Citrus clock (Patreon)

While working on another fruit themed design – I stumbled onto this idea: If you squint your eyes a little and sprinkle in some imagination – the segments of a cut-open lemon could kind of be the dial of a clock! The seeds would then be the clock hands.

Since I had a clock building kit on hand – and lemons are easy to get – I wanted to try it out. I selected a lemon in the supermarket based on the shape with a bulkier bottom, since the product needs a solid base to stand on. The 3d scan was rather easy, what took me some time is getting the kit inside. I overengineered a solution where you put it in from the front – but securing the dial and putting in new batteries was a hassle. Sometimes the right solution to a problem is in plain sight. What if the lemon was just slightly larger at the bottom to put the clockwork in and make the components reachable? This is what I ended up with and discarded the previous versions.

Those clockwork kits are almost identical everywhere I checked. I included all relevant measurements in the description. I used the one from bambulab but for example the first few that came up on amazon would work as well. I made sure to include all relevant measurements and what to look out for!

In terms of shape this could also well be an orange or lime – so please go crazy with colors!

It is easy and fast to print. I created single and multi-color files. The multi-color version has very little waste but if you do not have this capability at home – the single-color version works as well, and the result looks identical.

Description

A creative desk clock based on a 3d scan of a lemon.

Single and multi-color printing models are included as STL and 3MF! They work with all current and usual multi color setups.

Clock mechanism

This design requires a clock mechanism. They are widely available, cheap and almost identical in size. I used the bambulab clock components kit.

The case can be up to 56x56x20mm big.

The shaft of your kit can be up to 8mm thick.

The clock dial thickness is 5mm when assembled. The kits shaft thread needs to be at least 6mm long.

The hour handle needs to have a 5mm hole for my hand design to work

The minute handle needs to have a 3mm hole for my hand design to work

You can use the hands of your kit up to a length of 40mm to stay within the clock dial. Up to a length of 50 mm works but reaches beyond the dial. My design does not include a hand for seconds. If you want that please use your kit’s clock hands.

Instructions version M (multi-color)

Get a clock mechanism according to the info above

Print the Body, front, hour and minute hand in colors of your choice, preferably citrus themed

Put the front in by rotating it until it fits. It only works in one direction.

Insert the case from the bottom

Attach the hex nut onto the shaft

Push the hour hand onto the shaft – on 12 o’clock

Push the hour hand onto the shaft – on 12 o’clock - make sure that the two small “seeds” don’t block the movement of the other hand.

Rotate the small wheel on the back of the mechanism to the current time

Insert a suitable battery

To replace the battery a small stick like a skewer helps to get it loose more easily.

Instructions version S (single-color)

Get a clock mechanism according to the info above

Print the Body, 12 front segments, hour and minute hand in one color

Print the front and two seeds in another color

Glue the 12 segments into the front

Glue the seeds onto their respective hand – make sure to position them as in the pictures, so they do not overlap for better readability.

Put the front in by rotating it until it fits. It only works in one direction.

Insert the case from the bottom

Attach the hex nut onto the shaft

Push the hour hand onto the shaft – on 12 o’clock

Push the hour hand onto the shaft – on 12 o’clock - make sure that the two small “seeds” don’t block the movement of the other hand.

Rotate the small wheel on the back of the mechanism to the current time

Insert a suitable battery

To replace the battery a small stick like a skewer helps to get it loose more easily.

Size assembled 100 x 91 x 95 mm

Print settings

Required build volume: 100 x 1000 x 100 mm

Material usage: 80 g

Material: PLA

Print direction: stls are rotated correctly, check images

Support: none

Nozzle size: 0,4 mm

Line width: 0,4 mm

Layer height 0,2 mm

Infill: 15%

Build plate adhesion type: none

Licensing

Individual purchases, free downloads and and all memberships besides the tiers that specifically allow for commercial use are for personal use only! Make sure to fully read and understand the License