MetaClockClock with 60 Clocks

This project took me more than 3 months for completion, and the Shapeoko 4 was an essential tool for it.

For the electronics, I wanted a decent enclosure. I used a 1200x600x20 mm edge glued oak wood.

I was worried about getting a clean and smooth front, so I decided to cut out the holes from the front, just the outline as circles. The number of holes and the size was just at the edge of the capabilities of the Shapeoko 4, as I wanted to cut them all in one step, to avoid any misalignments.

Then flipped the board and cutout the backside for the electronics part. Kept 10 mm of material, not to risk any deformation of the wood. Because this was on the back side, it has been cut in two parts, as no precise alignment was necessary:

The remaining wood of the slab has been cut and used as a frame around behind the front panel:

Than used wood oil for an nice finish:

For mounting and connecting the electronics, 3D printed parts plus laser-cut acrylic/PMMA has been used:


The software controls each of the 120 stepper motors and clock hands, plus the 2400 addressable RGB LEDs around it:


The main purpose is to show the time:

But it can write text in different font sizes too:

More details especially about the electronics part in my blog article: New MetaClockClock: Combining Art and Technology in Clocks.

Finally, it is hanging on the wall :slight_smile:
Erich

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WOW! What a great project and combination of materials and tech, really cool! Congrats on the art.

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That’s AWESOME!!!

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There are a lot of mad scientists in the garages of Shapeoko users. Very nice work and I can tell a lot of work. Combining woodworking and electronics was quite an accomplishment.

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Erich, this is Amazing! Congratulations, what a complex and unique concept. I can only imagine how many hours this took to design and complete.
How are you going to make something next that is more impressive then this? Good luck with that!