Hi ben, i'm making a cat feeder and i need to make a horizontal clock mechanism for it. I know you always make vertical ones(the logical option), but i don't have space for that. It shouldn't be much higher than 4 cm. Do you know how i can make a horizontal pendulum?
There are no horizontal pendulae. The only alternative is to use a balance and spring mechanism, as in a (portable) watch, but that is difficult to make with lego. If no high precision is required you can use a simple (lego) electromotor and find the right combination of gears to reduce its rpm to what you need. Success!
You always use vertical pendulums, but are there also horizontal ones? I'm making a cat feeder for my girlfriend(her cat has a weak stomach and therefore needs to eat several small meals a day)
My cat feeder is a cilinder with segments, where she can put the food in in the morning. There is a circle on top, leaving blank one segment, and that circle should rotate slowly, on a mechanism in the bottom of the feeder.
That's why i want a horiztontal clock. Do you know how i could do that?
your solution got me to thinking, and i've come up with two other ways to resolve tilt issues.
1) offset the pendulum. instead of a straight pendulum arm, put a kick in it, to the left or right, as needed. the higher you place the kick, the more pronounced the effect.
2) unbalance the pendulum bob. add weight to one side of the bob, and it will lean the arm to the other side.
i'm using the addition of weight in conjuction with your solution. the longer you make the attached arm, the more precisely you can adjust the tilt, but i wanted to keep it as short as possible, so i use the weight to fine tune the swing.
i think, with the right design - say, a tilt of 30 to 45 degrees - a crooked arm could make for an interesting effect.
ur getting close to makeing the reliable clock
Claydog42 1 year ago
nice
kingofthebacon 2 years ago
Hi ben, i'm making a cat feeder and i need to make a horizontal clock mechanism for it. I know you always make vertical ones(the logical option), but i don't have space for that. It shouldn't be much higher than 4 cm. Do you know how i can make a horizontal pendulum?
thanks
merijnvanwouden 2 years ago
There are no horizontal pendulae. The only alternative is to use a balance and spring mechanism, as in a (portable) watch, but that is difficult to make with lego. If no high precision is required you can use a simple (lego) electromotor and find the right combination of gears to reduce its rpm to what you need. Success!
BenVanDeWaal 2 years ago
Hi,
You always use vertical pendulums, but are there also horizontal ones? I'm making a cat feeder for my girlfriend(her cat has a weak stomach and therefore needs to eat several small meals a day)
My cat feeder is a cilinder with segments, where she can put the food in in the morning. There is a circle on top, leaving blank one segment, and that circle should rotate slowly, on a mechanism in the bottom of the feeder.
That's why i want a horiztontal clock. Do you know how i could do that?
thanks
merijnvanwouden 2 years ago
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH ALL THESE!
legoclockfreak710 2 years ago
your solution got me to thinking, and i've come up with two other ways to resolve tilt issues.
1) offset the pendulum. instead of a straight pendulum arm, put a kick in it, to the left or right, as needed. the higher you place the kick, the more pronounced the effect.
2) unbalance the pendulum bob. add weight to one side of the bob, and it will lean the arm to the other side.
KEvron
KEvronius 2 years ago
I did that already, but my present solution appears the best to me.
BenVanDeWaal 2 years ago
i'm using the addition of weight in conjuction with your solution. the longer you make the attached arm, the more precisely you can adjust the tilt, but i wanted to keep it as short as possible, so i use the weight to fine tune the swing.
i think, with the right design - say, a tilt of 30 to 45 degrees - a crooked arm could make for an interesting effect.
KEvron
KEvronius 2 years ago
"The last shot shows my(?) solution to the tilted clock problem:"
ben, i think you've just solved the problem i've been having with my 40t gear escapement. i'll work on it tomorrow and let you know the results.
KEvron
KEvronius 3 years ago