Reminder Clocks - the Spiky Clock

Time is very important in our lives we don’t necessarily own time, time doesn't wait for anybody and its, not on our side. This year we are designing clocks that will help us along with the people around us to be able to manage time, be more organised and avoid losing too much time on matters that are not important. Peter F Drucker said, “until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else”. The clock project is like a timetable, for example, the ones we use in school so why shouldn't we have one for our personal lives? Well, this is when I come in the picture! I want to make a study clock.

Who - are you selling to and what will connect with them?Understand your target market Demographics: age range, influences, personae, perceptions, purchasing habits.

I’m going to design a clock for my family but mostly my parents so they can keep track of time and their daily needs/ schedule that they forget once in a while. My parents are in their late 40’s and this clock will be helpful to them because they can put their reminders on the clock. My dad is a man who loves to organize and love to have everything written down. He loves to know things beforehand. He has a journal where he writes everything he has to get done for that day. The clock I'm making for them can be used by anyone from the age of 13 to 65 because they have to keep their education and work schedules organised. If my parents have this clock and they enjoy using it, this means they'll have more time to do things as a family, like go out because we've all finished the work required for the day. The clock doesn't necessarily have to be used for all business purposes but for personal purposes as well such as taking medicines, when people are coming over, when to go grocery shopping, when to feed pets or take pets for a stroll and around the neighbourhood, when to go for a run, for example, my mum has to make 10,000 steps or more per day meaning she has to go to the sport center. The clock can also remind my mum on turning off all kitchen appliances before leaving the house.

What - your product must do in order to solve your problem. These should be easy to understand goals. Breaking this list into a hierarchy allows you to prioritize goals.

The clock will be hanged on the wall in the living room and if we don't want it on the wall it would be put on our tv stand My product should be able to keep the owners organised, my product should allow the owners to attach schedules unto the clock. My product should allow the users to easily check the time with the fonts and using colours that are not too hard to see in the light or at night. My product should be able to be used by other people rather than only my family. My product should be easy to install and use.

Its always good to sketch your ideas and choosing which design you want as a final product. Once you've chosen your design you can start by writing the specifications for example what you need, how are you going to make it, what are you making it with, and what are the measurements you will be using. Also knowing the location is very important because then you have an appropriate measurement and it doesn't look too odd in your chosen location.

When making your design it is good to have a timeline for the creation process. This is important because then you don't have to rush things and regret not putting something.

These are the materials needed which are listed below:

- Laser cutter

- Clock mechanism with clock hands

- 3mm Plywood (6 layers +1 big sheet to cut out the minicircles slot)

- 3mm Card (2 layers: will be needed because its good for the environment)

- 3mm Clear Acrylic (1 layer)

- 3mm Copper rod (12 pieces)

- 3mm Corkwood (1 layer)

- PVA glue

- Clamp

- Hack Saw

- Epoxy resin glue (the glue available was a UHU brand )

- A vice

Hand tools needed:

- Ruler

- Cutting Knife with a special ruler

- Spatula for mixing the epoxy resin

- Screwdriver just in case of issues with fixing the clock hands and tightening the fixing nut.

- Plyer

Clock mechanism dimensions:

-The clock mechanism dimension is 55 x 55 x 15mm

- The hour hand is 80mm and

- The second hand is 60mm

- Choice of a 5 mm or 12.5mm shift

- Fixing nut with a hole of 8mm but a hole of 10mm is required for it to fit in.

Clock face for both acrylic, card and plywood: 26cm= 260mm

- Lines on clock face: 3mm

- Numbers: 20mm

- Center hole: 1cm= 10mm because of the fixing nut

- Clock shift: 12.5mm in thickness depending on how many layers.

Outside rim: 240mm inside and 10mm apart

Diameter of minicircles with slots: 50mm

Diameter of slots in minicircles: 3mm

Copper rod for main numbers: 240mm

Copper rod for other numbers: 160mm

With the 3mm Plywood sheet, you should have 4 main numbers (12,3,6,9), 3 rims, 2 clock faces,1 clock face with slots and 24 minicircles with slots and without slots.

Cutting the copper rod into 8 short pieces of 160mm and 4 long pieces of 240mm with a hacksaw. When cutting use masking tape to protect the rod when its tightened to the vice. Once you've finished cutting brush the ends on the vice to remove sharp ends.

Most importantly the last thing to glue should be the acrylic and the clock face because you won't be able to put the clock hands once its glued.

When glueing start with glueing the numbers on the clock faces and make sure its where you want it to be. To glue, the numbers use PVA glue when applying it's better to use your hand and just rub the glue unto the numbers because they are quite small. After this, we can glue a rim to the top of the clock face using PVA glue.

When glueing the last 2 rims to both sides of the 3mm acrylic use the epoxy resin glue. Since there are two tubes of glue, you squirt the two in equal amounts on a scrap surface mixing it with a spatula. After mixing for 20 seconds you apply it and spread it on the rim. Use a clamp to hold the two pieces together until you are sure it is dried.

Next thing you want to glue is the clock face with 3mm slots and the plain clock face using PVA glue. It is better to use a lot so that is sticks and you don't have to be taking it off to add more glue. When glueing these two parts apply the glue on the clock face with slots and make sure the glue doesn't spread into the slots otherwise it would be difficult to insert the copper rods.

After glueing the bigger slots its time to glue the mini-slots and stick it to the plain minicircles. Always rub the glue unto the circles with the slots.

Prepare your copper rods and create a flat surface for the glueing of the slots to the copper rod. Mix the two tubes of glue and dab both ends of the copper rod into the glue, placing one end into the slot of the bigger circle and the other end into the smaller circle. Repeat this for the 11 pieces. Press it in very hard to avoid the copper rods from turning.

The first thing to join together should be the big circle with the copper rods and the clock face. To join this two parts you should use PVA glue and use a lot because this is a bigger piece and it is heavier because of the copper rods. When glueing make sure its aligned and use a few clamps to hold together in a position that's centred and straight.

Before joining the first pieces mentioned above it is best to fix the clock hands because it does require a lot of time, a flat surface to rest on and it can be very difficult sometimes. when having difficulty try pressing really hard but not too hard so you don't damage the hands, they are quite fragile. If that doesn't work you should use a plyer to squeeze the hollow circle on the pole on each side to make it easier to slide the hands on. Sometimes the clock mechanism is moving a lot and it moves the clock hands all you have to do is use a screwdriver with a flat tip to turn the fixing nut (which is where the mechanism is screwed into).

After joining those pieces together, glue the two card rims on top of the clock face with the rim. glue using PVA glue as well. Check that it is straight and make sure to wipe glue that is spreading to the side with either your hand or tissue. But the problem with using tissue is that some parts would stick the clock and it is quite hard to get off once it is dried.

The last thing to do is glueing the rim with clear acrylic but before you do that, clean the acrylic with any cleaning product for either your devices or the kitchen just in case there is dirt or any scratch marks. If the cleaning products don't work try ethanol it is quite effective. Also before glueing blow the clock face to get out any dust and make sure the clock hands are securely tightened and cant fall.

When glueing the rim with clear acrylic to the rest of the clock parts, apply the glue carefully and make sure the glue doesn't get to the acrylic and apply pressure using the clamp and make sure its straight.

Glueing the reminder board and the cork wood can be done using PVA glue. After glueing the corkwood, you can use a utility knife to cut off ends that are outside the board.

After glueing all the parts together and checking if they are dried, you can insert the battery and see if it works. if it doesnt work try another battery, if it works then you can prepare the clock to be hooked at the chosen location.

if the hook from the clock mechanism doesnt really work and one part is higher than the other on the wall, I would suggest to create your own hook or go to a local craft store to purchase a functioning hook that can be easily connected to the clock without dismantling the entire clock.

The reminder board should be put in a location that is best for all users. With the board, you can pin reminders or events on it and once it is done you take it off and pin in a new event.

Once an appropriate hook is found and it looks perfect on the wall and Voila the clock is finished and ready to be used.