The idea is to make a clock out of this project. Not any clock though, I want something that visually represent a clock, mimicking a the sunset and moon movement, but it also tracks time live. Part of the prompt was also to experiment with other materials. I usually used hardwood, so I tried again. for this project I worked with a different piece of hardwood, plastic and acrylic. The sketch looks like this.
So I started cutting…
I started by cutting pieces that would later be assembled. I thought in a box shape that enclosures the motor, the circuit and the moon/sun.
For this project I got great advice from my professor Phil Caridi and the shop staff, Ian and Nikolai. They all gave me advice in the assembling.
When thinking about the physical computing aspect of this project, I got the chance to have a very thorough conversation with Inês Lucas. She helped me understand and learn more about other microcontrollers and components that would allow me to track live time. That part is still in process. However, she also taught me about CAD Fusion and 3D printing. The project would need a microcontroller holding a motor driver able to control a stepper motor and a rechargeable battery.
The 3D model that I used to hold my stepper motor was based on a previous model created by Inês. She helped me by editing the model in a way that could serve the purpose and dimensions I had in mind, while giving me a masterclass on CAD.
Once I started to assemble my clock, I realized some of the wood pieces I cut and then sanded were misaligned due to the extreme sanding I have made previously. This problem was a reason to remake the wood pieces.
However the assembly was going to be the same. The plastic piece would be glued (thanks to Phil’s advice) towards the acrylic face, this one would be clear screwed to the wood material. The top would be wood glued and the front would have magnets pressed into the wood and the other acrylic face in order for it to be removed seamlessly and have access to the circuit and the motor. The motor would be attached by using tiny screws as well. Part of the idea was to also have one of the faces to be HDPE, however this material arrived pretty late and I decided to finish this version of the clock without it.
I invite you to see the final result of this project and the entire collection photoshoot on this repo.