Triangulum - 3D Printed 3-Hand Clock
Introduction: Triangulum - 3D Printed 3-Hand Clock
Hey!
So this is a project I started April 8 2021, and since then, it has changed quite a bit. The basic idea was to make a clock shaped like a triangle. This morphed into a 3-hand clock with a moon phase tracker.
The name Triangulum fits well because it is a triangular constellation, much like the shape of the clock.
This clock uses the same code as the Holo Clock with some minor improvements. You may find the use of both the imperial system and the metric system at the same time confusing, but this had to be done because the tubing is measured in imperial units and the clock was designed in metric units.
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know!
Supplies
If there are any missing materials, please let me know!
3D printer
3 colors of filament (Black pla, white pla, and silk copper pla were used in this model)
Masking tape
Super glue
Dremel with cutting disk bit (Or any tool that can cut brass tubing)
11/32" brass tube*
1/8" brass tube*
3/32" brass tube*
1/16" brass tube*
Arduino nano every (or standard version)
28byj48 stepper motor
Uln2003 driver case
6 male to female jumper wires
Small breadboard
Double-sided foam tape (3M brand was used here)
2 M1 screws
12 M4 screws
6 M3 washers
Sandpaper
Silicone or graphite lubricant
Flat black paint (optional)
9V battery
9V battery adapter (must connect to a breadboard)
Xacto knife
*All tubes are available in one pack here.
Step 1: CAD and Mechanical Version
Before I begin the build, I'd like to show you the first vision of the clock.
Before I decided to use Arduino, it was going to be powered by a weight. This didn't work out that well because of friction and stability issues. The first picture above is of the original concept. As you can see, it has a weight train and an escapement. Had it not been for these problems, the clock wouldn't lack the one thing I hoped to include, ticking.
Step 2: How It Works
The clock is powered by a stepper motor which turns 1/15 of a rotation each second. This 1:15 ratio is divided by four to create a 1:60 ratio, which is the seconds. 120
The 1:60 ratio is then divided by 60 (the 60 is split into a 1:10 and a 1:6 ratio) to create a 1:3600 ratio, which is the minutes. The 1:60 ratio is then divided by 12 (the 12 is split into a 1:4 and a 1:3 ratio) to create a 1:43200, which is the hours.
60 seconds = 1 minute
3600 seconds = 1 hour
43200 seconds = 12 hours
1 rotation of the minute hand = 60 rotations of the second hand
1 rotation of the hours hand = 43200 rotations of the second hand
One of the harder parts of the gear train was the moon phase tracker. Its ratio is 99:2924 (it is split into a 1:4, a 9:17, and a 11:43 ratio), which produces a lunar month length of 29.53535 days. This is close to the actual length of the lunar month, 29.53059 days. It's not perfect, but it is accurate enough.
Step 3: Print the Parts
All framework parts and gears should be printed in silk copper.
Hand parts and the moon phase tracker cover should be printed in Black
Number dial and moon disk have special printing processes which will be described in the next step.
Step 4: Special Part Printing
These two parts (moon frame.stl and number dial.stl) need to be printed in a different way than the other parts.
The print must be paused halfway through and the filament must be changed. There was a special setting for this in my slicer. I set moon frame.stl to pause at 0.6 mm and number dial.stl to pause at 1.5 mm. This creates a flawless dual colored part.
There is a second version of number dial.stl that uses IIII for 4 instead of IV.
Note:
Do not change filament type, but use the exact same brand and type (i.e. Sulnu Pla White to Sunlu Pla Black, not Sunlu Pla White to Hatchbox Pla Black). 646