Harry Potter inspired clock
MIT How to Make Almost Anything 2014
For my final project for MIT's How to Make Almost Anything course, I decided I wanted to make a prototype of a clock inspired by the Weasley family clock in Harry Potter. In the books, the clock gives the location of each family member instead of the time of day.
Concept Sketches
I started by created various concept sketches before settling on the idea of using the Marauders for the motif.
CAD Model
Although my initial idea was to make a tabletop-sized clock, I decided instead I wanted to make something more like a grandfather clock. I built off of the existing concept art to create a vector model, and from that a CAD model in Solidworks.
Clock Body
The body was CNC routed from plywood in two layers.
Clockwork
The clockwork mechanism was made using lasercut acrylic, 3D printed gears (largely because the two week time constraint on the project, there wasn't time to order parts), a servo, and a custom made PCB.
Software & Electronics
For the PCB, I made a modified version of the Fabduino. For this prototype, the servo for the clockwork was controlled by a computer interface although the ultimate goal is to make a version that uses GPS signal from my phone.
