on a stamped piece of aluminum. I have tried vinyl through the laser printer and silk screening. The vinyl is best, but the edges want to lift from the compound curves. Silk screening wasn't accurate for me - but my experience has been with art and T-shirts, so tiny precision I haven't gotten.
Laser etching!
Also, very cool. In the end, since you used 40-50 year old technology for the gauges themselves, what drove you to the micro controller route? I think it is because you can!
Ah, jealousy creeping in. Oh, well done!
Funny enough, half way through this project, i concluded that a second version using modern gauge steppers may be a cheaper and easier route than using the VDO gauges. I'm working on a version 2.0, but this gauge suits my immediate needs, so progress will be slow on 2.0. Also since the stepper gauges are much more compact, this give a lot more space for other stuff, like a 1.38 round LCD screen. Here's a peak on what 2.0 will have.
As for the microcontroller, it was the only realistic way to control the LEDs in a compact fashion.