(The video above also serves as my 1000 subscriber special, so that's what that thing at the end is about. :P)


Downloads

[RECOMMENDED] IFSS-1.0 (iron block) MCEdit schematic

IFSS-1.0 (iron block) world (also contains some other things I did for recording)
IFSS-1.0 (sandstone) MCEdit schematic with timing mechanisms

IFSS-0.1 (sandstone) MCEdit schematic
I don't suggest using this one, however, I tweeted about it when I finished it a month ago. I'm leaving this download here as proof that the project was in fact done at that point.


Description

IFSS-1 stands for infinitely expandable, flush, seamless and stable door. Infinite in the sense that the design is practically the same with dimensions such as 10x10 compared to the 100x100 one shown in this video. It's expandable along the horizontal axis as long as you can keep the machine loaded and expandable along the vertical axis up to a maximal door height of 106. However, this is because of the sky limit, which would limit any expandable machine, so I don't consider this an issue. It's flush and seamless in the sense that ... well, it's set up against a wall next to a floor, and the inside is entirely smooth in the opened state. Stable? This is a term I thought would apply here. All it means is that the blocks keep their position if you open and close it. This wasn't a big challenge, but rather something I had to bare in mind while designing this contraption.

How is this achieved, you may ask? Well, the short answer would be: slimestone. The long answer: well, watch some of my past videos. :P I plan on making an "explanation" video at some point, although this project already invaded a bit into my finals preparation time, so don't expect anything too soon. If you're really curious to see how this works, I just suggest you use a download and take a look on your own. Together with my videos you should be able to get a decent understanding of the purpose of every part.


Development

I don't know for sure when exactly the idea for this project sprang into my mind, however, it must have been somewhere during July last year, as I remember feeling scooped when I first heard about this video by Sancarn. XD Anyway, since then, I spent some time, going with different approaches to try and tackle this challenge. However, the real work for this machine started on March 14th 2015, as I got back to the concept one evening. Since then I've been working on it quite consistently until the first working version was finished on May 3rd, 2015, 50 days later. I estimate, excluding testing the 100x100 design, this project must have taken somewhere over 100 hours.

The first 48 days I simply worked on some flying machines and incorporating them into a 10x10 design. The last 2 were spent  expanding it to the 100x100 version you see here and partially testing it. I think that counts as proof of the IFSS-1 being "easily expandable". ;-)

During this period, I decided to keep the project secret, as I kind of wanted to build a hype surrounding it (which also happened to line up quite well with reaching the 1000 subscriber milestone XD). However, I did partially document the development on my channel, releasing a total of 7 slimestone-related videos of concepts and machines I used in the project, without showing their true purpose.
VBE and expander
Top VERBS 1.0
0R, 1R and 2R top VERBS
Virtual slimestone connections: Direct powering
Mobile and hybrid piston circuits
Top VERBS orientational fix
1R HERBS

You could say the design method, "paradigm" if you will, which I used, was based on RedstoneJazz's designs. I tried to use other technologies during earlier attempts at the project, but they turned out to be quite impractical. He also used the VERBS for a more basic version of a piston door, which is able to generate and remove a jagged surface of cobblestone. This was done completely independent from me (although he did talk to me about it on Skype ... those were some funny conversations :P), without realizing that application was the very thing the VERBS was made for. XD

What was maybe the biggest help during this project, although few people would think about it, is MCEdit, an external tool by Codewarrior. The program allowed me to easily shift my machines if necessary, build them remotely, stack them for expansion, and even more. Without this the project would have taken dozens of hours more.

The same thing can possibly be said about the tickspeed mod developed by Panda4994. This mod allows the player to change the default tickspeed of the game, effectively meaning you can slow down and speed up time. As even the 10x10 version already took about half an hour to open or close, this mod helped me a lot during development, allowing me to test small changes a lot more quickly without having to go through all of the previous steps at normal speed every time.


Video production

Since this is Planet Minecraft, a place for projects, I wanted to focus a bit more on the content of the project rather than the video I made about it. However, if you're interested in that, I suggest you check the description of the video shown above. ;-) It also credits some of the people and things which helped me during the production of the video.


Additional credit

Unfortunately, I forgot to credit some people in the video (also, the credits would have gotten a bit too big and fast then), who directly or indirectly contributed something minor to the project. The YT description is also limited in length, so I can't add them here. However, here I will try keep track of everyone I missed, assuming there's no such limit on PMC anymore.

The main system's encoder comes from this video by Codecrafted.
The double piston extenders in the wall control system where shown to me by theniels17 (I promised I'd credit him :P).