View groups and posts below.
This post is from a suggested group
Does anyone have a picture of the back side of their reed switch after soldering? I've soldered before, but am basically a novice and having difficulties making sure I understand the intent.
This post is from a suggested group
I printed Steve's latest project and here's my summary of my observations, all positive:
- It prints without any problems
- Assembly is even easier than the other clocks (I printed and assembled the SP5, SP13, SP14, and SP15), just paying more attention to the correct spacing of the gears on the axes
- It works right out of the box with just 3 kg of weight on the pulley.
I actually think it could become the easiest and most convenient project for anyone wanting to get started in this fantastic hobby.
As usual, my compliments to Steve
Very well done! I'll have to tackle this as one of my next projects. The great thing about 3D printing as a hobby, you never run out of things to do
This post is from a suggested group
Just posted. Read all about it here: https://keveney.com/posts/cycloidal-gears-for-fusion-360/ Or, just get the add-in code here: https://github.com/mkeveney/FusionCycloidalGears Still no support for 'perfect print' gears, but I'm thinking about it...
Thanks for posting. Those are classic style cycloid gears. They should be perfectly functional, but the pinions will have a weak tooth base.
Perfect Print Gears are only slightly modified. The active surfaces are fairly similar. Most of the modifications are only to make the gears easier to 3D print. Many of my clocks with the updated gears were generated by rotating lines around to generate the active surfaces. I fiddled around with a Python app to automate the process but never got it to be fully stable.
This post is from a suggested group
Nice.
Double check the mounting screw depth and adjustment on the lower standoffs. There shouldn't be much sag with 6lbs of weight. Most of the designs build in about 0.01-0.02" of upward slant to account for some sag.
This post is from a suggested group
After a few false starts on finding the old school electronics that run this clock I found some that fit and work. Video attached is just the weighted pendulum with no gears but I’ll work on them this weekend. Excited to see this run.
will be curious to see how well it keeps time. what old school electronics did you use?
This post is from a suggested group
I've printed most of Steve's clocks, but I think the SP15 is the most beautiful!
It's not as huge as the SP14, which I also built, but it looks great in my studio.
I've attached a video of it running perfectly: I built it 8 months ago and it's never stopped!
Very precise, max a couple of minutes a week.
One small detail: it runs with just 2.5 kg on the pulley!!!
This post is from a suggested group
After some minor tweaks, my 12-day clock ran for 2+ weeks including a winding or two and was keeping excellent time. It's using 4.4 kg of weight with the fishing line loop as designed. Although the weight is a touch heavy, I was just happy it was running so well. Then I woke up one morning and it had stopped. I was able to get it to run again for anywhere from minutes to hours by making minor adjustments but then it would stop.
I took the fishing line loop out and suspended 2.2 kg directly planning to run it without the escapement but before I could do that, it's back to running like a champ again--16 hours straight. I tried the loop with 4.4 kg and it stopped again. As I write this, it's running great with 2.2 kg direct hang.
Any ideas what could be going on?
If the clock works with 2.2kg direct and stops with 4.4kg plus a pulley, and nothing else changed, then the pulley must be the problem. More likely, something else changed. It is easy to check the pulley just in case.
Two things to check after the clock stops are the escapement and the pendulum. It's even better if you can observe the clock just before it stops. Does the pendulum slowly lose amplitude? Or is the escapement losing energy?
Move the pendulum back and forth slowly while observing the escapement. Does it have the same energy as before? Then check the beat. Does the escapement tick and tock at equal amplitudes from side to side?
This clock has a friction sensitivity with gear 3 and the escapement. Sometimes when the clock is being adjusted, the frame can be squeezed and the escapement shaft collars get moved. This can push against the escapement. The slightest amount of side thrust against the escapement can stop the clock.
Hopefully, this provides some help.
This post is from a suggested group
Hi Steve! First of all, thank you very much for these clocks! They are amazing!
I printed and assembled a SPB5 with the 15 day option. After a bit of tuning and reducing friction using your awesome debug hints I got it to work reliably. I went on vacation and even after a week it was still ticking just fine.
Then I decided to take off the weight shell (for an inspection) and put it back on. I didn't change anything else. Ever since then the clock is not running reliably anymore. It runs for a few hours at most, sometimes maybe just for a few minutes. The pendulum amplitude gets smaller and smaller till it completely stops. (I can restart it very easily though with just a gentle push of the pendulum)
Since then I tested the gears in isolation (without the pallet) and the weight (of ~6kg) drives…
So now the clock works and i don't know exactly why. But it has been working reliably for a few weeks now. My kids kept restarting it and eventually it just kept going. I don't know for sure what the problem was. One hypothesis would be that the finishing line was not wound up well. But it is just a hypothesis. In any case now it works and after some adventures with a broken printer I am trying to print a second one now.
Thanks again for your support and for this awesome design!
Andreas
This post is from a suggested group
Hi Steve!! I love all your designs!
I built the easy-build wall clock, but the gears won't move freely when the weight is installed.
I reversed the Pendulum just to see if the gears would budge with no interference. No luck.
I have taken the clock apart and rebuilt it several times now. All the gears on the left side work great on their own. All the gears on the right side work great on their own. When all together, it takes a ton of force to get anything to budge.
Please help! I look forward to having your other clocks built. But need this one working first.
It takes a surprisingly small amount of friction near the escapement to stall the gear train when there is around a 500:1 gear reduction. My guess is to look on the right side close to the escapement.
The debug steps should be listed in the assembly guide. Here are the important ones:
Every gear must be drilled to be loose on the arbor.
Every gear needs to have some end shake after assembly into the frame.
The gears that pass through the frame need to rotate freely. This would be gears 6 and 9 on this clock.
Gear 3 behind the escapement is connected solidly to arbor, so the arbor must rotate freely inside the frame.
If all of these checks pass, then start removing gears one by one to see if you can identify the trouble spot. Start with the escapement, then gear 2, 3, and 5. You may need a spacer to hold some of the gears in position along the arbor for some of the steps.
I gave up with the glass ones. Added a negative rectangular square so that I could fit the plastic reeds which do not break lol..