Main Content

Inspiration for this clock struck 6 months ago after seeing @ItsMrJP ‘s awesome hot air balloon prints. I wanted to build something functional that would highlight the beauty of the thick side glow fiber optic pieces. Originally I though of enclosing the clock so the pipes couldn’t be disturbed, but after much trial and error, I decided to keep the back open for a clear view of the strands.

After posting some initial sketches on Twitter I got some very valuable advice and feedback from @maketvee and @ItsMrJP. Thanks to these guys for their help!

So, how to make it. Lets get to it.

Parts & Materials
- White and black filament (tested with basic PLA, results with other materials may vary)
- 2 10ft PMMA Plastic Optic Fiber Side Glow Cable for LED Light Source (0.12in)
- 1 8x8 WS2812B LED matrix
- 1 ESP8266 D1 Mini
- 1 Micro USB data cable
- 1 MPU-6050
- 1 M2x6 screw
- Jumper wires (recommended red, black and 3 other colors)
Tools
- Soldering Iron & Solder
- Wire strippers
- Snips (optional, for post processing 3d printed parts if needed)
- Hot glue gun (optional, may be helpful in keeping parts still, and shielding exposed connections.
- Screwdriver
Software
- Arduino IDE

Link to article