The Making of the Time to Make Things Clock

By Jessica Nelson 2015

Champaign Urbana Community Fab Lab

 

When I first came to our Fab Lab, I always thought it would be neat to have a clock made using all the fancy machines. Once I learned how to use them, I was inspired and motivated to make my idea come to life! To begin, I sketched out a rough draft on paper. Then, I made a digital document of my plan. I tried to include everything I had learned in Fab Academy, with a few of my own personal maker touches. Each number would have a button that when pressed, would launch a website with a tutorial or info on how the number was made!

Arduino Code & Processing Image result for processing logoImage result for arduinoCode

 

 

The coding part was tricky. Once I had my Arduino code, I put together a processing code using examples. The hardest part was figuring out how to have the Processing program stop opening multiple web pages after a button was pressed. Another hurdle was to have the Arduino continue listening for a button pressed after one was pushed! Once I had finally figured it out (“else if” was very useful) I was ready for the next step, preparing my board! I designed my board in EAGLE cad. I decided to use an ATMEGA328 for the multiple inputs. I had planned for the buttons to be connected via headers and wires to my board. Here is my schematic. It was not without difficulty that my board was milled and populated. My first one had traces going to the wrong place. My second had issues with the traces falling off because of their daintiness. My third and final attempt was correctly done, however I was unable to burn the bootloader. My instructor suggested that I use an Arduino instead, but to make sure to include my work on the ATMEGA328. My second attempt at creating a microcontroller that incorporates an output and input device was easier when I switched to using an ATTiny44. The only difference is that there are two buttons, instead of 12. This is the schematic. This is the software serial programmed to the ATTiny44. I used example sketches and helpful forums from the internet. The processing was trickier, main difference between my processing sketch for Arduino and processing for Attiny 44 were that I had to use println(Serial.list()); in my setup instead of println(val);. In the time I had to make my idea come to life, using an Arduino was a lot simpler.

 

 

 

http://tr3sdland.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Atmega328_2.png

 

 

(Below are images of the web page that pops up. Since they are images the highlighted links won’t work. To view the links easier, please see the processing sketch above.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut File for 1/8” birch plywood-epilogue laser =$2(time on laser, scrap wood)


 

 

No digital file, cut by hand & ruler: Vinyl Leather-sewing machine=$2 (materials)


 

 

Cut File for Glitter Acrylic-Epilog Laser=$5.50(material & laser time)


 

 

3D Mold File for Flexible Oodoo-molding material=$15(filament & oodoo)


 

 

3D File for 3D Print Hips-Up mini printer=$3.55(filament)


 

 

Silhouette File for Vinyl Sticker-Silhouette=free (from scrap vinyl)


 

 

Laser File for Mirrored Acrylic-Epilog Laser=$5.50(material & laser time)

 

 

Embroidery File for Embroidered Patch-embroidery machine=$2(thread & machine use)


 

 

No digital file, cut & sewn by hand: Soft Circuit Felt-hand sewing=$17.85(LEDs, conductive thread, battery, & conductive pocket)


 

 

Schematic for PCB Circuit-Roland Modela=$6(PCB, LED, battery holder, battery)


 

 

Laser File for 123DMake-Laser=$1(laser time, scrap wood)


 

 

No digital file for Resin Burlap-Composite=$2(donated burlap, 1/4cup resin)

 

 

 

Clock Face File

PCB Button File

 

There are several ways to go about creating a clock mechanism. I am very interested in creating a “Genesis Clock” created by Clayton Boyer. If I were to build my own mechanism, I would start by using this. Having a done a bit of research, I might also try a great CAD file I discovered, with plastic as the main material. I am also curious about this 3D printed clock file as well. I had no idea there were so many ways to build clocks! I might also give this digital LED clock a try as well when I have the time! Total cost of the clock was $100.40. If you were to make your own, this price would not be definite!

 Creative Commons License
Time to Make Things Clock by Jessica Nelson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

 

Video Presentation of Final Project