Smart Flip Clock

So far, this has been my longest project to date. I set out to make a ‘smart’ flip clock, where the digits and other information are displayed using a 70’s style flipping mechanism. I had a few constraints to limit the project: I would be using a raspberry pi to power it, and the whole project had to be made for under $20. This was made possible by sourcing 4 small stepper motors online, and wires that I already had. The majority of the project was the CAD design of the mechanism; however a small bit went to the python code that indexed each digit and displayed the information.

After 3 months, the clock can now display the time and display the weather when the button on the side of it is pressed. There is also a pause function to pause the clock if I need it to be extra quiet. Here are a few pictures of the progress throughout working on it.

This is a render of the clock nearing its final verion, only thing it doesn’t have is a spot for the button to display the weather.

I hadn’t used stepper motors before, and now I really like them.

Pretty much the same thing as before, times four! I put sticky notes on to see if I’d be able to display some information this time.

The black letters you see on this are all 3d printed as well. This part took me a while with all of the small pieces needing precise gluing.

Here it is as it sits on my desk! No more test jumpers hanging around.

I’m happy to say this project has turned out so well. I previously relied on my phone as an alarm and used my computer as my main source of time, but now this is a good looking way to get the time at a glance.