Mike's clock corner

[Mike Everman]

While I'm still in the PJ game, I've been taking some time out to design and build a unique clock. I've posted some vids of my progress on youtube:

Be sure to click "HD", and watch full screen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0CB8ZoF7RY
HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzL-oScHrpI

Check my other videos; there's some neat slow-mo's of this, and some fun engineering stuff.
Fun, fun, fun!

[hinote]

While I'm still in the PJ game, I've been taking some time out to design and build a unique clock.

Hi Mike:

WOW!!--you've extrapolated the classic kinetic energy/oscillation mechanism into something truly modern. Please accept my congratulations, and my envy at your continuing ability to see beyond my poor mortal insight.

I'd love to see how you're going to "fuel" this mechanism; the possibilities are nearly endless IMO.

BTW I've had a recent experience with a much more archaic clock mechanism; I finally decided to have a look at the family "grandfather clock" which I inherited and which was damaged in the Dec 2003 earthquake in central California, into a non-operative condition.

I disassembled her and found how she works--and how simple the return to operating status was. In addition, I found real admiration for what "makes her tick". My opinion is that the so-called "escapement" which drives all the pendulum-driven mechanical clocks since the 16th (?) century is a real example of genius, and an early development in what eventually became the Industrial Revolution. It's an elegantly simple solution that really does the job.

So is yours!

Best,

Bill

[Mike Everman]

Thanks, Bill. Good to hear from you, man!
I'm working on a mechanical escapement now, but may just throw an electromagnet at it initially to get it sustaining. Turns out one of the best clock makers in the world is in Buellton, and the guy that makes the best test electronics for clock design lives two blocks from me.

[tufty]

Mike, that's glorious. Absolutely beautiful.

[Mike Everman]

Thanks, Simon!
There are six distinct steps to get it there from Christiaan Huygens' cycloid diagram from the 1600's.
I'm just about done with a paper on the subject that I will be submitting to the Horological Science Newsletter. I'll attach the rough draft.
I'm going to trim the foreword, maybe to nothing, do some general cleanup and fill in the blank step between figures 7 and 8, which is the reduction of the pendulum rod to nothing. This was an intuitive leap that I now have to go back and explain.

[metiz]

While I'm still in the PJ game (...) to get it sustaining.

yep, still knee deep

As for the clock: great work so far. Should be realy interesting to see how it turns out!

[hinote]

I'm working on a mechanical escapement now, but may just throw an electromagnet at it initially to get it sustaining.

There's a pretty large bag of options about how to input the energy into your pendulum system. I'd be interested in hearing some of your ideas about the OUTPUT though; my own vary from purely mechanical to purely electronic. I suppose the result will reflect your own expression of both engineering and aesthetics. Comments appreciated about your intent here?

Also, your prototype is quite beautiful and performing well; have your considered whether reductions in friction are worthwhile in relation to what we're currently viewing? Ceramics would seem to be a quick answer to substantial reductions in energy waste. Also, in a system as efficient as this--contaminants like dust, dirt, lint, animal hair, etc.--could make quite a substantial difference in energy consumption. Protection would seem mandatory.

No criticisms here--just throwing out some food for further comments and extension of interest in this thread.

I find it fascinating to see how someone I know as a "personality" is also capable of reducing pendulum kinetics to a basic level, and then creating a path to a new solution of the issue. True engineering IMO.

Bill

[Mike Everman]

Hi Bill, yep, ceramics are big on my mind, as is thermal compensation of the shoe radius, which is the only dimension I need to stabilize. But first:
Tadaaaaaaa! I got it to run all night! The electromagnet drive works great. I'm posting up a video to my youtube channel (belleverman) this morning. I used a gap sensor with a flag that has an opening at center, and feed that output to a delay relay that drives the electromagnet. I suppose an electronics guy would make short work of this circuit, but this stuff was simple to understand.

[hinote]

Hi Bill, yep, ceramics are big on my mind, as is thermal compensation of the shoe radius, which is the only dimension I need to stabilize. But first:
Tadaaaaaaa! I got it to run all night! The electromagnet drive works great. I'm posting up a video to my youtube channel (belleverman) this morning. I used a gap sensor with a flag that has an opening at center, and feed that output to a delay relay that drives the electromagnet. I suppose an electronics guy would make short work of this circuit, but this stuff was simple to understand.

Love it!

My idea for a simple sensor/timer drive was to use an LED and phototransistor set as the sensor, and then feed a 555 timer circuit to drive the electromagnet. The 555 can be tuned for both delay and duration very simply. There's a plethora of 555 info on the 'net to access for ideas and actual circuits.

Bill

[Mike Everman]

And here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XScl2qr568Y

[Sebastian LFT]

Wow, very elegant and hypnotizing. Awesome work indeed.

[WebPilot]

Pretty neat, mikeE.

ani.gif (223.8 KiB) Viewed 10693 times

I think you need to give Geico a call; ask for their advertising department.

[Viv]

Hi Mike

Some thing clock related I noticed on my news reading this morning, "Steuart’s Patent vacuum tank regulator" looks right up your street

http://www.gizmag.com/steuart-patent-va ... tor/13200/

A question struck me over your eddy current brake video, what are the temperature effects/drift of this setup?

The rest I loved

Viv

[Mike Everman]

Glad you liked it. I don't know yet what temperature does to the eddy current rate limiter. The neat thing about it is that the magnet can be on an arm that is situated radially inward or outward to change the radius of action with temperature, to compensate for whatever does occur with temp. I'm going to be marrying the rodless pendulum with a constant process flywheel. The trick is to have the flywheel do the works and get feedback from the pendulum, but not affect it. Very fun.