https://hackaday.com/2022/11/18/faceless-clock-makes-your-think-twice-about-how-it-works/ Skip to content Logo Hackaday Primary Menu * Home * Blog * Hackaday.io * Tindie * Hackaday Prize * Submit * About * Search for: [ ] [Search] November 18, 2022 Faceless Clock Makes You Think Twice About How It Works 14 Comments * by: Dan Maloney November 18, 2022 * * * * * Title: [Faceless Clock Makes] Copy Short Link: [https://hackaday.com] Copy [1280x720-v] We love projects that make you do a double-take when you first see them. It's always fun to think you see one thing, but then slowly realize everything is not quite what you expected. And this faceless analog clock is very much one of those projects. When we first saw [Shinsaku Hiura]'s "Hollow Clock 4," we assumed the trick to making it look like the hands were floating in space would rely on the judicious use of clear acrylic. But no, this clock is truly faceless -- you could easily stick a finger from front to back. The illusion is achieved by connecting the minute hand to the rim of the clock, and rotating the whole outer circumference through a compact 3D printed gear train. It's a very clever mechanism, and it's clear that it took a lot of work to optimize everything so that the whole look of the clock is sleek and modern. But what about the hour hand? That's just connected to the end of the minute hand at the center of the clock's virtual face, so how does that work? As it is with most things that appear to be magical, the answer is magnets. The outer rim of the clock actually has another ring, this one containing a pair of neodymium magnets. They attract another magnet located in the very end of the hour hand, dragging it along as the hour ring rotates. The video below shows off the secrets, and it gives you some idea of how much work went into this clock. We're used to seeing unique and fun timepieces and other gadgets from [Shinsaku Hiura] -- this up-flipping clock comes to mind, as does this custom RPN calculator -- but this project is clearly a step beyond. * [share_face] * [share_twit] * [share_in] * [share_mail] Posted in clock hacksTagged analog, clock, magnet, neodymium, worm gear Post navigation - Hackaday Podcast 193: Found Computers, Internet Over WhatsApp, Two-Factor C64, Shifting Cars, And Self-Shooting Fighter Planes Augmented Reality Workbench Helps You To Debug Your Boards - 14 thoughts on "Faceless Clock Makes You Think Twice About How It Works" 1. Foldi-One says: November 18, 2022 at 11:11 am That is so subtle its extremely charming. Looks great, a fun and neat idea that doesn't feel the need to attach neon signs pointing out its 'impossible coolness', Magic. Report comment Reply 2. robomonkey says: November 18, 2022 at 11:13 am you sure that isn't the Second Hand? Bit fast for a minute hand. Report comment Reply 1. John Smith says: November 18, 2022 at 11:31 am It's obviously running faster than normal for demo purposes. Report comment Reply 2. SparkyGSX says: November 18, 2022 at 11:46 am It and rather obvious the clock is sped up for the demonstration. Clever use of a spur gear and worm gear with 12:1 ratio to drive both rings with a single motor in a very compact base. Report comment Reply 3. Jan says: November 18, 2022 at 11:19 am cool design, I really love the magnets "holding" the minute hand. Report comment Reply 4. zsdad says: November 18, 2022 at 11:47 am great...just what I need, another project I want to do but will never get around to ;-) Report comment Reply 5. jpa says: November 18, 2022 at 11:51 am There is another variant that uses hanging gears and gravity: https://youtu.be/KlNrHJdLIxs Report comment Reply 6. mrehorst says: November 18, 2022 at 12:06 pm Interesting remake of the Jefferson Golden Hour clock that was made from 1949 to 1984. That clock had a small weight and gears at the center of the dial that drove the hour hand while the minute hand was driven by a gear at the circumference of the round glass face. See: http://roger-russell.com/jeffers/ jefhour.htm Report comment Reply 7. OOPS You did it AGAIN! says: November 18, 2022 at 12:42 pm "Faceless Clock Makes YOUr Think Twice About How It Works" but a paycheck will not make a HAD writer think twice about using spellcheck before submitting. Report comment Reply 1. Mike says: November 18, 2022 at 1:00 pm Good job. Spell check wouldn't have caught that. Now YOU try writing an article. (I'm not the author btw.) Report comment Reply 2. Dan Maloney says: November 18, 2022 at 1:07 pm Thanks for the heads up, you're so thoughtful. Report comment Reply 8. Greg A says: November 18, 2022 at 1:36 pm i wanted it to have some sort of axle/chain/belt running through the minute hand to drive the hour hand :) Report comment Reply 1. shiura says: November 18, 2022 at 1:45 pm Former "Hollow Clock 3" is an implementation of such sort of idea, Report comment Reply 1. Greg A says: November 18, 2022 at 1:48 pm hahah you're crazy! thanks Report comment Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy) This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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