This week has been another very productive one! Let’s dig in and check out the progress!
Building
As you might recall, I left off last week with the inlays drilled to lay the stepper motors in. On Monday I jumped straight in where I left off by sanding down these inlays. My goal here was to help promote a better fit as well as easier adjustment. Below is a photo of these inlays.
After cleaning up the inlays, I was able to add some legs to the back of the clock face, acting as a support to keep it upright. I was also able to add adjustable rubber feet onto these to ensure the clock’s stability.
After I had this done, I attached a spacer to the front clock face (displaying hours). Lifting it from the rest of clock, this allows for the 2nd clock face (displaying minutes) to be accessible from the stepper motors. Pic below
After I was able to get the main pieces of the clock’s frame assembled I moved on to the remaining parts. I fitted the stepper motors in their inlays, and attached the pulleys to the motors. I then attached some rope to the gears I’m using to display the time. This brought it all together and allowed a peak into the final product.
After I got everything assembled, I quickly tore it back apart. I had stained the wood already but now it was time to add a top coat. I went with a semi-satin finish to bring the grain out without making it too glossy. Unfortunately, there’s a 24 hour drying period between coats so from Friday forward I had to put a hold on things while applying coats and waiting for them to dry.
I’m happy to say I hit my goal for the week, and even added onto it with the top coat I didn’t originally factor in (use protection kids!). This upcoming week, I’m hoping to fit all the electronics to the model, and get a start on translating that code from my first render into C+. Thanks for reading, stay posted 🙂