{"id":18295,"date":"2019-12-27T21:13:35","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T13:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=18295"},"modified":"2021-07-05T15:17:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T07:17:14","slug":"timesquare2-a-natural-iot-clock-by-x-factory-member-nikos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seeedstudio.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/27\/timesquare2-a-natural-iot-clock-by-x-factory-member-nikos\/","title":{"rendered":"TimeSquare2 a Natural IoT Clock by x.factory Member Nikos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those of you who had the pleasure of visiting Maker Faire Shenzhen<\/a> this year may have spotted this huge and flashy IoT desktop clock in one of the exhibits.<\/p>\n

Based on the creative style of word clocks like the ClockTHREEjr<\/a>, the TimeSquare2<\/sup> wooden clock takes it one step further by focusing on the concept of telling time in a more natural and cognitively appealing way.<\/p>\n

Many word clocks spell out the exact time in words e.g. \u201cit\u2019s nine thirty-two\u201d but if someone asks you what the time is, most likely, you would say about nine, bang-on half ten or a quarter past six-ish, etc. Our mind\u2019s natural tendency for inaccuracy (or plain laziness) makes for easier interpretation. There is no need for minute details – and most clocks are off by a few minutes anyway.<\/p>\n

The TimeSquare2<\/sup> simplifies this by using words like \u201cExactly\u201d and \u201cAlmost\u201d to cover a short duration of time and instead of laying out the letters in a grid pattern, presents them as you would typically read them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Combined with IoT connectivity, it never needs to be set or corrected and comes with a bunch of customizable features that can be uploaded straight from a smartphone.<\/p>\n

This innovative clock is the brainchild of Chaihuo x.factory<\/a> member Nikos Mouratidis, an expat from Greece and part-time maker. We had the pleasure of learning of his experience developing the clock in Greece and then moving development to Shenzhen, and we thought we\u2019d share his experience with you too.<\/p>\n

Every now and then, Nikos spends what little spare time he has off work in the x.factory makerspace working on the TimeSquare2<\/sup>. The first version began as a bit of fun four years ago in Nikos\u2019 home country, Greece.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis first prototype took 6 months to develop and development stopped at that time. It was just a hobby. Living in Greece you cannot easily move the development further. At that time, that prototype did not support WiFi or Bluetooth and needed to connect to PC to set the time. So, it was quite primitive in function.<\/em>\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first prototype consisted of hidden breadboards and a maze of wiring and was illuminated by LED strips<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Greek language of course<\/em><\/p>\n

As if the Silicon Valley of Hardware was calling out to him, Niko\u2019s company provided him with an opportunity to relocate to Shenzhen, and that is exactly what he and his family did. And once settled in, Nikos decided to return to the TimeSquare project and looked up one of his favorite companies in Shenzhen!<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew Seeed Studio since many years ago when I bought my first Seeeduino. So, I looked it up on the internet, and I found that Seeed has a maker space called x.factory <\/em>and I became an x.factory member at that time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSince I know my way around electronics, my main problem was laser cutting. I needed to design my housing from scratch to be able to be manufactured 100% using laser cut plywood. x.factory helped me, and in 1 month I was expert at using the laser cutter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For the second version, Nikos\u2019 enthusiasm at his newfound laser cutting expertise probably got the better of him. Look at all those layers!<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In fact, in the 6 months Niko\u2019s spent on the project in x.factory, 5.5 months were spent on the housing alone. This version was very heavy and increased the material cost significantly. Nikos eventually opted to hollow out the interior where possible and use curved corners for a more stylish finish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Electronics is more of Nikos\u2019 thing, so all the circuitry and programming was completed in just two weeks. To replace the breadboard maze, Nikos decided to take advantage of another one of Seeed\u2019s services, the Seeed Fusion one-stop manufacturing service to fabricate the prototype PCBs. PCB manufacturing is one of the most popular Fusion services and, like all Fusion services, everything can be handled online including instant quoting and order monitoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first order to Seeed Fusion was a quite big 19cm x 19cm PCB. The idea was that 4 of these PCBs would be tiled to form a huge 38×38 cm square PCB. Instead of dummy white LEDs, the new design used individually addressable RGB LEDs. Each PCB had a matrix of 30 LEDs (3 lines, 10 LED each). Totally, 4 PCBs, had 120 LEDs and I soldered the components by hand which was a pain!!!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Four smaller PCBs are much cheaper than one huge PCB<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the main reason for my second Fusion order. I replaced ALL the components on my PCB design to be through-hole. That was much easier to assemble. Also, the connectors between 4 PCBs were replaced by soldering. Using this method, I constructed my first proof of concept prototype. The one you see on the video.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Converting from SMT to through hole<\/em><\/p>\n

Design Tip: Whether or not one should pick through hole or SMT (surface mount) components is an important decision during the initial PCB design stage. For one-off prototypes and DIY kits, through-hole components should be used where possible \u2013 no one likes SMT soldering by hand. But for mass production, no one likes through-hole soldering unless completely necessary.<\/p>\n

Here is the clock in action:<\/p>\n