The Time Keeper

industrial design clock Arduino laser cut art wood work product design Adobe Photoshop soldering acrylic

One day in Art History class, we were discussing the Bauhaus, a famous German Art School in the 1930’s. I saw college students design and build chairs, lamps, and even houses! I was inspired that kids my age were able to make such innovative and functional pieces of art. I wanted to join in, and so the idea for The Time Keeper was born.

The Time Keeper is a clock that utilizes a Real Time Clock (RTC) connected to an Arduino Uno to display the time. There are three different NeoPixel strips that each display seconds, minutes, and hours respectively. When it is day time, the lights are warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and when it is night time, the colors are cool (blue and purple).

This was a challenging project that forced me to think outside of the box. It was difficult to come up with my own design and to make it a reality. I often ran into walls or limitations, however this caused me to pivot and think outside of the box. This was an extremely rewarding process, and I grew in my ability to manage projects, design under constraints, and execute a high fidelity product.

This is the Arduino Uno circuit attached the back of The Time Keeper. To the left is its EasyEDA Circuit Schematic.

Here is the GitHub link for The Time Keeper's repository: https://github.com/ABPurcell62/The-Time-Keeper-

These are reference pictures that inspired my design for The Time Keeper.

Image on Left: https://shorturl.at/yLPQ3 Image on Right: https://shorturl.at/cepyB

Above are the Adobe Photoshop files I used to create the frame for The Time Keeper. The picture on the left was a previous assignment for a digital design class. I carried over the same ideas of symmetry, balance, and simple shapes to create the elegant design on the right.

This is my first physical prototype. This helped me get a feeling for how The Time Keeper would look in the physical space.

I converted the photoshop files into an SVG on Inkscape. From there I Laser Cut the five layers out of plywood.

Next I applied several Wood Stains for each layer to give The Time Keeper the overall look I wanted

I then utilized Wood Glue and Clamps to combine the layers together.

I used the laser cutter again to cut out the clock face out of acrylic. Next I sanded the acrylic with an a Orbital Sander to create a frosted effect. I attached all the pieces for the face together with an Epoxy.

With Solder, I attached the NeoPixels and created my own wires for the circuit.

Next I arranged the NeoPixels underneath the clock face. From inside out the lights display hours, minutes, and seconds. This is because on a traditional clock, the hour-hand is the smallest and the second-hand is the largest.