I wanted a desk clock for my desk setup and was going for a scifi theme. I couldnt find a suitable desk clock for my purpose so thought of making my own. And as I was making my own, I also added temperature and humidity monitoring for my room, and a voltmeter to measure the clock's inbuilt battery Voltage and any other external DC source voltage. The clock takes the time automatically when connected to a network.
This is what I came up with.
METHODOLOGY:
1. I first started with a rough sketch of the concept of the Clock and how it would look like. Made it on a piece of paper so that any changes could be easily done.
2. Next, I programmed the esp 32 for the interfacing of the SH1106 OLED. Took sone help from a youtube video (Link Provided), Did some changes in the code for working with the DHT 11 and connecting to the wi-fi. at this stage, proper testing was done so that everything was working consistantly and correctly. The circuit diagram and the code is provided under attachments
3. Now was the time to make the 3D model of the components. I used SolidWorks for this. The dimensions were Determined based on the Dimensions of the components used and 0.2mm clearance was provided to ensure proper and easy assembly.
the Components Designed were as follows:
a. Casing
b. Layer 1
c. Plate 1, 2, 3, 4
d. Left and Right Support
e. DC Plate
f. Key
g. Front panel
(All 3D model files provided)
4. The 3D models wer given for 3D Printing. The plastic parts were 3D printed out of black PLA with 20% infill and the front panel was CNC laser cut with 1mm thick acrylic.3D printing and Laser Cutting survices were provided by Robu.in.
5. The parts arrived in 3 to 5 business days, and then I stated the Assembly Process along with wiring. Assemblw process was as follows:
a. Soldering long wires to each of the components.
b. Placing the components on the layer 1 for ensuring correct fit.
c. Glueing the components to the layer 1 using polymer based glue.
d. testing the functionality as and when possible to ensure no components fail during assembly.
once the layer 1 was populated with the components, the wires were routed from the back of the layer 1 such that it clears any mating surfaces between the casing and the layer 1 (Trial and error method), then wire connections were done as per the circuit diagram.
e. The M3 Hex Nuts were inserted in their designated cavities on the casing and layer 1.
f. The key was inserted in the casing and the layer 1 was inserted afterwards and was fastenned with the M3 bolts from the back side of the casing. Then the left and right Supports were added and fastenned with the M3 bolts.
g. The DC plate is then glued to the supports with super glue and the DPDT switch is installed, along with a DC jack and micro usb charging pin fo the battery and 2 nut bolts for connecting external DC Supply wires to.
h. Then the plates 1, 2, 3, 4 are prepared. Basically decals are used on the plates and then glued on the layer 1 using super glue.
h. After a proper cleaning of the assembly so that no dust is trapped inside, the front panel is glued in place using polymer based glue.
Finally the Product was ready to be used.
NOTE: The decals used must be printed on A4 size paper only.
KNOWN ISSUES:
1. as the DHT 11 is inside the enclosure, it was notticed that the temperature reading was not accurate, it was a bit higher than the surrounding. this might be because of the components heating the air inside.
2. Time is not set immediately, so might need to restart the clock.
3. Formatting of the display might be wrong, so might need to restart the clock.
Finally, Thank you for going through the project. Feel free to modify the design and code so as to reduce or mitigate the Issues I have faced and let me know.
Thank You once again.
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