A finished thing

"phenotyp" (phenotyp)
07/11/2019 at 13:30 • Filed to: industrial design, mechanical engineering, design, orrery, worklopnik

Don’t think I ever shared the finished product on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and figured it was worth it for the gearheads. I was the designer on a bunch of the parts of this; lots of work on material and finish, getting the 4-foot diameter brass disc made (had to source it from a shipbuilder, shipped from Maryland to Wisconsin to Texas ), milled, and inked, and the overall look and feel.

My good friends at the engineering firm did all the heavy lifting. It was a crazy project, a one-off for a nerd, and I love it so much.

Copypaste from the client’s site:

The Earth’s precession moves the Earth’s vernal equinox a fraction of a degree every year. This movement defines our astronomical age. The clock tracks the ages by creating a line from the earth on the vernal equinox, through the sun and down to the year hand pointing to the year, the astronomical and astrological age. The song The Age of Aquarius heralds the coming of the age of Aquarius, predicted to be an age of enlightenment and peace. The Tycho astronomical clock accurately shows the Sun entering the constellation Aquarius in the year 2597. The clock tracks all 13 astronomical ages and 12 astrological ages over 27,000 years.

The Tycho Astronomical Clock is a dynamic centerpiece and while it tracks current time, it can be moved to any point in time from 11,000 BC to 16,000 AD and the planets will be accurately located to the best predictive locations defined by NASA and begin to track the time at that point on. The Tycho Astronomical clock can also be accelerated to elegantly demonstrate the movements of the planets showing the elegant movement of the planets through time. The clock can also demonstrate astronomical events including alignments and the earths precession creating a dynamic feature in any space.

Anyway, I think it’s pretty cool.

DISCUSSION (32)

CaptDale - is secretly British > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:03

Beautiful!

vondon302 > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:13

Too damn cool.

Oh and gorgeous too.

Chariotoflove > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:13

That’s really wonderful, and so cool to be a part of it.

phenotyp > Chariotoflove
07/11/2019 at 14:28

Yeah, pretty rad project. Too bad it’s in a dude’s home office, and not viewable by everyone. But the project was pretty amazing. Hardware, software, interface, and craftsmanship all put together.

phenotyp > CaptDale - is secretly British
07/11/2019 at 14:28

functionoverfashion > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:28

That is amazing, I’d love to see it working in person.

On a related note, a nearby science museum has a scale model of the solar system on their grounds. It’s set up in a straight line, along an old railroad bed. I think Pluto is something like 2 miles down the rails. Cool for different reasons, very simple, fixed in place, and nothing like the piece above.

CaptDale - is secretly British > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:32

What did that run?

phenotyp > functionoverfashion
07/11/2019 at 14:32

That’s a super cool idea! I’d LOVE to design museum stuff. There’s so much possibility for inspiring people.

phenotyp > CaptDale - is secretly British
07/11/2019 at 14:35

It was a custom build on a Pi, if that’s what you’re asking.

Kinja'd!!!

CaptDale - is secretly British > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:38

I more me n t cost, but running off a pi is very cool use for that.

phenotyp > CaptDale - is secretly British
07/11/2019 at 14:40

Cost was... a lot. I’m guessing 250-350K. For a toy in an office. But it was a very small part of the overall.

functionoverfashion > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:44

This is a highly interactive childrens’ museum, and I’ve said every time we go there, I’d love to just work in the exhibit building and maintenance department. Tons of interesting builds and engineering challenges. Making stuff that won’t break or hurt people with constant abuse, all that.

But not to distract from the piece you shared, that’s really incredible!

CaptDale - is secretly British > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:48

Holy crap!

phenotyp > functionoverfashion
07/11/2019 at 14:48

Which museum? We have a great place in Austin (Thinkery), which has done a great job over the years of changing out exhibits and encouraging learning. Though I’m still missing the water organ that played sounds that sounded like Aphex Twin in the late 90s.

phenotyp > CaptDale - is secretly British
07/11/2019 at 14:50

Holy crap indeed: the toilets were $10K apiece.

functionoverfashion > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 14:58

This is Montshire in Vermont - just over the New Hamp- SHIRE border. They have some rotating exhibits, so something is always new when we go every 3-6 months. They do a fantastic job, I’m sure there’s a lot more going on there that we’ve missed.

phenotyp > functionoverfashion
07/11/2019 at 15:00

Next time I’m in Maine I’m gonna have to look that up. Thanks!

ttyymmnn > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 15:00

Orrery: one of my favorite words.

functionoverfashion > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 15:02

In the winter they do Friday night adult nights where they have beer, wine, and no kids and you can do all the stuff you want to do when you’re there with your kids, but can’t.

phenotyp > ttyymmnn
07/11/2019 at 15:02

And one of the hardest for people to pronounce.

phenotyp > functionoverfashion
07/11/2019 at 15:03

Love it.

Chariotoflove > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 15:22

R eminds me of Au gh ra’s observatory in the Dark Crystal . I’ve always loved that stuff.

CaptDale - is secretly British > phenotyp
07/11/2019 at 15:27

Wait...... How?!