This past semester I really enjoyed building my aesthetics of design project. This was my first clock build, and if I have enough spare time in the future I think it’s a hobby that I could continue to pursue. My original project intent was to make a clock that was visually interesting and displayed the…

This past week I finished up my project and prepared to present it at the expo. Once I had completed the design the first step was to laser cut my pattern on 5mm birch plywood. The laser cutter managed to cut through the wood, but I would estimate that 5mm (.197 in) is close to…

This past week I’ve been busy fabricating my design. The 3D printed parts take a surprisingly long time to print! This is partially because they need high infill for strength and partially since I’m using the “fine” layer setting (0.2mm) for a nicer surface finish. Yesterday finished, cutting all of the wooden parts I need…

This week I completed my project design – the clock consists of 4 laser cut sheets of plywood that are held a fixed distance from each other by two bolts and spacers. The gearing is suspended between two plywood sheets and held in place by small bearings. The for simplicity, the gears will be 3-d printed…

I’ve made some progress this past with the design of my project – the clock gearing design is finalized and the general aesthetic is taking shape. The next step is to order the hardware that I selected for the design and begin manufacturing the back plate which will  be made out of laser cut plywood. The…

This week I made significant progress with the mechanical assembly of the clock. Using an online gear maker I’ve begun prototyping the gears. This coming weekend, I’ll have the entire prototype assembly built. That will allow me to test the mechanism before I begin the final assembly with wooden laser cut gears and an aesthetic…

Friction is the number one cause of failure for mechanical clock projects. The clocks weight needs to lift the clock’s hands and move the pendulum. If the friction in the bearing surfaces or between the gears is too great, the clock will be at a standstill. One way to mitigate this is to use roller…

For my main project, I would like to build a mechanical clock that functions primarily as an aesthetic expression and secondarily as a time-telling device. Originally, mechanical clocks functioned as an important tool to measure time. However, due to the proliferation of inexpensive quartz clocks, computers and cellphones mechanical clocks are too inaccurate (+/- 15…

For my final project, I would like to design and build a mechanical clock, or a similar mechanism. Although many clocks have been built before, I think I can apply a unique aesthetic to make the project my own. From a purely utilitarian perspective a clock has been done before, but it if you look…

First Steps For my upcycing project I decided to make a home weather station from some recycled hardwood flooring and some spare electronics I had around the house. To start I used a DHT11 sensor breakout board to sense the current temperature and humidity. These values are read by an Arduino ProMini ($2 from sparkfun’s annual sale a few years…