Launching: Time Measure (Tapeline Clock)

For this project, we (Alex Fiel & Anna Lynton) took an unremarkable measurement tool and inside-out information technology into a time! The original plan was to motorized an existing tapeline. In devising that, we distinct it'd be easier to create our own shell to blend in with the electronics. We motorized a magnetic tape measure and programmed it to move o'er the course of the daylight to show the time in hours (inches).

To keep the whole design looking for every bit best it could, the largest take exception became minifying the electronics and keeping the total step of the device to roughly the size of the real object.

Supplies

Electronics

Arduino Nanox1

Adafruit Precision RTC Chipx1

Stepping motor Motor H-Bridge Chip x1

Stepper Motorx1

12v 1A Adaptor x1

Tiny Limit Switch x1

Boost / Buck Converterx1

6mm (diameter) x 3 mm Magnetsx6

6mm Ball Bearings x(3-10)

A couple loose Male / Female Headers

Electrify

Soldering Iron

Coating / Case

3D-Printer (or access to one)

Bondo Auto Body Makeweight

Silver Spraypaint

Black Spraypaint

Yellow Spraypaint

Vinyl radical Cutter (Or memory access to one)

Autodesk Fusion 360 (if you want to make tweaks to the model)

Step 1: Electrical circuit & Code

The circuit is fairly simple. The attached wiring diagram lays out how the RTC Potato chip, H-bridge, Motor and specify switch whol mix into the circuit. The complicated part is ensuring IT every last fits inside the spool and surrounds the hoofer motor. See the close-up video of the bobbin to get a better idea of the space we'rhenium working with. For this, it was easiest to use solid CORE wire bent and cut to the direct length IT needed to be, past hot paste it down after it was soldered unitedly. Solder male headers to the great power and ground for the board and the motive.

Upload the code to the display panel. The encode is fully commented, explaining how the homing function works and how functions are called. Code can be found on Github gists:

https://gist.github.com/scealux/4456dedaaabe17f41e...

Step 2: Power Supply

Next, you will need to defecate the power supply. We found that we could not supply self-consistent power by from the 12V supplying burst betwixt the stepping motor motorial and the board.

We ended up solving information technology away taking apart a 12V power supply and a buck converter to have a invariant voltage for the Arduino and still have 12v for the stepper (Not sure it's the best manner... but it worked!). Then, we ran quartet long wires (Vin for the stepper, Vin for the board, and ground for each to the measuring tape. Add female headers to these wire and heat shrink them together for a nicer stopping point!

Step 3: 3D Printing

For the Measuring Tape:

All the files are terminated connected Thingiverse; printed in the correct orientation, the outer case and stepper wheel should require support corporal. For our prints, informed we were going to take over to do post-processing either elbow room, we printed the cases with the outsides down touching the digest.

We built the spool past using a soldering smoothing iron to disappear the component parts together. And so the eg bearings rear atomic number 4 put in the conduct of the right side body and to check how the bobbin rotates.

For the power ply:

So, you can 3D print a radical case for your updated power supply with the Power Supply files. We hot glued the prongs in place on the inside and then glued the two halves together.

Footprint 4: Finishing & Picture

Glue the magnets into the holes on the at heart of the case.

After gluing in the magnets to the holes in the case, and checking the fit, it's metre to act up the finishing.

When creating / finishing the case, you can really do as a good deal operating room as little as you want to. For this project, we were trying to make the taping touchstone look As realistic as realistic. To that remainder we spent a great deal of sentence applying Bondo, sanding, and then repeating that serve before applying the silver spraypaint. We used painters tape to mask areas we didn't want to paint and added yellow accents. You bathroom key the case however you want!

Victimization a vinyl cutter, we cut proscribed a circular logo for the outward-facing side. Again, design the external as you choose!

Ill-trea 5: Putting It All Jointly

Put off the ball bearings in the tracks on the inside of the cause and insert the stepper motor with the components soldered round it. Plugin the young-bearing headers from the tycoo render to the male headers coming from the high stepper and gameboard.

Take the measuring tape recording and wrap it around the focus on spool. We added a piece of tape to hold on the start of it to prevent slipping. Confiscate the reel to the stepper efferent inside of the tape measure.

Snap the two halves together and plug IT in and you'Ra good to go! As shown in the video, the tape will home and so exsert to display the ongoing time.

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