Trashed Hard Drive? Why Not An Engraved Clock?

So your hard drive quit working.  Don’t despair, with a “little” work your disk can be repurposed into a clock like the one seen above. I made this clock after several iterations of various success, including the first revision, which was simply the platter with a clock kit from a hobby store screwed into the middle. Still a very neat effect, but if you want to actually tell what time it is, it helps to have the numbers available.

For this, you’ll need some sort of CNC machine (a kit-build router in this case), and some way to generate the Gcode to get everything cut correctly. A guide to how the logo was eventually turned into something a machine could understand is provided here. Of course if you’re not sure what logo would look good on your clock, you can always skip a few steps and engrave the our logo. In this [HAD] article, it’s conveniently provided in .dxf format, which can be converted by a CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) program into code that your machine can understand.

Check out after the break for a video of two “platter clocks” being engraved using these methods:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ztyiEMuwo&w=470&h=315%5D

19 thoughts on “Trashed Hard Drive? Why Not An Engraved Clock?

      1. I was thinking of doing something like this, but I’m wondering if the sandblasting kit, normally for etching glass, would do the trick. Make a stencil and then blast it good. Maybe get a frosted effect even with the aluminum?

  1. Weird how the video is super low resolution yet it uses zoom and some stabilizing technique from the looks of it.
    I guess he only has phone-internet and it’s too costly to use it to send HD.

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