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An Open Source 3D Printed Sundial That Reads Digital Time - 3DPrint.com

Do you remember the first time you grasped the concept of a sundial, the idea that we can tell general time from observing the shadow cast by the sun via an object designed for this purpose? It seemed like a pretty magical concept, and it also introduces basic concepts about math and astronomy in an interesting and beneficial way.

It was Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian astronomy that gave us the first sundials, and since then they have been used as serious objects of mathematical study and as decorative objects because they represent technology of the past that was streamlined over time. Sundials are rather simple instruments at first glance. Using just a few parts, the trick is to get the edge (style) of the part that throws the shadow (gnomon) to be parallel to the Earth’s rotation axis while staying accurate all year long. For the Southern hemisphere, the latitude has to be reversed from the Northern hemisphere’s latitude. Now, add 3D printing to make a digital sundial for the Southern hemisphere and that might get your attention, right?

That’s right. Julldozer of Mojoptix  set out to 3D print a sundial with the question: “What if we had a sundial that worked more like some sort of enormous digital watch?” And what he means by this is that as the style on the sundial moves, sun is either blocked or it breaks through the design holes (he calls it “swiss cheese”) so that the actual time can be read in the shadow of the sundial.

Wow. And I thought I had heard it all. It’s kind of like, why stop at approximating the correct time with a sundial when you can straight out just have the exact digital time displayed? Modern enough for you yet?

In a YouTube video (see below) that explains how Julldozer conceptualized and designed the project, he tells us he built the sundial algorhythmically using OpenSCAD. He created a matrix for each number shown on the sundial. Then he combined these number matrixes into an open-source 3D printable model with OpenSCAD script and STL files. The whole project is open source, and you can download everything on Thingiverse (or just buy it from his Etsy shop). All you’ll need are four 3D printed parts (ABS, he notes), as well as a jam jar and a few screws, nuts, and washers.

As Julldozer describes, 3D printing proves to be essential in the project because the elaborate algorhythmically designed holes — the “swiss cheese”– can’t be made any other way like injection molding or another mass production method. This makes sense since the design using sunlight cast through holes to show legible numbers is quite an elaborate undertaking.

We are used to hearing that “3D printing is the only way,” and this is another one of those projects. It’s an incredible example of some unthinkably modern ways to retain technologies of the past. Once you understand where to point the tip of the sundial (North or South?), the rest of the project seems accessible, as Julldozer of Mojoptix has done most of the hard work already for the rest of us.   Let us know your thoughts on this design in the 3D Printed Sundial forum thread on 3DPB.com.

 

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Tagged with: 3d printed clock • 3d printed clocks • 3d printed sundial • france • Julldozer • Mojoptix • OpenSCAD • sundial • thingiverse • time telling

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3D-Printed Sundial Displays Time Like A Digital Clock

How many times have you stuck a stick in the ground to use as a sundial, only to realize that you still have no idea what time it is? French Etsy shop Mojoptix has solved the problem that was the Curse of Rome by 3D-printing special sundials that display the time “digitally”-if it’s between 10:00 and 16:00, that is, and you don’t mind the time being displayed in 20 minute increments!

“No batteries, no motor, no electronics… It’s all just a really super-fancy shadow show,” writes Mojoptix. “The shape of the sundial has been mathematically designed to only let through the right sunrays at the right time/angle…You can precisely adjust the displayed time simply by rotating the gnomon, so you can even adjust for Daylight Saving Time.”

Have your own 3d-printer? Get the plans and print your own sundial! See the Thingverse link below.

More info: Etsy | Thingverse (h/t: mymodernmet)

“No batteries, no motor, no electronics…”

“It’s all just a really super-fancy shadow show”

“The shape of the sundial has been mathematically designed to only let through the right sunrays at the right time/angle”

“You can precisely adjust the displayed time simply by rotating the gnomon”

These 3d-printed parts are all you need

It takes 35 hours of 3d-printing time to manufacture each sundial

Time is displayed in 20 minute increments, from 10:00 to 16:00

Listen to the designer explain how it works here:

Get your own sundial here here!

3D printed sundial: download and print

Sundial 3D printed sundial shows the time in numbers.

Roman Fishman

Man is such a strange creature, something always does not suit him. He strives to improve everything. Wheel - it would seem, what else? But even here there are endless modifications, including even non-circular ones. Oddly enough, this perseverance pays off. Mechanisms and devices, perfected over the centuries, suddenly begin to work easier and faster. Perhaps this is the person: a biped without feathers, with nails - and with an irresistible desire to turn everything in his hands with one thought: "What could be improved here"? . .

Since one said to the other, "I'll meet you when the shadow of the tree reaches that stone," the design of the sundial has changed little. Until now, these are only two parts: a frame (a plane with hour divisions) and a gnomon rod that casts a shadow. It is immediately clear that there is simply nothing to improve. But the human passion for everything new, curiosity and experimentation, perfectly supported by our entire evolution and even the physiology of the brain, worked this time as well. French developers from the Mojoptix group came up with a completely new scheme: their Sundial sundial shows the time in numbers.

By and large, no one knows how this device works, but the reasoning of the inventors is quite simple. It is enough to break the numbers into dots, as in a postal code. Each point can be formed by a sunbeam passing through its hole in the gnomon. Each specific moment of time corresponds to a specific position of the Sun in the sky - and the same pre-calculated set of holes. In order not to complicate the task, let's take the time step of our clock, say, 20 minutes. In addition, you can exclude night, too early and late hours, limiting yourself to the time from 10:00 to 16:00.

It remains to formulate this problem mathematically and “feed” it to a suitable 3D modeling computer system, which was done in Mojoptix, having received a ready-made gnomon model (in the form of a half-cylinder) with a set of slots. It is clear that at different latitudes the Sun rises to different heights at the same time, so our digital sundial will need a system to adjust the angle of inclination. In order not to bother with modeling on your own, you can find ready-made files in the Thingverse open database: Sundial is available for free use. So did the PM editors: after our friends from Top3DShop printed a digital sundial on a 3D printer, we tested it in action. They really work - even if no one knows exactly how. Sundial's design is efficient and precise, but there's still room for improvement. It seems worth adding a compass to make it easier to accurately orient yourself to the north. Equip with automatic adjustment to the terrain using GPS signals. Or calculate a more complex system of holes to work with increments not of 20 minutes, but of just one minute... Really, what else could be improved?

We thank Top3DShop.Ru experts for their help in testing and high-quality printout of the Sundial

model.

Sundial showing digital time / 3d printing / 3Dmag.org


Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used sundials to determine the time: for this they had to carefully monitor the movement of the sun and measure the length of the shadow from a special rod - the gnomon. The job, as you can imagine, is long and tedious. At present, this problem is absent due to technological progress, and if such watches are used, then as museum exhibits or design objects. However, one very creative manufacturer, Julldozer, decided to experiment with the heritage of his ancestors and, as a result, using 3D printing, he received a very interesting project: a sundial that shows digital time!

This device does not use batteries or any other electronics. All you need is printed ABS parts, an empty jam jar and fasteners. Moreover, due to the special accuracy and complexity of the design, it is not possible to obtain such components by traditional production methods. The principle of operation of the device is similar to that of a traditional sundial, however, the gnomon is made with special mathematically adjusted holes - a kind of "Swiss cheese".

For each digit, a matrix was developed using OpenScad, which was placed inside the index. By the way, the model can be found for free on the Internet. To create a rod, it is recommended to use a layer thickness of 0.1 mm. The 3D printing time is quite impressive due to the large number of holes and their tiny size - it will take about 35 hours to complete the work. If you do not have the desire and time, you can order the finished product for only $ 77, however, due to high demand and slow production, you will be able to receive it only 10 weeks after the purchase.

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