Real Tower Clock by imperatormaximus

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Main project page up now
Everything has been finsihed. I am in final stage of testing now. Check out status updates now on main project page:https://hackaday.io/project/178777-real-tower-clock-version-20
ANOTHER HUGE UPDATE! (2021-04-04): ****
Mechanical design also finished now.
It will be very easy to build and uses only three printed parts!
I am testing it right now.
For source code and project details see https://hackaday.io/project/178777-real-tower-clock-version-20
STL I will upload here soon.
** HUGE UPDATE! (2021-03-27): ***
Now all parts arrived. I also finished software!
Cool news: NO electronics board will be used. I just rewrote the firmware of stepper motors (STM32f030c8t6) . I also managed to connect with ESP-01 for Wifi.
Features already implemented:
set mode: seconds (yeah seconds also supported now!), minutes, hours+minutes
shows status in display at back of stepper motor with time, date angle, and more.
offline mode: set time+date directly at motor
online mode: gets NTP time once in a minute from internet so it will be always in exact time
Additional features also implemented for ESP-01:
Hotspot mode, select AP
responsible web interface, (using async webserver btw.)
get and show motor status
I also implemented several serial commands
get NTP time and broadcast it to stepper motor via serial
5 buttons in web interface: 4 for clock hand directions and start clock
So how it will be used: just grab two of S42B, flash new firmware and connect ESP-01 (also flash firmware there). One for minute and one for hours. NO electronic box anymore!
Firmware will be open-source of course.
I am working on new mechanics at the moment - this will need some time. Im am open for any suggestions there. I want to make it as simple as possible to print parts and assemble these. So I will not make closed box there anymore - only motor electronics protection.
**UPDATE 2021-01-31: ***
I am working an full new version 2.0 with many improvements:
NEMA 17 closed loop stepper motors (BIGTREETECH S42B V1.1): these would much more powerful, more precise and easier to use
new electronics board (32 bit 3D printer board)
display, Wifi, ...
belt driven (no backslash)
I ordered all parts and these should be here in about 1-2 months.
Using that new technology should change a lot. So whole electronics would be much easier: just plug in the motors, load software and you are ready to go.
I also want to make a more simple version of 3D printed parts.
So I recommend to wait until 2.0 version to start your own copy of this.
FROM HERE OLD AND FINISHED VERSION - BETTER WAIT FOR NEW ONE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0M0F7ObfqI&feature=youtu.be
Real tower clock… yes this is the real thing: a tower clock with hands in original size and used at a real castle already! This clockwork costs less 160 EUR for clockwork, electronics/motors, clock face and hands all together and around 40 EUR without clock face. A clockwork for this size usually costs several thousands of Euro. The clock runs always in time (automatically adjust for summer/winter time). I provided all Fusion 360 files so it can be changed to different sizes or clock faces. Also full software+parts list is included and no soldering is needed for this project! Anyway this should not be made by beginner but you do not need to be an expert in electronics as well I would say it is similar easy/difficult as building up a 3D printer from a kit. You also should know about how to get Arduinio sketches running. Also this clock runs on its own just needs power supply. With dimension of 9,5cmx16,5cmx9,8cm the main case should be printable on most printers. The clock hands need more space on print bed and it is optimized for 30cmx30cm print bed. This could be resolved with a redesign of the long clock hand in three pieces instead of two.
This project is devided in several parts:
Big Ben hands for Real Tower Clock and clock face: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2738980
Electronics: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2739153
DCF 77 module for precise time signal (see FAQ below): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2738964
and clockwork here on this page
Many use cases are possible:
filling up clock hole - like in my house
small churches who have not much money for tower clock
at home for wall decoration
because of the low price you could design different clock faces and hands and change the whole appearance of clock anytime you want
The main reason in my situation was to have a lightweight clock which can be removed and which supports long/heavy hands.
On the market you can buy only huge metal clockworks which costs around 10 times of this one or cheap quartz clockworks which are not able to move bigger clock hands (so mostly these are fake/smaller ones in home decoration clockworks). I did not want to lose this view: