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[arduino] tick tock, it's a clock, not a pc!(on hold)

Bsmith

Hello and welcome to this (hopefully) interesting journey to building a clock with arduino.


This will be a project I'm aiming to complete before the summer is over.

The hardest part will be getting the clock to work, because so far i have no experience with arduino, but that makes it more interesting not?



led-digital-wall-clock-thumb.jpg



The design of the clock will be something like the picture here above, altough I'm fairly sure it will change atleast a little. because seperate modules means wireless transmission, a thing i prefer to stay away from unless i feel confident enough, since this will be my first experience with arduino boards it might be smarter too stay safe and play with wires instead.



current status:

on hold.


update log:

number lay-out

final photoshop sketch

decisions and beer

Arrival of the Arduino

nameless update

Final sketch and the first order

LED arrival, 2 steps forwards, 1 step back

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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You could use the design above, you'd just have to mount it on some sort of wooden plate and have the wires go through that.

 

Or if you want it to be permanent you can put some wires through a wall

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Neato. Must follow.

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It uses Arduino and im following it!

Can't wait for the completion.

 

thank you, will do my best to complete it as soon as i can, but don't expect too much from me, this is my first Arduino experience afterall.

 

You could use the design above, you'd just have to mount it on some sort of wooden plate and have the wires go through that.

 

Or if you want it to be permanent you can put some wires through a wall

 

Yeah had the idea to use something like a wooden frame to place it on, so that i also have a bit of flex in wall mount or table/desk top placement, the wires hrough the wall also aren't a bad idea, but i doubt my parents like that :lol:

 

Neato. Must follow.

Noice looks neat instasub (HYPE) ;)

 

welcome, welcome.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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UPDATE!!


 


okey so i worked on the numbers now for, ehmm an hour or two?


anyway, i got the numbers finished to export them to the 3D engine and process it further, i didn't add any mounting system yet, because the measurements are terrible.


got no arduino for reference (yet) and everything is off by roughly 1 pc(0,04cm) which annoys me more already then it should.


 


 


the version with guidance lines.


post-54592-0-91509300-1431788119_thumb.j


 


 


 


the secondary, more realistic version without guidance lines, the small grey lines remain for indication where pieces stop.


post-54592-0-34555700-1431788166_thumb.j


 


 


 


 


Before i export everything into the 3D engine I'm going to find a nice solution for the mounting system, so that it's able to stand freely or hang on the wall and everything becomes a solid piece.


May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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Subbed, i really love Arduino projects.

 

welcome aboard.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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UPDATE!!


 


 


Okey, i made a final drawing in photoshop including some measurements, which are hopefully spot on since i transferred the arduino board on a 1:1 scale from the prints i found to photoshop, allowing me to get all info the ey way, just measuring it in photoshop and having the real size at the same time.


the background makes it easier to watch then the white before, it's also probably the surface on wich it will be hanging.


the white pieces on the clock show the rough locations of the LED strips for light


time to boot up cinema 4D!


if i only remember how it works it should be fine.


 


17741999645_d3b749fbda_o.jpg


May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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  • 2 weeks later...

okey just got back from a school trip for "educational" reasons(to justify, i do a analytical study and we visited a beer brewery)

 

so back to the track:

I didn't touch C4D yet, since i was not around, im aiming to start making some first renders tomorrow.

 

I didn't receive my arduino starting package yet, so i can't show it off right now, got to do it with procrastination on that subject, although i decided to get a RTC(RealTime Clock) module for time measurement and a light sensor to brighten/dimm the LEDS dependent room lightning, i don't want to be sleepless because of bright/turned on LEDS in the end.

I also made a few more decision's concerning materials of the clock.

The original idea was to use white anodized aluminium, but that didn't go on because i don't have to tool required to do metal bending/cutting to achieve the kind of quality i want to achieve, so i decided to try out 3D printed pieces, which partly forces me to do some exact renders of the numbers which include material thickness, depth etc. so i will be figuring that out later on after i got the early renders in such a way i like it, will cover up the pieces with some small pieces of acrylic, which i should be able to cut the way i want it and if needed polish depending on the effect i want from the light, although that decision will be made once i'm able to see it myself, although the colour will be black for sure.

 

so that will be white colored numbers along with black filling.

 

Im hoping to push out the first render tomorrow because I have a test week coming up and the vacation is afterwards, meaning that i can officially start the project up, if i have the parts by then.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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okey just got back from a school trip for "educational" reasons(to justify, i do a analytical study and we visited a beer brewery)

 

so back to the track:

I didn't touch C4D yet, since i was not around, im aiming to start making some first renders tomorrow.

 

I didn't receive my arduino starting package yet, so i can't show it off right now, got to do it with procrastination on that subject, although i decided to get a RTC(RealTime Clock) module for time measurement and a light sensor to brighten/dimm the LEDS dependent room lightning, i don't want to be sleepless because of bright/turned on LEDS in the end.

I also made a few more decision's concerning materials of the clock.

The original idea was to use white anodized aluminium, but that didn't go on because i don't have to tool required to do metal bending/cutting to achieve the kind of quality i want to achieve, so i decided to try out 3D printed pieces, which partly forces me to do some exact renders of the numbers which include material thickness, depth etc. so i will be figuring that out later on after i got the early renders in such a way i like it, will cover up the pieces with some small pieces of acrylic, which i should be able to cut the way i want it and if needed polish depending on the effect i want from the light, although that decision will be made once i'm able to see it myself, although the colour will be black for sure.

 

so that will be white colored numbers along with black filling.

 

Im hoping to push out the first render tomorrow because I have a test week coming up and the vacation is afterwards, meaning that i can officially start the project up, if i have the parts by then.

YAY! It's actually happening! Me thinks I want to do the same and make a clock.

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Is the internal Arduino clock even reliable enough? You might need an RTC module...

"My game vs my brains, who gets more fatal errors?" ~ Camper125Lv, GMC Jam #15

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  • 3 weeks later...

Is the internal Arduino clock even reliable enough? You might need an RTC module...

 

yeah have been thinking about getting a RTC module, I'm willing to take the guess with just the internal arduino clock first, will see afterwards how it goes.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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UPDATE!!!!


 


Some package just arrived, it features the main component of this whole build log!


Now it needs to wait one week before i can work with it because of the final test week of this school year is knocking on the door.


So I decided to take a few pictures quickly and upload them.


On the word of the 3D renders, yeah scrap that that isnt going to work for me, I'm going to do everything on guess and old paperwork.


 


18770775699_932919b037_k.jpgarduino_book_tanks_board by thommy saltzherr, on Flickr


My best shot that I composed pretty quickly.


 


 


post-54592-0-61003200-1434726676_thumb.j


the outside box of shipping.


 


 


post-54592-0-07333100-1434726690_thumb.j


The inside of the box(after removing the book) everything looks good, yes this is the starter kit since this is my first time with arduino.


 


post-54592-0-34440800-1434726773_thumb.j


The lil guy from upclose, i must say that it looks much better then expected and makes my hands itchy to get to work.


 


May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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Nice to see this coming along. How much was the kit? I'm thinking of buying one.

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Nice to see this coming along. How much was the kit? I'm thinking of buying one.

 

the beginner kit, which includes nearly everything you will need for basics(LCD, LEDs, wires, USb cable and project book) costed me roughly €120,- but seems to be more then worth it so far, everything has a good quality and the project book guides you through perfectly step-for-step(so far i read)

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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the beginner kit, which includes nearly everything you will need for basics(LCD, LEDs, wires, USb cable and project book) costed me roughly €120,- but seems to be more then worth it so far, everything has a good quality and the project book guides you through perfectly step-for-step(so far i read)

Cool, Might have to wait for some money though...

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How you finding the coding. I have had an arduino for 3-4 months but Bearly touched it because I can't code.

 

 

 

 

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How you finding the coding. I have had an arduino for 3-4 months but Bearly touched it because I can't code.

 

from what i read in the book so far it seems to be pretty easy, it's mostly calling the function you need and binding a action/reaction you desire to it, i must say it seem pretty straight forward since extra libaries can be downloaded from the arduino site along with lists of functions, In the end it seems that the coding will be just a complex as you want it to be, how more functions how more complicated it get's.

If you ahve the starter kit(like me) the book helps you through every step you need of the coding for these projects, they contain the basic's like mapping a buttons function, a LEDs on/off duration or change the state on a button press, which can be combined to lead up to more advanced stuff, it really is(like mostt of the things) a learning process.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've never heard of this. Looks cool. Is this some sort of digital clock? 

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I've never heard of this. Looks cool. Is this some sort of digital clock? 

 

Yes, inside the frame there will be LEDS which light up to show the correct time.

 

Although currently i'm partly at the drawing board, since the components needed to continue need to come out of the US, but the shopping costs are bigger then the costs of the items themselves, since i didn't find a reliable EU/NL based supplier yet it might take a while before there is a big update.

May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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Oh, cool. Good luck to you. I will follow your updates :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

small update


 


Since I'm still undecided about the LEDS and design i decided to start playing around with the arduino and start the first project


while simultaneously starting using RAW files and macro filters on my camera, need quite some more pratice.


post-54592-0-67822100-1436568398.jpg


 


edit/note:


thanks @bear-in-the-air for typo correction


May the light have your back and your ISO low.

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Simutaliens. You mean simultaneously.

Anyhow, that is quite a nice shot you got there.

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