Floating 3D Printed Clock

I love brass. So I came up with another design to highlight it. And I love clocks.

All of the parts are 3D printed except for the second hand.

Seiko high torque clock movement (high torque only because the hands fit better with this type)

1/8 dia. brass rod

Second hand of your choice

(6) #4 x 1/2" screws, can be either wood or machine screws

1/8" thick or less non glare acrylic sheet (optional)

You can use these STL files as is and the parts will assemble easily. Or you can open the STEP file in most any CAD program and use it as a starting point to adapt as you wish.

This was designed in inches, then converted later to mm. So some of the dimensions will seem random.

Print all of the parts. Print the hands at the finest resolution your printer can do.

This is my first 3D printing project and I learned a lot. I thought that STL files were used directly by the printer. But no, the files need to prepared by "slicing" software. A very popular open source one is this:

https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura

It is really amazing. It does the steps necessary for printing nearly automatically. Some of these photos show the support structure that is added to enable the printing. They are very easy to remove. There were tiny supports inside the small holes as well. They came out with tweezers.

The holes for the brass rods need to be opened up a bit with an 1/8 drill. This can be done by hand.

Also, I can highly recommend the printer I used. Super quality for the price. It is plenty challenging to put together. If you get one, be sure to watch a video on assembly rather than relying on the sparse user guide.

https://creality3d.shop/collections/ender-series-3...

Shown in green is the 3D printed back. Optionally you can make the back with clear (non glare) acrylic. Acrylic can be difficult to cut without cracking. So I designed and printed a template for using a router with a trim bit (overkill?). I don't have a photo but it is challenging to do this safely.

The larger parts are done in a nicely textured paint.

Cut to length, 4 long, 8 short.

Put in a drill and spin against a file or sandpaper to get a round tip. Use progressively finer paper to get a nice satin finish.

Put a bit of wax or oil on them to prevent tarnishing.

Everything should go together easily. The holes for the screws are sized so they accept the screw threads without tapping. The holes in the back plate are large enough to provide a little wiggle room to get the brass rods aligned properly.

Thanks for taking the time to get to the end.