Dear friends welcome to another video!
Today we are going to build this impressive
PlotClock.
It Is an Arduino powered device that writes
the time using a Whiteboard marker.
Without any further delay let’s get started!
Hey guys, I am Nick and welcome to educ8s.tv
a channel that is all about DIY electronics
projects with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP8266
and other popular boards.
Today we are going to build this Plot Clock,
a device that does not use a display to tell
the time, but it writes the time using a whiteboard
marker.
Let’s see it in action.
Every minute, it erases the previous time,
so it has a clear surface to write on, and
then it writes the current time with the marker.
Impressive isn’t it?
The brains of this project is an Arduino Uno.
I am also using a DS3231 Real Time clock module
in order to keep the time.
Let’s now see how to build this project.
I discovered this Plotclock kit on Banggood.com
a few weeks ago.
It costs around 34$ and Banggood.com sent
me a sample unit in order to make a video
about it.
So, the parts you are going to need in order
to build this project are these, the Plotclock
Kit and a DS3231 RTC module which is not included
in the kit.
You can find links for all the parts in the
description of the video.
The kit contains the following parts:
• The plastic parts of the clock,
• 3 9g Servos
• An Arduino Uno board
• An expansion shield
• A usb cable, some screws and a marker.
Unfortunately it does not contain any assembly
instructions and while I was searching to
find some online, I discovered that this kit
is based on an open source project that was
published on thingiverse.
Amazing stuff.
So, if you own a 3d printer you can 3d print
the parts and build your own Plot Clock easily!
You can find a link for the project in the
description of the video.
The easiest way to build this kit is by studying
this 3D model that comes with the kit.
Let’s start.
I have numbered all the plastic parts according
to this leaflet and I start by the parts with
numbers 1,2,3.
I attach them together like this, and I glue
them in place.
I also use this screw to hold the parts together.
The next step is to attach this pen holder.
Next I attach this servo motor using some
small screws.
The next step is to attach the part with the
number 8 to the servo motor.
Be sure it can make this movement before proceeding.
We then move on to the other two servos.
We attach them like this.
Be careful, the right one needs part number
6 as well.
After this we have to connect the rear part
with the front part using a screw.
We also attach part number 9 like this.
After this we attach the two arms to the rear
servos and we won’t move on for a while.
It is now time to connect the Arduino and
test the servos using a calibration software.
We connect the shield to the Arduino Uno and
we then connect the servos.
We connect the Lift servo, this one, to digital
pin 2.
The servos connect this way.
The brown wire is GND, the Red is Vcc and
the orange on is the Signal Pin.
The left Servo goes to digital pin 3 and the
right one to digital pin 4.
We then connect the Real Time clock.
Vcc goes to Arduino 5V, GND goes to Arduino
GND, SCL goes to Analog pin 4 and SDA goes
to Analog Pin 5.
We then have to load the code from the thingiverse
plotclock project.
I will share the link for the code in the
description below.
In order the code to compile you need two
libraries.
You need the Time library and the DS1307 library
which also works with the DS3231 we are using.
Links for both libraries can be found in the
description of the video.
The code contains a calibration which is essential
in order the project to work.
Load the code and watch the arms move.
They have to make a movement like this.
Each arm must make a 90 degrees movement.
If the arms does not move like this, change
these values here, or attach the arm to different
position until the arms make this movement.
Now that the arms move the right way, we have
to attach the last parts to them.
Attach them like this and the project is ready!
Don’t put the marker on yet, we have to
test that everything is working as expected.
Comment line 25 of the code and uncomment
line 26.
Now the program is out of the calibration
mode and it will try to write the time.
Watch the arms movement and see if it tries
to write on the right place.
If it is too high or too low change the position
of the LIFT servo arm.
If it tries to write away from the front face,
repeat the calibration procedure of the rear
arms.
Put the marker on and watch the arm to write
the time on the surface!
If the time is not correct, you have to set
the time to the Real Time clock module.
Go to File -> Examples ->DS1307RTC and load
the SetTime sketch.
It will automatically set the time to the
Real Time clock using your computer’s time.
That’s it!
Our plot clock is ready.
It writes the time, and it updates it every
minute.
It is a very fun project to watch and to build.
I had a great time building it, and I think
it will be fun to alter the code in order
the clock to write the temperature instead
of the time.
I will definitely look into it soon I will
post an update when ready.
I would love to hear your opinion about this
plotclock project.
Do you plan to make any alterations to it?
Please post your comments in the comments
section below.
Thanks!
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to have you subscribed.
In this channel I post videos about DIY projects
every Saturday.
I love making things and I believe that anyone
can make things, anyone can become a maker.
That’s why I created this channel, in order
to share my knowledge with the community and
learn from the community.
I hope you will join us.
Until next Saturday, Watch, Learn, Build!
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