LEGO Pendulum clock: can a LEGO clock run for a whole year?
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- Опубліковано 29 лют 2020
- This LEGO pendulum clock has been running for about a whole year almost continuously. However, in the last few months, it has stopped often enough that I think it's time to take it apart and see what is going wrong. I can see some signs of ground up plastic, I think some parts have worn down.
Update: After a while, I redesigned the escapement to be a grasshopper design, which should wear out less quickly: • LEGO Pendulum clock wi...
The instructions for building the new version of the clock, and some tips to get it running well, are here: dsharlet.com/2017/11/04/practi... - Наука та технологія
Now this is what I'm looking for on my reccomend. Awesome
You were looking for a lego clock? bit weird but ok.
Yuh Boi do you not like lego clocks?
@@yuh_boi77 What's fucking weird about that?
Yeah bud! This is interesting.
nice profile picture
The wear can be heavily reduced by using lubricant. I recommend PTFE lubricant for your use case. It essentially doubles both as a protective coating and lubricant on LEGO parts. I personally use it on my vehicle MOCs. Should aid in the longevity of the parts. Simply buy a $4ish can of lubricant, reapply every month or so, and you’re good to go!
It's a good suggestion, but I'm hesitant to use lubricant because I think it might get messy, and it's just two small parts that wear out every 6 months or so, and they're easy to replace and not expensive :)
Dillon Sharlet Totally understand. Amazing creation! Always wanted to have a LEGO clock but afraid of the ramifications of maintaining the LEGO parts over a long span of time.
Does this product work in the bedroom
@@DillonSharlet Hi, there are PTFE or teflon "grease" that are not grease an messy :-) When wet ingredient evaporates particles still provide up to 5 time less friction, that is why they are called dry grease. Also type of silicone or PFAE grease and most synthetic hydrocarbons as well as mineral oils work well with plastic materials. Fore sure there is benefit in using specific one for specific plastic material. In general dry teflon (white) or silicone grease (transparent) work well for most. Keep up the good work!
Dillon Sharlet
You can’t expect to use zero lubricant. Especially with contact of similar materials similar. And more efficient would require less weight, and reduced forces on point of contact and axle rotation.
There’s is only 1 or 2 examples of any clock that runs absolutely dry.
Lubricant is a required component.
Oh, okay. You meant can Lego clock work for a year.
Here I thought you made it run a whole year with a single windup and was ready to call bullshit on that one.
Actually, 3 days is extremely impressive for a gravity powered kinetic sculpture! It really goes to show how Lego's have such an extreme level of accuracy that helps with energy loss.
@@RCHobbyist463 For Lego clock? Maybe.
Usually the best pendulum clock ticked were almost a month.
My grandparents had one and I most certainly don't recall them winding it that often.
But the point is that title is misleading.
you could technically build a clock with a 1 year wind. you would need a fair amount of weight and a long cord and need to reapply grease keep it lubed.
@@Reverend_Salem I'd say it'd probably be more of a weigh issue than having to have impossibly long chord. But it'd also mean that machinery inside the clock would need to be much more sophisticated as well.
Unlike most things with a question in the title, where the answer is no, you immediately answered in the positive and then went into more interesting content instead of leading up to a failure or disappointment. Bravo!
Clocks often wear most on the 3rd wheel, at least that's the one I have to re-bush most often.
6:25 I'm fairly certain that piece would have disintegrated like that because the axel it's on is under the most torque (the weight pulling down on one side of the ratchet vs the gear holding it in place on the other side). Unfortunately the 1/2 sized bearings are quite fragile and when you twist the axle inside them, that leads to increased size of the axle, thus pushing outward against the bearing - resulting in cracks along the outside edge, and a stretching/'loosening' of the bearing itself, which is why it slid freely along the axle.
Great design and interesting insight on the parts wear.Thin bushings seem to disintegrate on their own, even without any substantial forces. As for pallets, there is no easy solution for their wear, apart from using grasshopper escapement (which pretty much eliminates contact friction).
what a great little design, nice build :)
That is a beautifully well-tuned escapement! Thank you for the detailed view of the mechanisms. As for the parts wearing down and breaking, perhaps you could use a 3D printing service like 3DHubs to print metal clones of the parts that wear the quickest.
the metal may wear adjacent parts faster. Then you'd end up making the entire thing out of metal eventually, which defeats the point. Another option would be to change the bearings to more standard horological point bearings
@@sayethwe8683 i mean, it could still be metal lego which would still be cool
I feel like he is trying to get the most mileage out of the parts provided for the engineering challenge less than trying to get his clock to last a long time.
The internet needs more quality 👌 content like this.
congrats on your success! it's quite an elaborate piece.
i have a new knife edge design you might like: 57585 (axle connector hub with three axles) against 92946 (slope brick). the 120 degree angle between the axles of the connector provides the pivot point. compact and most efficient.
KEvron
can you put a chime that rings every hour and half hour that rings hours on it
how about you give it a try?
@@FunBoysGaming why don't you?
A chime would be interesting and fun to build, but I also like how simple and small this clock is now :) There are lots of more complicated LEGO clock videos on youtube that have chimes!
@@DillonSharlet its not much you just need a chime mechanism its another mechanismof wheels and levers and a hammer to strike gong or chime rod look a chiming clock up
After seeing this I think I have figured out why our clock has 2 weights. Our clock has chimes, so I think that it uses one weight for the time, and when the time is at a certain spot it triggers something in the clock which activates the chime mechanism which is powered by the second weight.
Our clock sometimes stops randomly, and it has been running for almost 30 years. I think the same parts where the pendulum has contact with a gear is worn out after all this time. This has been a really interesting video to watch. Thanks for sharing!
While i was watching this something random started ticking in the background
This would be one of the greatest innovation a man could do
Let's face it, none of us looked this video up.
Good video though
It's not a surprising recommendation for me, though. UA-cam gives me a lot of LEGO mechanic videos and I watch pretty much all of them.
i did
Actually I did search it. I search for lego pendulum clock tutorial. But nice video tho
I think the reason your seeing wear and tear in areas you don’t expect, like the bushing near the main drive gear, and not in areas that have a lot off weight on them, is the high weight area’s aren’t moving that fast, or that often. Where as the low weight area’s are moving fairly often and relatively fast.
I've used that one-way clutch as well in some of my builds. Amazing clockwork!
This felt so much like an AvE video I was expecting you to say "plastique" and curse at the camera for not focusing!
I think the reason why the main drive gear wasn't damaged is because it is much thicker and stronger than the 40 and especially 8 tooth gear.
Wow, a good study of the effects of continuous use of the mechanical Lego parts. Apparently the Legos worth the price tag, I'm also impressed too. If you want to improve this design, and have a longer lasting clock, then you should replace all moving parts with metal parts. This should drastically improve the lifetime, and the weight. A case for the mechanical parts will help prevent damage from any accidents. This video was surprisingly educational and intriguing, and I praise it for that.
Those tiny bushing/pulleys (the 1 stud size) will over stress and break in a plus sign when there is too much force on them. They will literally twist themselves out of existence if they are crushed side to side while turning. The only thing I've found to fix that is to either over grease the axle where it goes in the hole, or to brace the bushing with a leather washer, because it's the friction against the hole that causes the tear out.
get some brass bearing and silicone based lube and service will be every 3rd year ^^ maybe get some of the gears made out of aluminium or brass too to reduce wear and tear of the most hard pressed points. 10/10 video,
now to find all my old lego again
Then it won't be lego, just will he a regular boring open clock.
He could use silicone based lube still with lego, as long as he doesn't use oil based lubes it should be fine, after all plastics are dissolved by oils over time.
I'd have to imagine that the torque on the axle is twisting it very slightly, and that that little bit of twist is pushing the bushing apart from the inside, as the edges are also worn down from the rotation, weakening it.
Love to build this myself, really good work you done here!
You have been blessed by the youtube gods, hope we get to see more great stuff from you in the future.
Congratulations on a truly spectacular build. 👍
Awesome work, Dillon! Can we share this video on our Facebook page with credit to you? Please email us johnATbrickpodcastDOTcom - thanks!
You're able to put links and email addresses in youtube comments now, have been for years.
this is really cool, I think you could make the gears that are worn down out of metal, and also do another video on the design process and let the comments section help you make it better
That was fascinating. Please keep us updated on your new designs for the freewheel. I've subscribed for future updates. :)
This is insane, mad props to you dude
what you built is just amazing
I’m sure this would be an AMAZING idea for lego Ideas!
A really clever build.
What? A whole year? Okay I need to step up my game, I made a weight driven pendulum run for an hour, and that was 3D printed... I'll be using this video to improve my design.
he resets it like every 3 days or so i think.
@@clishy1988 Still pretty good
Industrial plastic gears are made of polyamide nylon. I wish Lego could make a kit with all the technic gears made from that (for the educational or pro builders). Yet even polyamide nylon needs a lubricant. You can see it inside toys, a white margarine like paste.
Amazing click you got there, really amazing what one can make with LEGO.
The escape system means that despite the force of the weight, the rotation will be slow and pression will be applied slowly over time. The inner drive wheels are very slow and don't experience that much force, contrary to the pieces that block the rotation, that is where all the energy finally goes. Plus the wheels are quite stirdy or dense and the red little roof pieces are very light weight by comparison and are in place on a rounded stud giving them less stirdiness as well. And the blatant count you give is also the explanation, the escape wheel blockers are the most sollicited pieces.
This is amazing! ....great work!
That's great! Thanks for sharing this with us.
When you want mom to buy you a Rolex but she tells you that there's Rolex at home
Rolex would be cheaper.
Extremely impressive my friend.
Nicely done.
I was thinking. They sell some pretty thin sheets of PTFE (Teflon). Looking at the dimensions without measuring anything, it seems axles are 4.78mm OD and the holes are 4.8mm ID. They don't sell anything that's 0.0003" thick. If one reamed out the holes to 5mm, one could buy a sheet that's 0.003" thick, cut them into strips to match the circumference of the ID and the width of the beam, curl it up, and stuff it in the hole, and still wind up around the same factory clearance. No mess of oils, and I honestly think it would last forever at the slow speeds things rotate. Plus reduce friction, because PTFE is very slippery.
Good job, UA-cam algorithm. You actually gave me a really good video
I really wonder if LEGO should start making some metal bricks for high wear devices such as this. I know many a channel that have used some third party metal axles and such, but it would be really cool if lego made them in house
I am actually using some third party metal axles for the pendulum in this build! This is an attempt to make the pendulum less sensitive to temperature.
Could also look into replacing parts with metal legos.
Interesting to see how that axel with the freewheel wore away. It seems to suggest there was some thrust force on the driven side pushing the bushing against the rod. I wonder if it's possible the freewheel produces this during normal operation or rewinding?
After watching this again, I bet the wear on the shafts of that one-way mechanism is because only one or two pawls is ever engaged with the tank-track pieces. Whatever is at the top isn't being engaged because of gravity. This would cause the shaft to cock up or down.
Pretty cool clock. Hope you get a lot of subscribers!
Hi, this is a very elegant design. I have enjoyed studying the video to replicate the drive mechanism. I have yet to order the penny washers and pendulum rod. I have three requests:
1. What diameters - inner and outer - are the penny washers?
2. What length and diameter did you use for the pendulum rod in the subsequent grasshopper escapement?
3. Could you post a few pictures or a video of the hand mechanism/ construction. A view of the clock from the top and sides would be very welcome. Thank you, Steve.
Thanks for your comment, glad to hear you are building it :)
1. They are 13/32" ID, 2" OD. I would recommend just bringing a beam to the hardware store and getting the biggest washer with the tightest fit you can. The ones I use do scrape the beam a bit.
2. My pendulum rod is steel LEGO compatible axles I got from store.bricklink.com/eezo#/shop, which unfortunately appears to be shut down now. I think the pendulum length depends on drive torque and other factors, I've had to experiment a lot with the pendulum length, especially to make it so the pendulum bob screw adjustment is useful in both directions. The nice thing about those steel axles is they are a very tight fit, so the pendulum doesn't pull itself apart as easily.
3. The building instructions maybe will show you everything you need? dsharlet.com/file/grasshopper%20clock.pdf
Loving the cLEGOck. Thanks for sharing.
Excelent stress test for LEGO gears
Have you ever thought of using a turn table where all the weight is? I think it would’ve helped regulate a lot of the pressure on the tank tread wheel
Hey Dillon! This video was awesome. I cant wait to see more. Big Brain 🧠
I believe that bushing failed as it was the pinch point between the ratcheting mechanism and the support beam, so it is the only pinch point for the escapement mechanism aside from those small wedges used as escapement pellets.
i made it my own, now hangs in my room :D little tweeks to the design because i only had four of the big gears but still works xD
You should add some grease to all the moving parts, especially the high friction areas. If you do, you'll have to readjust the weight I imagine.
increasing the size of the escapement surfaces might be smart
I think the half-bushing broke because the weight caused some torsion on the axle.
Total friction on your main wheel is actually fractional compared to your clutches and ratchets.
This should be an Ideas set, but with special metal pieces for high-wear parts
great design, looks compact and sturdy.
- the weight is made from metal discs? how much weight (and height)?
- what is the gear ratio from the great wheel to the escape wheel?
- it runs for 3 days?
Thanks for your comment!
The weight is large washers slid onto a 13 stud beam, so there are 11 studs worth of washers. It is 560g.
The gear ratio is 625:1 = 3:1 x 40:24 x (5:1)^3.
Yes, it runs for 3 days, the weight falls about 4.5 feet in that time. All this put together, the clock runs on 29 microwatts.
@@DillonSharlet thanks for the answers! the gear ratio is really in the magnitude of a commercial clock
got my answer in 17 seconds, thank you!
I wonder if you could machine metal replacements for the pieces that wear out fast.
Didn't ask, but I'm glad I got an answer.
This clock is nice. I want it
Ah! I love Lego contraptions!
perhaps oiling it will help protect against wear
Has the axle of the free wheel a support on the left side? (Where you have your left index finger at 5:02 ? If not, it's no wonder that the little bush got destroyed. If you already have a support there, you might replace the bush with the 4185 part.
Amazing work! Lego should be selling this...
I’d buy this set
Perhaps the plastic axle got twisted by the weight, and the force from all that slight twisting got transferred to the little bushing which just couldn't take the force of the twisting, and so it shattered. The other pieces are stronger because they have more material, so they could take it. Now, you may not see the twisting unless the plastic axle deformed beyond repair.
Could this just be beneficial wear-in on some of the parts? For instance on the pallets, the sharp edges are being worn down and as the surfaces are lapped together their contact area increases and their wear reduces dramatically in the absence of abrasive particles. What if you were to just readjust the pallets and keep using them? They might last longer than a year after this, or may even last indefinitely.
Could you face the pallets with something like super glue maybe ,, or a shim cut from a coke can glued to the wearing surface
Kind of wanted the video to be 1 year in real time
I find if you add some spray lube, It saves ware and tare
This would be cool if you could adapt it into a flip clock
So if it was a harder material but in the same shape, it would probably still work just fine?
Maybe add a little bit of very viscous silicone oil on all the moving bits?
I guess there will be even less wear
Really interesting, moar
i am really impressed. did you design the Clock?
Beautiful piece. Could you give instructions to build it?
I second that!
I third it!
Here is an LDD file of an older version of this clock: dsharlet.com/file/clock.lxf It's not exactly the same but it's pretty close... Between that and the view of the internals in this video I think it shouldn't be too hard to rebuild!
If instead of attaching the chain at the bottom of the weight you put a handle at that side of the chain to keep it from running through you could nearly double the effective chain.
The loop is important though, it balances the weight on the drivetrain so the torque doesn't change as the chain passes from one side of the clock to the other :)
I feel like wear would mostly affect it on the gears, afterall it's Lego and wasn't specifically made for a clock...
This is actually really cool
How hard was it to tune the period timing?
It was (and still is) difficult! After the initial adjustments, the only way to tell if it is adjusted correctly is to let it run for several days and see if it consistently runs ahead or behind, and even very small adjustments are significant.
Very interesting. How did it perform, did the time drift (compared to this kind of clock)? Did you actually use and rely on it as a clock? And did that red sloped brick not pop off even once?
It is usually accurate to within 1 or 2 minutes when I wind it every 3 days. I often look at it to see what time it is! The forces on those red slope bricks are tiny, they've never popped off :)
Get a tube of grease for plastics like the kind used for RC cars and Nerf mods and apply a small bit to all moving parts it should help it last a bit longer
It would collect dust on the upward facing surfaces, too, right?
How do I find the parts list so I can make my own.
Bricklink shows howany bits it uses but does not show you what they are
Just WOW.
i had many problems with lego going dry and thus, getting more rigid over time, that might have been a big issue here.
Can you make insttuctions or something for this build, i really love it
dsharlet.com/file/clock.lxf
he posted it in a reply a few days ago
Whet if you cast the parts in a metal/harder plastic and sold it as a kit
nice
Progress with my new arm design. ua-cam.com/video/te_fbyVWsS0/v-deo.html I seem to need a lot more torque. I had to drop a 40 to 8 tooth segment and replace it with two of the medium sized gears essentially removing one set of gears.
Nice! Once you get it working, hopefully you can fine tune and increase the gear ratio. 3:1 is another possibility between 5:1 and 1:1 (using the newer 36 and 12 tooth bevel gears).
@@DillonSharlet It worked for 7 hours until the weight reached the bottom (the consequence of the gearing) Then I tried starting it again and it just will not go. I think it was because I had to adjust the arm as my second was much too long in this video and I needed a shorter arm. Ugh. I want to try and get it to a single arm down as much as possible. And I'll redo the adjustment. Actually I may want a longer arm and maybe shoot for a 2 second period maybe 1.5 second and redo the gearing after. I think a longer arm would give more play at the escapement.
Sick
could you publish some instructions on the clock ?
this would be such a cool kit if lego sold it
Do you have a build guide for this? It seems like a really cool wall piece
www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/design.page?idModel=150303 has "building steps". They aren't quite as good as LEGO instructions but they should get the job done :)