Galileo Galilei Pendulum Clock (Vers. 3.1)

thingiverse

This is the updated design (Version 3.1) made with OpenSCAD (fully customisable) of a functioning mechanical clock following the original ideas of Galileo Galilei dating back to 1600, that can be made on a laser cutter (with the addiction of standard bearings and a few other simple parts). The previous version is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5547728 Differences from the previous version: axes diameter moved from 8mm to 10mm, but small pins are still 8mm; bearings changed from 608 to 6000 (ID:10mm, OD:26mm, thickness: 8mm); charge mechanism simplified (one less part); one vertical pillar removed; one transfer gear (Z10) removed; base with rounded corners The oscillating mechanism uses a clever escapement system attributed to Galileo himself and also the first application of a pendulum to a clock (Galileo was the first to observe the isochronism of the pendulum, in 1602!) The design has been modelled with OpenSCAD (sources included: two files form the BOSL library are also needed and are included here, just create a folder named "BOSL" and move them inside: constants.scad and involute_gears.scad), it can be animated to show the movements of all parts, and it is fully customisable. Generation of the DXF vector files is easily achieved by uncommenting the "projection" lines and then select "2D export as dxf" within OpenSCAD. This model is part of an effort, promoted by the "Associazione Amici dell'Orologeria Pesarina Giovanni Battista e Remigio Solari", to teach the basics of the ancient clockmaking traditions of Val Pesarina (Pesariis, Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Italy) to the students of high schools and technical schools in Italy. The model mechanics are based on the original drawings by Galileo Galilei and on many other modern renderings and reconstructions found on the Internet (see source code for links), and have been re-designed in OpenSCAD by Carlo Fonda with contributions from Alberto Tonelli and Stefano Solari. The prototypes of the various version of this clock have been presented at Maker Faire Trieste, Maker Faire Zagreb and Maker Faire Rome in 2022. Almost all pieces are made from 10mm plywood, (except two small parts that are from 3-6mm plywood), plus 6000 bearings (ID:10mm, OD:26mm, thickness: 8mm) and wooden axes of 10mm diameter (except the small pins that are 8mm diameter) and few other parts (glue, rope, rubber bands). The prototype has been done at the Scientific Fablab of the ICTP (The Abdus Salam International centre for Theoretical Physics) based in Trieste, Italy. List of 2D vector files and other parts needed: parts laser cut out of plywood (10mm): BASE_A.dxf BASE_B.dxf BLOCCO.dxf CARICA_1.dxf CARICA_2_x8.dxf (8 copies) GEAR_Z20.dxf GEAR_Z60.dxf NOTTOLINO_x4.dxf (4 copies) ORIZZ_x2.dxf (2 copies) PENDOLO.dxf PLINTO_1A.dxf PLINTO_1B.dxf PLINTO_2A.dxf PLINTO_2B.dxf PLINTO_3A.dxf PLINTO_3B.dxf RANELLA_x2.dxf (2 copies, this is plywood of 3-6 mm thickness) RUOTA_GALILEO.dxf SECONDI.dxf SPESSORE_RUOTA_x4.dxf (4 copies) UNGHIA_A.dxf UNGHIA_B.dxf List of axes and pins: AXES (diameter = 10mm): 145mm lower axe 135mm higher axe 70mm (2 pieces, axes for the blocking mechanism and for the pendulum) PINS (diameter = 8mm): 30mm (12 pieces, pins for the wheel) 30mm (1 piece, pin for the blocking arm) Other stuff: 6 bearings (type 6800, ID:10mm, OD:26mm, thickness: 8mm) 2 rubber bands for the charge gear glue and screws for attaching together all wooden parts a nut and bolt (M5) with washers, to lock the calibration of the escapement metal washers as weigth for the pendulum (lock them in place with two more rubber bands) a string and an "heavy" weigth for the charge mechanism