I Built a Minimalistic Kinetic Clock Project with my 3D Printer and Arduino
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- I built this Kinetic clock project and documented the whole process. This video shows the project coming together. I'll be posting full documentation and details of my build shortly on my website.
NOTE: I did not come up with this project, the original creator posted it here www.instructables.com/Kinetic...
I made this base design which you are free to use. www.thingiverse.com/thing:644...
Project Materials:
Power supply 1 for Arduino amzn.to/48TfnkH
Power supply 2 for Sensor Shield amzn.to/41Z8igd
Filament amzn.to/48GwYwv
Microcontroller amzn.to/3U0u3Kv
Sensor Shield (Note some versions of this shield have long metal points on the backside that contact the top of the Arduino mega USB housing which can cause a short. Trim them short and cover with electrical tape. )amzn.to/3Smy7Ub
Servos amzn.to/4249rTB
RTC Clock module amzn.to/3O6sMhl
Shoutout to r/arduino & ripred3 on Reddit for help with the code!
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/dosi/sleep
License code: 34OLAP5K2HRABW6S
Filmed on Samsung Zfold4
Audio from Yeti Blue Mic
Edited in Adobe Premier Pro
For business inquiries you can contact me at contactlukasdeem@gmail.com
#arduino #3dprinting #electronics #diy #maker #ender3pro #creality #clock #elegoo - Наука та технологія
It was truly surreal, as the designer, to see everything come together for you. I'm really glad that you were able to make it work despite the challenges along the way. Thank you for picking this up and documenting your journey.
I'm honored that you watched my video! Thanks so much for making this design and sharing it with the community ❤
Thanks for sharing your design, it's pretty dope! This is why I love 3d print community.
Thanks for sharing your design, it's pretty dope! This is why I love 3d print community.
@@mikect05alright, cool
And a big thank you to the designer for this brilliant idea. You've inspired me to have a go at this too. I think an interesting addition would be to use some LEDs to light the digits, turning them off and on as the segments show.
Great project but I’ve got a few things to add.
Arduinos on their own are not good at driving servos, especially not a large number of them, the servo library sends the signal using software which means that the timing can be off due to interrupts or just the arduino being busy with other code, this can create jitter in the servos. Using a servo driver board or an MCU with hardware timers is better. With a servo driver board like the PCA9685 you can drive 16 servos with hardware timers and you can change the address of the boards to use multiple boards, you would only need two boards to drive all the servos.
You shouldn’t need that much power for all the servos, you could reduce power use by switching the servos off when they aren’t needed, they stay in position when switched off but can be easily moved, since your clock segments won’t have any force on them they shouldn’t move, hence you can switch all the servos off after they are in position and only switch on the ones you need to move. Which should save a lot of power. Then to reduce peak power you could set it to only change one digit at a time so fewer servos are moving at once, this would change the effect though to more of a rolling effect rather than a sharp movement so is more of a stylistic choice. Also with the servo driver boards I mentioned you can stagger the signals, this is useful because the servos draw the most current when just starting moving so if you can offset the start point of the signals (just within the servo signal period, so the maximum offset would be 20 ms) then you can reduce the peak current draw too.
As for the servo noise, this mechanism would maybe be more suited to solenoids, which move straight in and out and for cheap ones you don’t control the position but the endpoints should be the same. Solenoids can be loud but they can also be very quiet, they have no noisy gears and with some damping at the ends they should be quiet. Solenoids are also easy to drive, you can gets ones with spring return but I wouldn’t recommend those for your project as they need to stay powered to keep it out but are simpler to drive. Instead you could use solenoids without a spring and then just a H-bridge to extend or retract the solenoid, since they aren’t spring return then after extended or retracted they would stay in position.
Hey thanks the time for your feedback. So I attempted to update one digit at a time but I'm not quite skilled enough with coding Arduino to execute it. I like your idea of using a servo driver board and it's something that I'm going to play with in my next projects I'm excited to learn more about it. 😀
I agree!
Hey! That's really helpful. TY!
one more thing: a led (strip ?? ) behind when on..
Allow me to disagree on the solenoid. Technically speaking you are spot on, but there’s a visual aspect of the slow number change that’s mesmerising and by using a solenoid that would be gone.
Probably way too expensive, but I’d love to see what this looks like made out of metal with the segments cut out using wire EDM so that when they’re retracted they seamlessly blend into the flat surface.
Seeing a lot of comments saying this. I'm going to have to look into the cost to get it done :)
I was gonna mention this. The 0 tolerance metal would look slick as!
@@LukasDeemit is insanely expensive, but maybe you could get a collab with titan of cnc, they have the machinery you need
@@lucachacha71 great idea! I'll see if I can connect with them 🙂
Was the first thing I thought of while watching this 🙂
Amazing project! Keep up the awesome work and incredible video documenting!
Nice build! One thing I learned making my own kinetic sculptures is that the servos will start to burn out within a week if they’re on all the time. I’d recommend a relay that turns them all off when they’re not moving to reduce the duty cycle and extend their life.
Usually turning off the PWM signal disables the motors also. Most likely also done that because otherwise the servos would emit a constant annoying sound.
I would seriously consider buying a finished product version of this. It would be so cool with a light above it to accentuate the shadows. A metal or wood version could be awesome too, but there is something mysterious about it being white and causing more reliance on the shadows.
I like your idea of integrating a light into the design to cast shadows
Amazing project! Your perseverance and tenacity paid off. It's amazing.
Hey thanks, I definitely felt like I was hitting a wall multiple times in this project. So glad I was able to push through!
It was a pleasure to watch, please don't stop making them :)
Hey thanks so much! If you don't mind me asking, what did you like most about the video? The project itself, the "feel" of the video, etc...?
Awesome stuff bro! Can’t wait to see what is next!
Ayy thanks!
Very cool build! Great explanation. Thanks for sharing :)
That's an awesome looking clock! Keep it up dude :)
Thanks Jasmeet! 😀
Fantastic idea and realisation!
Great build, presentation and video edit! 😊
Great build! Will be waiting for your documentation. This is one of my favorite 3D printing types, clocks. Steve Peterson has quite a few
well the Completeness of this project is wonderful. It totally looks like a product in boutique store.
Great video, this looks like a really fun project. Thank you for making the video
Hey thanks so much! I had fun making it. I have many more coming soon 😄😄
This is really cool, I actually thought about creating something similar but also light up the segments so you can see it in the dark.
Great for the bedroom! with these calming motor noises every minute you will have a perfect sleep.
I've never slept better.
Thumbs up for liking to organize cables. I'm right there with you. Feels so good when it's done and all the cables are neat and tidy.
Ayy! Shout out to cable organization nerds :D
Awesome job! You got me motivated to do a similar build.
I love the look and that you polished it. I've seen clocks on UA-cam that were based on mechanical counters, only requiring a single motor. They had a different look of course, but I am sure that one could tweak this design with this knowledge to drastically reduce the amount of servos needed, which would drastically decrease the cost of the whole project.
Edit: I just looked it up, how those single servo clocks work and thought about how to adapt it to this clock. Every segment of a clock has a certain pattern it repeats to be shown or not shown. Each segment would need its unique cog that has teeth corresponding to this pattern. The cog needs to translate its movement to retracting the segment or not. Now when we run a cog with a servo which connects to each segment cog, we can run our clock with only one servo. Or two if we want to give reduce the complexity by building the cogs per segment.
I plan on learning a ton more about gears in an upcoming project. Maybe once I do that I'll have the skills to do this :)
Ideas for version 2:
Use a magnetic approach like flip dot displays this should be almost silent, for this a perfect fit would be good with polished surfaces so it does not get stuck when sliding.
I was thinking the same. Servos are the worst choice for a clock as it needs to run often, for a long time, and reliably.
Especially cheap hobby servos will run out quickly and it will cost a lot of power and resources to maintain its function.
I second this. Servos are awful for this idea... plus the noise
Very nice project! I like your attempts to modify it your own.
Excellent work, and great video. Im excited to see what you have in store! Subbed!
This is the content that I miss on UA-cam! Thx!
Hey thanks so much! Can you share what you like about it? I'm just getting my channel started and I want to get some feedback on how to ensure I create content people love!
That thing really is beautiful; I like the white on white aesthetic, and the mechanism of movement. I find the movement much more appealing than other clocks where the segements are flat and rotate 90 degrees away from view.
No wonder you had issues along the way; that looks like a MONSTER of a project.
Hey thanks for the kind words I definitely was a challenge. I'm pretty new to 3D printing in Arduino product 3D printing in Arduino projects. Starting this channel is a way to motivate me to keep working and learning new things. Can't wait to share more 😄
Very nice! I would suggest a stop to each segment, so it naturally ends flush when retracted (or extended). This should also work well with the electromagnet concept others have mentioned.
Also in reference to power: the servos move for one second of each minutes. So it may be possible to use a capacitor to provide the extra power required during that short window. You would need some sort of current limiting on the charge circuit (which may be as simple as a resistor).
Ohh I didn't think about using a capacitor. That might be a good quick fix.
NiMH battery pack (4 cell = 4.8v) would possibly work better than a capacitor. Charging can be done with as little as a resistor to limit the current since your not going to fast charging.
Or if it's happy to run down around 4v, a cheap TP4056 Lithium charging module and a 18650 cell would make the whole thing run from a USB phone charger.
This is such a cool concept. Being a watch enthusiast (I know this is a clock, but still), and an engineer, combining both into an electronics project is just awesome.
As some additions and improvements, the way this was done is a bit chaotic. Normally, a regular clock with 7 segment displays would just have a binary to 7 segment converter circuit, or since Arduino was used, just make the conversion in software and power the corresponding segment via a multiplexing circuit. Hence, with just some tweaks, a regular 7 segment display clock can be used and the multiplexing routine can carry the PWM signal to activate the corresponding servos. Of course, instead of multiplexing hella fast as with a normal display, it would be extremely slow but in order to move one segment at a time and using a servo driver instead of the Arduino itself. That way, a bunch of the wiring can be ditched and power consumption would also be lower. Regarding noise, there's really not much that can be done, except not using servos or isolating the back of the clock really well to damp the noise a bit.
In the end, this definitely is a really cool way of displaying time.
This is a bit over my head, I'm just stuck on how cool the word "multiplexing" is :-D. Seriously though, thanks for the ideas! I'll have to google some of this for my smooth brain to comprehend it.
already a hit bro 🔥👍🏻 what a great project 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I wish I were patient enough to succeed such a project. Awesome job..! Thanks for sharing.
It was a struggle at times, but I'm so glad I was able to push through! :-D
Awesome video. I have to make this. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great looking clock, love the smooth transition. I think better servos are worth it
It looks great, thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks! I'm inspired by the response to this video! Already working on two more projects to post 😀😀
You are a clever man. Good job.
Mate this is amazing
Just brilliant. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure!
Wow insane! And looks elegant AF
Thanks! I really dig it too 😆
nice video & worth the effort, gl man
Thanks so much! I'm working on a v2 of this clock now 🫡
So cool! Enjoyed watching your creativity. Seeing you develop your various interests over the last decade or so is inspiring. I still miss the plant stand that you built for me years ago (it was stolen with all my stuff when I moved up here.). Keep up the cool projects. I look forward to following along.
Oh man sorry to hear that! Same for you, it's been awesome watching your painting progress!
Thanks@@LukasDeem . I'm excited for 2024. Looking to dramatically step up my game. I'm switching from acrylics to oils and learning new techniques and refining my core skills. Really enjoying it.
Congratulations dude, nice work
Hey thanks so much! It got rough but I'm glad I was able to pull it together in the end 😅.
Good job on tapping the back of the spatula to release the 3d print, so, so many people don't know this trick and stab the print like a maniac.
I used to be a woodworker so I was summoning those skills :P
Now using this as a base for a large Pin Art board, having the time get pushed out in the pins. Or if you want to take it to a more surreal/paranormal look a very think sheet of latex over it so the numbers are pushed out of a seamless block
This is the first video I've seen of you and based on the production quality of the video, I really assumed you were a "big" UA-camr. So I was all the more surprised when I found out that you only have 500 subscribers. I'm definitely one of them now.
Hey thanks! The story is that I was a video producer about 5 years ago. Since then I've been working in tech. I recently decided to start making these videos of my own projects. I have two already in production now. Thanks for the sub and support!
Great work, thank you for sharing you advise and challenges with us.
Certainly! I'm a total beginner so I'm trying to be transparent about that in my videos.
This might be my favorite thing I've ever seen 3D printed! I would love to do one of my own
Awesome! Go for it!! 😀
@@LukasDeem I can handle the 3D printing parts but the wiring Will get tough for me I don't have any hands. Let me know if you're ever interested in collaborating on a project
Great Project Lukas!! New to your channel and I loved it
Thanks so much! I'm having a ton of fun making these videos 😁
Wow this is this most aesthetic clock I’ve ever seen 😍 my husband loves 3D printing and having functional projects. He’s been asking me what I want him to make - sending him this 😍🎉 also any tips on wire management I would greatly appreciate 🙏 looking forward to more content from you!
Hey! Thanks so much. I'm already ordering parts for my next project 😆
He's got a big project on his hands 😂😂
Will be sooo good when it's done though
Love it. Will definitely take a look at it.
Awesome, thanks!
Love it! Great work!
Hey thanks so much 😄😄
Mate absolutely awesome
I love this idea and wanted to see more of the transitions.
Hey! I have a ton more footage, but I had given myself a deadline to get the video out. I was spending too much time perfecting the project and the video. I needed the deadline to motivate myself to finish. It came at the expense of a more indepth video though. Thanks for the feedback, I'll do my best to capture more of the progress in my next videos.
Silly me. I would have used solenoids.
could be a goood choice, especially noise wise, but you d probably struggle with the alignments.
It is easy. Only switch power to the servos when you want to move them. And only switch on the servos you need to move. If you want them more quiet, reduce the supply voltage, it is possible in a range depending on the servo.
it looks cool. i think you did a great job. Congratulations
Hey thanks so much!
This is awesome!!!! You could maybe also try to use solenoids instead of servos. Maybe it wont be as cool as with the slow motion of the sevos and maybe more loud
With solenoids you could track seconds too! But yeah, it would be quite loud.
That is so very cool! 👍👍
Really cool!
Brilliantly executed
I think it would look amazing with a piece of thin taut fabric stretched over it, which could really sell the morphing effect, great build!
wow this looks soo cool!
Hey thanks!
Hi Lukas, I'm currently in the process of building this too. Really looking forward to getting it finished but not going to rush it. I'm only just just getting the hang of 3D printing but not at the stage where I can design yet, so I was hoping if you'd be able to send the stl for the stand as its better than any attempt I could make at the moment. Also, it really finishes the clock off nicely and to me, I think it would be nice if the original creator added it.
Anyway, what a great job you've made of your clock, if mine looks half as good I'll be very happy.
Cheers
Wow! I was working on something like this 5 years ago but school unfortunately got in the way and I never finished it. I probably still have all the servos and code somewhere. Mine was definitely not going to look as good as this one tho. Is nice to see this come to life after I failed to make it. Makes me want to continue it.
You can do it!
Amazing project!
Thanks!!
Awesome work! You just got a new sub!
Welcome aboard!
For the power supply - think about maybe using a USB C PD drop-in board, along with DC to DC power supplies internally to convert voltages.
Make more videos like this and your channel will blow up! Ps. Love the lo fi music in the background, matches your vibe perfectly
Hey thanks so much! My dream is to be a full time UA-camr. I've got more videos in the works! Thanks for your support, it means a lot :D
if you add a slight outwards taper to the segment pieces you can sand them flat together with the face and the clock will be seamless
Well done!
Its a really neat project!
For not needing a large power supply, you could try to use these tiny 0-24v DC-DC stepdowns, that has VIN-Vout-GND and an enable pin (they are on ali and is 10x20mm ish). with these you could just turn off the servoes when not running. Then you'd ofcourse need way more outputs, which could be handled using a multiplexer of sorts
Just a relay, or maybe a mosfet, would do to de-power the servos, run one of the power leads to the servo board through it. Then you'd have complete isolation, complete on-offness.
You can get little relays on a board meant to run off an Arduino complete with the couple of other components it needs, costs about the same as a bare relay.
Also they make a nice "click" to go with the motor whining.
Wow! It looks nice and clean!
I terrified about a brunch of servos… Thinking about solenoid with magnets in frame and segment that forms bistable structure…
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing. I would strongly recommend using a spring type of mechanism and an offset cam; similar to those used in naturally aspirated engines.
I'm just coming across this and prematurely not certain how rhat design would work out, however, I do know watches use gears as well. Thank you again!
Great job Lukas!! Keep going plsss
Hey thanks!! I have more videos in the works 🙃
Regarding power, maybe you can use a power supply such as the MeanWell LRS-50-5 as an example. And then use buck converters or boost converters if necessary to adjust the voltage level as needed.
Dark stain timber front (and case) and pop a couple of white leds running low in the enclosure so when the segments expand there's a glow around them, should make night time viewing pretty attractive
I saw the original design for this a while back but it was unpowered, so seeing a MCU and motors on this is a serious step forward.
The issues you've faced here have really got me thinking, I love the form of the face, and that movement when the digits change is beautiful, so I'd like to keep that, but for me it needs a out/in state for each segment, so I'm going to think about how to create a gradual kinetic movement (sprung, like an old cassete tape opening maybe?) with the actuator being a electromagnet powered to either positive or negative and the digit holding a neodymium magnet in each segment (sprung, like an old cassete tape opening maybe?) with the actuator being a electromagnet powered to either positive or negative and the digit holding a neodymium magnet.
Something else I'd want to do is reduce the depth to as minimal as possible, which if the soft open/close mech was thin and the electro magnets don't need much force means the clock could be wall mounted.
Final thought, for me the digit movement would be a wash from right to left on each of the segments, that way the required power would be issued at a max of three segments at any one time, that would keep the amperage down.
Excellent ideas! I really wanted to find a way to wall mount it, but I knew it was too big to make it practical with the design I used. I would love to see your idea come to life!
Putting a stretchy cloth over the front face could look really cool as well.
To reduce cost & noise, could use 3 motors in total by creating a moving x & y frame & a z axis actuator to push each segment out. Combined with small springs & some permanent magents to keep flush alignment.
Great job!
I have a habit of collecting power supplies. I pull them out of anything that's being junked and I put them to use in other projects. Out of a Da Vinci 1.0 3D printer (purchased for $25) I pulled many good parts but the power supply is awesome. +3.3v 12a, +5v 14a, +12v 14a, -12v 0.3a, +5v 2a. One of these would work for this clock. Use the 5v2a for the Arduino, use the 12v 15a for the servos. You also have the 3.3 for LED lighting. The supply has the standard 3 prong power cord socket and a power switch on it. 200 watt max on this supply. Look around for a cheap Da Vinci printer.
Nice project. Subscribed
Great job, amazing!!
Thanks a lot!
For the servo sound issue: check pwm pulse separation and stability and also psu voltage and resistance
There are so many ways to make a 7-segment display. This is a very creative and attractive way 👍
PS - I still have my old clock from the 1970s. This has large red LED digits about 1 inch high. The clock itself is actually a module with the 4 digit LED display and the chip covered in black epoxy, all mounted on a fiberglass circuit board. There are connections for 5Vdc and push-buttons to set the time.
Cheers from Canada :-)
Hey thanks! Cheers! :D
I think a small led integrated somewhere in the frame will cast shadow on the digits and make them pop and be more visible 🙂 Nice project!
awesome project, i love it.
Thank you! Cheers!
GREAT BUILD
Hey thanks!!!
Love it! The noisy servos are a deal breaker for the bedroom though. Challenge for future add-on: small double digit seconds display, maybe on upper right, actuated by Nitinol (muscle wire). Or, maybe actuate the whole thing with Nitinol? If the moving printed parts are light enough, maybe could be done with little to no contact between moving parts and frame? Or maybe a few tiny magnets to provide spacing? Anyway, thanks for the great write up!
Great build, it looks awesome.
I would say 2 things to improve this build: you can use one power supply that has vurrent for the entire project by having a common earth between everything and using a step down/buck converter for lower voltage parts (like an LM2596). And grab yourself a flexible bed for your printer - they're very cheap and will save you damaging the bes uaing a hammer and chisel. Flexible PEI plates are awesome.
Hey! I ordered a Bambu Labs X1-Carbon so I'm looking forward to using the flexible plate on that baby :)
Great suggestions! I'm trying to learn more with each project :-D
You should make sure that not too many servos move at the same time then you wouldn't need such a big power supply.
@@LukasDeem Another thing since you will be able to do multi material prints- maybe put the sides of the print in a different color, like green and the front of each segment in white so it blends in
@@ottersmeep25 hey yes! I got the AMS. I haven't tried a multi color print yet. I'm excited to give it a try! 😃😃
@@LukasDeem congrats on a beautiful project - its a work of art.. and now an amazing piece of technology (the x1 carbon) - when are you going to get it? it really opened up possibilities for me - more things became possible faster. excited for you esp where you'll go with it!
just a tip for getting 3dprints off a glass bed is to put it in the fridge for roughly 30-45 mins. i spent way too much time and filament on trying to scrape it off, but i found putting it in a cold container for a little bit is the way to go.
Cool clock!
Hey thanks!
You can be used solenoid for movement of the segments, that will not make any noise and they are also very quick
Hey! Yeah I'm thinking about trying this out on V2 😌
Would be interesting to try reducing servo count by using multiple segments per servo and mechanical cams
To my reckoning there are not two segments that always move in sync, afraid each segment requires individual control.
That’s what I was thinking too. A cleverly-designed set of cams could work well. Another option would be small electromagnetic coils that can produce a north or south pole depending on how they’re energized, and only need to be energized long enough to flip a digit. Multiplexed, probably. So you’d just need one permanent magnet and one reversible coil per segment (and maybe 2x transistors per segment) instead of one servo per segment.
@@ScottLahteineI would love to see this concept be realised :)
@@ScottLahteine Just watched this video the other day with a cam setup. ua-cam.com/video/qoPwPJhESA8/v-deo.html
awesome job!
Hey thanks so much!! I learned a ton doing this project 😌
very cool looking well done. But would micro linear actuators work better than servos? should make it more compact but don't know if sound levels would be better or not.
Totally freakin' awesome! Nothing wrong with a tidy wiring job. Nerds Rule The World!
Appreciate that very much 😀. I get weird looks when I say one of my hobbies is cable management. SOMEBODY HAS TO WRANGLE THOSE CABLES!
Well Done!
Hey thanks!!
Awesome Project man! Definitely subbed! Sometimes you just have to know when to call it and focus energies somewhere else in the project! :)
Hey thanks! My goal with these projects is to learn and have fun. This project met both criteria :-D. I'm excited to be working on two new projects already!
I'm guessing those tiny stepper motors would be quieter, but you'd have to have some feedback something to determine the current position on startup so you don't push the pieces all the way out or try to pull them through
Hey man, great video! I just wanted to throw a suggestion your way. I have 3 Ender 3 Pros and I was all about the glass bed when I first got them. It was the first thing I bought. BUT, I picked up a PEI build plate to test it out and it is next level good. The adhesion prints have is so freaking good, literally almost 0 pull away while printing. Plus, when the print is done, this plate is magnetic and all you need to do is take the plate off and flex it a bit and the print pops off so easy (no more scraper with a hammer lol). The last thing is the surface is slightly rough (which is why the adhesion is so good) but it puts this great texture on the bottom that makes it look like more of a production part rather than a 3D printed part (hard to describe this part, but if/when you get one you will get what I'm saying). They are really cheap and by far the best/most useful upgrade you can do to an Ender 3. I got mine from Amazon it was a Comgrow PEI Sheet Magneti. Right now it looks like they are about $13.
Hey! So since this video I've upgraded to a Bambu X1 Carbon. I bought the PEI textured sheet with it :-D. MUCH better!
Very nice looking ... I saw another kinetic project a few months back that had me thinking about a clock -- I want to think the servo count can be greatly reduced using an indexed wheel (or drum) and some clever levering similar to a lot of old school auto play instruments (or new school, if you're a Wintergarten Marble Machine project fan). Each digit segment would need to be spring loaded.
Hey! That is a super cool idea. I've seen some clock builds using a series of gears in a similar way. Let me know if you end up building it. I would love to see it in action!!
I like where you're going with that. One option would be to have three (long) wheels per digit. You wouldn't necessarily need springs as there could be tracks on the wheels that push and pull the segments.
I was thinking three long cylinders per digit running up-and-down but you might be able to use a wide flat disk perpendicular to the face.