“Few years ago, I invented and built a clock showing how the Earth is exposed to the sun in real time.
The Earth Clock: I was happy with the result, however I am now an engineering student and I wanted to put my mechanical knowledge into practice, especially about 3D printing by designing a new version.
This is an unusual clock, it doesn’t indicate time as a normal clock would, instead, it shows where your location is, compared to the night. It’s a little gadget to put on your desk.
In the following timelapse the the speed is incredibly high, but keep in mind that the Earth’s rotation is so slow that the model appears to be motionless!
As the Earth is tilted by 23.4, it turns on two different axes at different speed rates:
- a “vertical” axis doing one full rotation in 1 year, simulating the movement around the sun.
- a “tilted” axis doing 1 rotation every day.
Supplies
- 3D files
- 1x Arduino Nano
- 1x 28BYJ48 5V stepper motor
- 1x ULN2003 driver board
- 2x 5mm push buttons Aliexpress
- 2x 10k Ohms resistors
- 1x old USB cable
- wires
- 3x small screws
- sandpaper, primer, paint
- Soldering iron
- 3D printer”