LED Arduino Binary Clock

I made an analog clock with the time represented in LEDs, programmed to light up according to the binary version of the number. The light off means 0 and the on is 1. You can make the whole thing or just run it online by building out the circuit and inputting the code in TinkerCad and running it.

• device with monitor, keyboard, and Arduino installed
• 3D printer
• 3D pen
• 3D filament
• an Arduino
• USB 2 cable
• 9V battery
• 9V battery cable
• breadboard
• twelve 220 or 1K Ohms resistors
• numerous wires
• 12 LEDs(your choice on color but I used 4 white, 1 yellow, 1 blue, and 6 red)
• solder iron
• solder stand
• wire holder
• solder
• shrinkable plastic tube
• heat gun
• wire stripper
• electric tape
• water
• scissors
• 3D printer
• hot glue stick
• hot glue gun
• string
• popsicle stick

Use the STL file given to print the outer shell with a 3D printer using Makerbot. You can choose whatever color you like for the filament. Try fitting LEDs in each and every hole. When I printed it, all of the holes fit except a few when I made them all the same size. To fix it, I used the soldering iron to widen the holes. Adjust the temperature of the soldering iron to the melting point of the plastic used.

Follow the instructions on the 3D pen manual that comes with it to use it to label and decorate the shell. The 3D pen needs to preheat to a certain temperature according to which type of plastic is used. Label the top holes "Hours" and the bottom holes "Minutes". For the two holes on the side, they are "AM" and "PM". Other than these, you can decorate the shell however you'd like with the 3D pen.

Follow the picture above to wire the circuit. It doesn't matter if you use a large or small breadboard to wire the circuit since the wires will be taken off and soldered later on. The short legs of the LED connect to the resistor and the long legs connect to the pin wires. The resistors are connected to GND (ground).

Attach the 9V battery with the 9V battery cable. Plug it into Arduino. Run the code given to check the circuit is done correctly by using the USB 2 cable to connect the Arduino to your device. Open the Arduino app on your device to do this. Unplug the battery after finishing testing. You can either open the Arduino file or copy and paste the code from the PDF I provided. I programmed the code to also print the binary numbers on the serial monitor if you still have the Arduino and your device connected.

Wet the sponge on the solder iron stand and preheat the soldering iron to around 650 degrees Fahrenheit or the temperature that the solder you have available melts. Solder the resistors with additional wires and then solder all the wires together so they can all be connected to GND on the Arduino later. It's very useful to have a wire cutter. When the wire is stripped, twist the core so it is just one strand. Twist the core and wrap it around whatever it is going to be soldered to. Put each of what's going to be soldered on the clamps so the stand can hold it while you solder. Solder the rest according to how the circuit is connected. Remember to use the shrinkable plastic tube on any exposed joints and use the heat gun to shrink it. On the joints that you can't use the plastic tube, use electrical tape. Tie the wires for the minute LEDs together with string and likewise with the hours.

Put the LEDs into the holes in the shell according to the pins and hot glue the LED. Pin 5-2 is the order it is already in for the hour holes. Pin 5 for the first hole and pin 2 for the last(fourth hole). The same thing goes for pins 8-13 for the minute holes. Pin 8 for the first hole and pin 13 for the last hole(sixth hole). You can switch the wires connected to pins 7 and 6 depending on if you want to start with AM or PM. The single strand of wire connected to all twelve wires that are connected to the resistors goes into GND. The ends of the wires that connect to the Arduino are male(can be plugged in).

Hot glue popsicle sticks onto the shell and let it harden and dry. Put the Arduino inside the shell.

Plug the battery into the Arduino and it is done. The code is already in the Arduino from the previous testing of the code(step 4). Start the clock by plugging in the battery at either 12 AM or 12 PM.