Clock that physically writes the time created by a Japanese art student

This amazing creation was all over the internet a few weeks ago. I neglected to post about it. I feel that I should do so in case you missed it and because it is possibly the most incredible mechanical device that I have seen anyone make in recent history.

The project, called Plock, was created by art student Suzuki Kango as his senior thesis project. It contains more than 400 wooden parts that control four arms which write out the time on a magnetic drawing pad every minute. The board pushes forward when the time is written, then drops back again. This is a clever way to control the Z-axis. The arms need only be capable of moving in the X and Y axes.

The four large weights suggest that it is weight-driven. There appears to be a balance wheel in the bottom portion, so perhaps that is how it actually tells time. It doesn't seem to be moving at all times however, so this is not clear to me.

The whole thing is made of wood, too! Just astonishing.

There are more images of the writing clock on this web site (text in Japanese).

[ Thanks to Charles and all who suggested I post about this! ]

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This weight-driven kinetic sculpture is made almost entirely from wire -- even the escapement!

GJ Pearson created this fascinating kinetic sculpture titled Tiny Grass Is Dreaming. Similar to a weight-driven clock, a crank is turned to raise a weight, which in turn powers an escapement. The escapement allows the power to released in small stages. Also like a clock, the mechanism causes a bell to strike periodically. The wire construction is both impressive and beautiful. This piece took great skill to create, I am sure.

Here is where you can see a full playlist of GJ Pearson's work on YouTube. Here is where you can see more artwork by GJ Pearson.

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Video profile of Will Matthysen, a modern-day clockmaker

Working diligently in his workshop outside of Victoria, Australia, Will Matthysen has a rare profession, that of clockmaker. He's made over 170 clocks in his lifetime. Enjoy this lovely video profile of this talented craftsman.

Here is a longer article about Will Matthysen, titled The Clockmaker.

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Wall-mounted wooden marble machine with weight-driven escapement

Derek Hugger wrote in to say that he has spent the past few months designing a fully mechanical marble machine. Titled Kinestrata, the assembly is driven by a 2 1/2 pound weight via the classic Graham Escapement -- named for George Graham (1673-1751)an English clockmaker and inventor who is thought to have created it around 1715.

Kinestrata measures 11 x 17 x 5 inches and contains some 386 parts. The balls roll down 4 unique tracks and are lifted back to the top of the machine by 3 geared lifter rings. Hugger says that it took roughly 400 hours to design and build! Plans should be available for it in the next month or two. We'll keep you posted!

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Black Forest flute clock circa 1770 features blackbird automaton

Justin Miller of Blackforestclocks.org sent this video along. This musical clock was made in the Black Forest region around 1770. The piece features a blackbird automaton. The movement plays 5 different birdsong-themed songs at the top of the hour, while the blackbird figure moves from left to right and opens and closes its beak as if singing the tune.

For more information on this type of clock, you will want to check out Miller's outstanding book Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks. Among the most comprehensive volumes ever produced on the subject, this large format book features over 700 images showcasing the finest examples of clocks made in the Black Forest region.

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Wooden Gear Clock uses steel balls within the gears to provided the driving weight.

Check out this amazing wood clock contraption by Steve K. It is a weight driven clock with a very novel way of bringing the weight into play.

From the video description:

This wood gear mantel clock uses steel balls retained in holes in the hour gear to provide the clock drive torque. There are 15 holes and 7 steel balls. Every 4 minutes the lowest ball is ejected from the gear and runs down a track to a lift mechanism that elevates the ball to another track where it is guided into an empty hole in the gear. The lift mechanism is driven by a 3 rpm timing motor hidden in the base.

The clock uses what is known as aGraham escapement coupled to a dumbbell pendulum. The creator says it varies a couple of minutes per day, but doesn't mind because of the ball mechanism. I would feel the same way!

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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Working out the tumbling acrobat toy...in paper!

Head on over to the blog of paper engineer, Rob Ives, to follow along as he works out the geometry and mechanics of the classic tumbling acrobat toy. Ives is dissecting the motion of a Japanese version of the tumbler toy to figure out how to recreate it in paper. Incredible!

From his recent blog post:

In essence, the tumbler has three parts. the body with the sliding weight, the arms and the legs. I traced the three parts and experimented with different stills from the YouTube video to work out where the joints should be.

Here is a link to the latest blog post about the paper tumbling acrobat by Rob Ives.

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Pendulum-powered bobbing paper bird project with plans!

Here's a really clever paper project designed by artist/engineer, Rob Ives. The paper bird is powered by a pendulum in the base. When you move the box, even slightly, and the bird comes to life bobbing up and down. Rob Ives has created free plans for this project, complete with instructions and downloadable patterns!

Here where you can get the plans and instructions for the pendulum-powered paper bird project.

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Video on time, gears, and how tower clocks work

Here's a nice video for a Sunday afternoon covering the basics of time, gears, and clocks. After a short introduction, the host shows us some up-close details of a nice tower clock. Grab a beverage and enjoy the video!

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Download three new free wooden clock plans!

I've just received word that Brian Law over at www.woodenclocks.co.uk has made three new designs for wooden clocks available. The clocks have wooden works and are beautiful. Clock 7 is shown in the image above. The detailed plans in .PDF form are free. If you are want to cut the parts on a CNC machine, he also sells .DXF files for that purpose. Finally, he also has 3D CAD files available for purchase.

Visit Brian Law's Wooden Clocks to check out the three new clock designs (clocks 6, 7, and 8).

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Long-running clockwork sculpture by New Gottland

Take a look at this stunning clockwork art by artist New Gottland titled A Mechanical Prayer. This is one of a limited edition of twelve.

This video shows one complete cycle of the narrative. The movement will run for about 45 minutes before it needs rewinding. (This is done by pulling the brass ball down, which rewinds the weights on the barrel.) The artist designed the movement himself, and machined most of the components using a Sherline lathe and standard drill press. The woodwork is oak and the brass imagery was acid-etched.

This is some truly amazing work.

You can see many photographs of A Mechanical Prayer on New Gottland's facebook page.

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