Jan 4, 2015 | By Alec
Who says clocks need to be purely practical? Why can't they be fun or cool? That must've been what danjhamer of carbonfrog.org was thinking when he chose to develop this very cool Matrix Clock. If you're thinking where this simple-looking digital clock got its name or why it deserves this attention, that's because the still pictures of it don't really do it justice.
For it does much more than simply tick away hours and minutes like a regular digital alarm clock; instead, a very cool rain-animation of numbers is constantly swooping in from above, reminiscent of those very cool features in the Matrix movies, where constantly moving green code is filling every computer screen in sight. To comprehend it's coolness, it's therefore best to check out this clip first:
Not only that, but this simple-looking clock can even be programmed with a variety of different LED effects, and can even feature a little speaker to add musical alarms to the whole ensemble. Isn't that cool?
And what's more, you can build one yourself, though it is quite an engineering endeavor. Essentially, it consists of a 3D printed frame, housing a 16×8 LED Matrix display driven by a TLC5920 LED driver, powered with an Arduino that uses a DS1307 RTC (a real-time clock). It can be powered through a USB connection, or alternatively with a simple coin cell battery. An optional piezo speaker can be added for musical entertainment.
On his blog page, danjhamer simply stated that he wanted to mess around a Matrix LED set-up; 'I started this project wanting to do something with LED matrixes and found the Wiring LED matrix difficult to implement on the Arduino platform. The project mushroomed from there and I decided to get it manufactured and chose Seeed Studio to do this.'
While everyone is welcome to recreate one themselves, the designer hasn't written a tutorial about it or provided the necessary stl files yet. It might therefore be a bit out of the league of inexperienced builders, though danjhamer assures us it's a very flexible model. 'Due to its compact form factor the Matrix clock could be fitted in any number of housings - even a pocket watch style housing. If portability is desirable then the unit can be battery powered and a sleep function is available (by taking one of the expansion pins to ground) in order to extend battery life.' This means the 3D printing side of the equation is absolutely flexible.
If you're absolutely captivated by this cool clock, but are afraid to make it yourself, you can always order it from danjhamer's website Carbon Frog. You can get it for a respectable £30 plus shipping, which seems fair for the most original clock in the world.
The clock's full features are:
- 16x8 LED Matrix display
- ATMEGA32U4 microcontroller
- Coin cell powered Real Time Clock Calendar (1x Battery CR1220, 12mmDia x 2mm Required)
- Texas Instruments TLC5920 LED driver
- 4 Buttons
- Piezo speaker output
- Sleep mode input
- 2 power inputs, USB Micro connector or 6V - 9V DC in. (Normal powered by Vin switches when USB power is present).
- Dimensions: 66mm wide x 32mm high x 20mm deep.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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Hi, l need a to display open times with two time clocks like this on an A-board sign. Say like 11.00 on one and 12.oo on the other. Next to each other. Would this device work for that? Thanks Jenny myshoppingspree@mail.com
Jerome wrote at 1/6/2015 4:42:30 AM:
you can 3D print the case
Anja wrote at 1/4/2015 11:41:39 AM:
@Andreas: The frame.
Andreas wrote at 1/4/2015 11:03:13 AM:
There is nothing 3D printed at all in this clock.... Why did this gadget make it to this website with that misleading title?
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