Using Rapid Prototyping To Make A Clock

[Markus] is attending the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. For his Advanced Prototyping class he had to make something using rapid prototyping technology — i.e. 3D printers, laser cutters, and breadboards. He chose to make a fantastic looking clock.

He started by designing the entire thing in CAD. The base is 3D printed on a Ultimaker. The world clock display is a piece of laser engraved acrylic which he heated up and curved to fit. Using an Arduino and a 16×2 LCD matrix he created a simple clock program with the ability to show different time zones. The way you select them is very clever.

A thin strip of brass is located at the bottom of the display, which acts as a touch-sensitive resistor strip. Depending on where you press it, the resistance changes and the Arduino switches to that timezone. It’s a clever use of an awesome sensor which really gives the project a nice touch. Not bad for a 6 week school project!

Speaking of laser cut clocks, check out this absolutely ridiculous geared pendulum clock made out of acrylic!

[via r/DIY]

10 thoughts on “Using Rapid Prototyping To Make A Clock

    1. @bthy Visit the page – it’s all there.

      On Topic: A very impressive build, and fancy! I love the use of the brass strip…a very stylish choice for time change (I first thought there would be a potentiometer in the base!)

Leave a Reply to jpaCancel reply

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.