BEZICRON Is an Electromechanical Clock That Renders Digits in an Utterly Novel Way
Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi’s electromechanical clock, called BEZICRON, proves that new innovation is possible in the world of numerical displays.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, some clever maker comes along to show you that new innovations are always possible. One might think that we’ve already discovered every possible way of displaying numerical digits — at least with the technology available today. But one would be very wrong and Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi’s electromechanical clock, called BEZICRON, proves it.
You’ve seen flip-dot displays and mechanical seven-segment displays, but this is something new. BEZICRON displays each numerical digit of the time as an elastic band wrapped around arms that stretch and pull the band into shape. In total, there are 10 such arms for each of the four digits, plus another four to move the two “dots” of the colon around in an unnecessary, but pleasing, way.
The most interesting part of this unique design is that each digit only requires a single drive motor to move all 10 arms. Because this is a clock, the numbers always change in sequential order before rolling back over to zero. Therefore, one motor can move all 10 arms through a set of gears, cams, and cam followers. It is very clever and we’re impressed that Kalsi was able to achieve such an interesting visual display with mechanical drivetrain.
20mm geared stepper motors drive the mechanisms, as they require a fair amount of torque. A custom control board based on a Microchip ATmega8 microcontroller turns those motors through A4988 drivers. A3144 Hall effect sensors enable a homing routine that lets the clock start up properly. Two buttons give the user the ability to set the time. It doesn’t appear that Kalsi added a dedicated real-time clock, so the device is likely keeping time with the microcontroller alone and turning the motors at a constant rate.
The clock’s base, frame, and digit mechanisms were all custom-designed and 3D-printed. Instead of hiding the inner workings, Kalsi’s design shows them off proudly and even highlights them with the use of red filament that contrasts with the primary white filament.
And for something so unique, BEZICRON actually seems quite practical as a clock. The numbers are easy to read and cam-guided mechanisms tend to be reliable.