ashtasky
Dec 11, 2008, 05:21 AM
hello all,
i do not know whether this thread belongs here. But going thru the various topics i felt so hence posting it.
hello all,
a cuckoo clock was always inspiring me for a long time. When i saw the floppy drives, The CDROM drives and their "seeking" or door opening mechanisms I always thought of making use of this to make a cuckoo clock.
This was a very long project, may be 6- 8 months. I have made several experiments, several prototypes, before arriving at a this reliable model. The Bangalore local Gujri market was always a great source for cheap computer parts.
A cuckoo clock consists of manily,
1. The body of the clock.
2. The bird cage.
3. The door forward/ reverse mechanism and the door.
4. The bird itself.
5. The cuckoo sound.
6. Other electronic requirements like the AC/DC operation, automatic switching off during night etc.
The bird itself has following mechanisms.
1. Flapping of wings in tune with the cuckoo sound
2. Opening of the beak in tune with the cuckoo sound.
3. The entire cuckoo bird bending forward while cuckooing.
4. Light corresponding to eyes/ mouth of the cuckoo.
All the above fucntions are achieved in the Cuckoo bird I have made and presented here, mainly using salvaged computer parts, Actuators (from CDROM R/W head), Self made coils etc.) pl note the Raynold pen cap used for beak.
The door forward/ reverse mechanism and the door.
This is made from s salvaged CDROM door opening mechanism. Limit switches (Again salvaged from FDD) and a PIC micro is used for this.
The cuckoo sound:
I down loaded the cuckoo sound .wav file from the net and programmed it in to a cheap sound IC. I can put any sound, have some indian bird sounds also.
A PIC with very simple program does the total control of the Clock, counting the hours, Opening the door/ closing, lights, sound etc.
pl watch the video. If any body is interested i can give some guidelines in building, more photos etc.
pl enjoy.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=fTzWm_a_THo
best regards
ashta
i do not know whether this thread belongs here. But going thru the various topics i felt so hence posting it.
hello all,
a cuckoo clock was always inspiring me for a long time. When i saw the floppy drives, The CDROM drives and their "seeking" or door opening mechanisms I always thought of making use of this to make a cuckoo clock.
This was a very long project, may be 6- 8 months. I have made several experiments, several prototypes, before arriving at a this reliable model. The Bangalore local Gujri market was always a great source for cheap computer parts.
A cuckoo clock consists of manily,
1. The body of the clock.
2. The bird cage.
3. The door forward/ reverse mechanism and the door.
4. The bird itself.
5. The cuckoo sound.
6. Other electronic requirements like the AC/DC operation, automatic switching off during night etc.
The bird itself has following mechanisms.
1. Flapping of wings in tune with the cuckoo sound
2. Opening of the beak in tune with the cuckoo sound.
3. The entire cuckoo bird bending forward while cuckooing.
4. Light corresponding to eyes/ mouth of the cuckoo.
All the above fucntions are achieved in the Cuckoo bird I have made and presented here, mainly using salvaged computer parts, Actuators (from CDROM R/W head), Self made coils etc.) pl note the Raynold pen cap used for beak.
The door forward/ reverse mechanism and the door.
This is made from s salvaged CDROM door opening mechanism. Limit switches (Again salvaged from FDD) and a PIC micro is used for this.
The cuckoo sound:
I down loaded the cuckoo sound .wav file from the net and programmed it in to a cheap sound IC. I can put any sound, have some indian bird sounds also.
A PIC with very simple program does the total control of the Clock, counting the hours, Opening the door/ closing, lights, sound etc.
pl watch the video. If any body is interested i can give some guidelines in building, more photos etc.
pl enjoy.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=fTzWm_a_THo
best regards
ashta