Seeing Time in a New Light
The NeoPixel Light Beam Clock uses beams of light as hands, and you can build your own for $10.
When it comes to DIY clock designs, the possibilities are endless. We’ve seen plenty of unusual timepieces here at Hackster News over the years, including this 3D clock, a clock with a mechanical seven-segment display, and a VFD clock. More recently, we came across a very interesting timepiece made by a 3D printing enthusiast who goes by the handle “schutz” over at MakerWorld. It is called the NeoPixel Light Beam Clock, and it uses beams of light in place of traditional clock hands.
The Light Beam Clock looks incredible, but it is very simple to build. All you’ll need is a WS2812B LED strip with 60 LEDs (with a density of 96 LEDs per meter) and a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 development board. Both can be purchased for about $10. Aside from that, you’ll need to 3D print a circular frame to hold the electronics. The design files have been provided by schutz for anyone wishing to download them.
When loaded with the project’s firmware, the ESP32C3 will connect to the internet via Wi-Fi to set the current time. Then, three LEDs on the strip will be illuminated to represent the hour, minute, and second hands of the clock, each in a different color. The frame angles the LEDs such that their light strikes the wall behind it, forming beams of light.
If you’d like to build your own Light Beam Clock, you can grab the 3D design files from MakerWorld, and the firmware from the project’s GitHub repository.