Task | Status | Priority | Due Date | Day | Estimated Time | Notes |
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Not Started | Medium | 2025-12-02 | Wednesday | 45 | Buy ingredients for dinner party on Friday | |
Not Started | Tuesday | 60 | Hardware Store | |||
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Not Started | Tuesday | |||||
Not Started | Tuesday | |||||
Not Started | Monday | |||||
 | Not Started | Monday | ||||
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Name
“Hours are too …”
“Hours feel too…”
“To hell with hours…”
“Hours aren’t ours”
“Local Time” Within my sphere of influence, this is who I am.
3D print/Fabricate giant chains? To signify our shackles to hours. “
Or it can be the watch bracelets.
- See other ferrofluid clocks and what they represented.
- outline concept for what the clock represents. Otherwise just literally make a clock with minutes and seconds (No hours because I wanna be more let go of the structure they represent) and find a way to drive minutes and seconds just from 1 stepper motor → solution: Hollow Clock
- Buy polishing & metalness extras.
Mechanism for this clock & printing & testing & will take a good while. Don’t get into more complicatjons. the actual next step IS FINDING A MECHANISM FOR MINUTES & HOURS ONLY OR THE FULL THING & THEN WE REMOVE GEARS: BC THIS WILL BE AWFUL AS IS.
I could otherwise have 2 steppers → nop - not how magnetism works.
And even have the seconds pointer become something else through internet-y something?
Nooooo bc they need to be on the same axis?! Or needs another layer for pointer
If pointers are under each other? What does that mean for magnets?
I could also have something in the center that is attached to a small screen showing minutes or something else. The name of the piece for example?
Doesn’t need to have markings - that does not matter - where you are within the hour.
“You have time. You just don’t have any to waste”
Why Ferrofluid
The shape of a magnetic field reminds me of silver jewelry that I’ve made. Initial forms also included a ferrofluid installation with velostat underneath activating eletromagnets through touch.
A compass measures the magnetic forces and fields of the earth. Earth’s magnetic field is very weak. We have an iron cone in motion.
Earth flips polarity every 4 million years. Magnetic North is different from the actual north and distance is increasing.
How do compasses work?
If you have a magnet that’s light enough and typically suspended in a fluid.
There’s no reason why a compass needs to be very lightweight, as long as it can spin very freely.
What if I put WD40 between the magnet and the ferrofluid? Maybe acrylic becomes smoother.
Solution: Digital compass or use a magnetometer for feedback system.
New issue: Any magnetometer sensor would lock onto the local magnet instead of Earth’s ~50 µT field, so I should have physically separated them. That starts getting into connected devices territory and even some forms of magnetic shielding.
Ferrofluid display on wheels that chases Magnetic North. Instead of children measuring growth through height on a door, growth (and therefore time) is measured how fast they can chase this little robot.
Maybe it’s
Do humans have magnet sensors? Because we do see these in animals at all?
A stepper motor itself has a coil with a (temporary) eletromagnetic field.
Everything is in motion through these principles, with electricity.
When imperial units were made, units for time were reformed too.
What could this clock be?
- A clock face that accelerates time and where the magnets flip polarity, modeled after the earth’s rhythms.
- A clock that shows Magnetic North, instead of true north - some compass underneath - what does that mean for time?
- Isn’t this shifting a lot though? a couple inches every 100 years?
- Maybe there’s a slider.
- Maybe it’s an interactive clock that person can spin and no matter what, the magnet - controlled by the motor - always adjusts to show true magnetic north through the pointer (ferrofluid on magnet)
- Without an interactive element, it would be a silly clock because magnetic north is constant unless the full structure is being moved around in space.
Magnetic Field Shapes - Andy Cavatorta’s slides
On magnetism (and attraction?)
When electrons are in motion, there’s magnetism. Iron is very magnetic but if you melt it, with a torch for example, it’s not magnetic at all. All wires have magnetic fields.
What does the clock actually show
Minutes (1 hour full) and seconds (60 seconds).
How do we know when the hour is up? Would be interesting for the seconds pointer to have some (digital) oscillation.
Driving minutes and seconds just from 1 stepper motor
Next up ‼️
Maybe motor is not even in the center.
Second & minute hand share a clock face. Does it reloops every hour?
I don’t actually need an RTC.
Polishing 3D print - getting rid of layer lines
Polishing Silk PLA might not be possible in the way we’d sand and polish other 3D prints. Sanding Grit would be around 1200.
Polishing might get it hot.
Container 3D print - Silk PLA Print Settings
What about
Silk PLA is not as strong as other materials. Should only be used for container, not for mechanical parts.
I should figure out whether Bambu Silk PLA or the other Silk PLA gives better results. Can print a temperature tower at the actual speed I intend to print in.
See Color Scheme in slicer to see problems before printing.
Rewatch video when slicing print.
Nozzle Size
Should I do a bigger one? Hardened steel vs not?
Temperature
Lower temperature = Dull matte look + More stringing
Higher temperature = Glossier Finish + Less stringing + Better Layer Blending
Normally you’d lower temperature to reduce stringing but here it’s the opposite.
Best to keep filament dry during printing so that moisture isn’t a factor. Not possible with my 3D printer - only available at Hex House or Brooklyn Spark.
Makerspace has Bambu 3DP.
Speed
Slower speeds (like 30mm/s as opposed to 100mm/s) = shinier surface + more cooling + better leveling.
If I want to print faster, enable slow down for overhangs or bridges only.
Keep fans at 100% for the entire print.
Slow down for outer walls in “Other layers speed”. Match this speed when doing a temperature tower.
If you have time, make Inner Wall and Top Surface the same slower speed for consistent gloss.
Layer Height
0.16 or lower provide higher sheen + smoother surface.
Other tips
Avoid slicer features like Ironing.
Can increase amount of top layers to prevent bubbling from lack of supports.
Use a blow torch to remove any stringing at the end.
Supports are tricky because they leave a lot of marks.
Dry filament for 4 to 6 hours before using because moisture causes crappy results.
Wet sanding may or may not be helpful because of heat on PLA.
For the yellow Matte PLA, it might be possible.
Questions left to answer
- Background on Magnetic Field of Earth
- What do I wanna show on the time face? + print gears for it.
- See Notes app
Don’t go so hard on fabrication / polishing etc. Do that later.
Also - just make the container a simple shape with spikes around it - like a cloud-y thing (?) -
Create a (?)
Name | Unit Price | Units | Total Price |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | |||
Ferrofluid | 1 | ||
Syringe to handle ferrofluid | 1 | ||
No Glare Acrylic | 1 | ||
$26.15 | 1 | ||
Stepper Motor Mount | 1 | ||
Clear Colorless Acrylic | $14.83 | 1 | |
USB-B Cable for Arduino Mega | |||
Adafruit Motor Stepper Shield v3 | $19.99 | ||
Outer container
- it should screw onto itself? So we don’t have to mess with ferrofluid
Internal container -
Internal Container
- Clean mirrored acrylic with soft dust cloth and alcohol.
- Sand acrylic pieces so that cement really gets there.
- Could use E6000 or Caulk for adhesion.
Each 1/8’’ of acrylic at a 6.5'' diameter, fits in 67.9 mL
Magnet Requirements
- Needs 3 for more spiky effect.
- Less amount of ferrofluid, just enough to cover the container.
- 6 layers of acrylic minimum.
Stages in Prototyping Tests
- Is there a value of current that could be put through a loop of wire that would produce a visible magnetic field on the ferrofluid? Through a single loop, a current that would produce an effect would melt the wire. A coil would work if testing carefully with a bench power supply likely at around 1A - therefore giving it a magnetic field temporarily - but acrylic and ferrofluid are not heat friendly. The only solution is a magnet.
- 3 internal layers of acrylic → Height is too little.
- 6x1x0.3cm NeoDymium Bar sticked onto NEMA-17 motor coupler doesn’t seem to interfere with motor working.
(Not updated at all).
test with speaker magnet?
retire my current ferrofluid container,
Next up: need to make a taller ferrofluid container that is also larger && Actually select the magnet that will give me the effect I want.
See about shapes! Maybe it’s a cloudy thing around it.
‼️Build the mechanism first - then the container to see what it needs to have
Have it represent a concept of time for the talk as well in February
Or honestly if I can make a normal clock that works - but out of ferrofluid that’s sick.
Or a timer with a potentiometer on top.
Replacing Stepper
Or Swapping Stepper
Adafruit Learning System All About Stepper Motors
Adafruit Industries Small Reduction Stepper Motor - 12VDC 32-Step 1/16 GearingPossibilities if there was more time
- See if I want this piece to be slightly more tilted
- ❌ If tilted then the fluid will all come down
- Not tilting only works if it’s one blob of fluid or two if there’s two pointers
- Could write code so that motor shuts off when HSNY is closed for business.
- Color the ferrofluid silver.
- There are shiny materials that look like they should conduct but they don’t. Would be fun for TIME Ferrofluid Clock to have a layer of conductive material around the clock that is part of the circuit.
- Gallium-based liquid metal
Q: Any fabrics that are magnetic? So you can drag time.
Possible things I might still need to order
- Bigger/stronger magnets- or more magnets within one thing.
- If there’s two things being displayed, then I need a different mechanism…. Which may be easy to do 3D printed.
- See more Magnets here.
Radial Magnets - We Know Magnets Neodymium Magnet Block N35 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/4"(A) - Radial Magnets - We Know Magnets - Can I get Square Magnets? OR Round Magnets? Does it matter?
- Acrylic from Canal Plastics
- Polishing Liquids - try to buy in person? 🤔
- Powder to make it metallic
- Stepper Motor Mount if I’m using the small one.
- WD-40
- Mix to make the fluid where ferrofluid is suspended
Materials Update #1:
- 3 of my ferrofluid orders are backed up until Nov 14 and Nov 17.
--
Questions
Next Steps
Container
Requirements
- Be waterproof.
- Do not stain.
Questions that prototype answers
- Can it be vertical / wall mounted or does it need to be on a surface?
Material options
- Resin (problematic on sanding the inside).
Making a container
Constraints:
- My acrylic cement had been used.
Discoveries:
- The container needs acrylic cement or epoxy to seal.
- If it’s acrylic, it needs a coating to make the magnet slide and so that the ferrofluid isn’t trapped.
- Clear acrylic is not the best choice. Mirrored would be a more interesting choice.
- The margin should be larger so that fluid doesn’t escape.
Tools needed to handle ferrofluid:
- Big syringe.
Other items:
- My stepper motor heats up very easily → project needs a vent in the back and a new motor.
Next up:
- Need to test if the rubber seal actually works.
- Research couplers, pulleys, gears, linkages, or aluminum tube for motor shaft.
- Glue with epoxy magnet to motor shaft coupler.
- could buy: “round glass top etsy”
Choosing a liquid coating that would keep ferrofluid away from container’s edges
“Ferrofluid is water insulated”
3D Models
Google Search: Nema-17 stepper motor shaft 3d print attachment stl
Holo Clock:
Thingiverse.com holo clockThe holo Clock strikes me as too difficult to enact because of the weight of the magnets.
Cults 3D Hollow wall clock3D models for Hollow Clocks for other motors
GrabCAD or Thingiverse or Cults3D
Thingiverse.com Hollow Clock 4 - Pico Thingiverse.com Hollow Clock Remix uses Internet Time with ESP8266Thingiverse.com Hollow Clock V
Holo Mectok holo clock kit
3D Printable Silent Desk Clock
by Steve Peterson
Ceyhun Karataş Making a Christmas clock with a 3D printer and epoxy castingInteresting clock
Thingiverse.com Triaxial Numechron ClockResources
MITK12Videos MIT Physics: Exploding Wire and Resistivity
Instructables Arduino Motor Shield TutorialAdafruit Learning System All About Stepper MotorsAdafruit Learning System Adafruit Motor Shield V2Adafruit Industries Adafruit Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield for Arduino v2 Kit
All Content:
Books
Making Things Move by Dustyn Roberts Book
Practical Eletronics for Inventors
November 13th, 2025 Class Notes
PeriscopeFilm 1958 "ABOVE AND BEYOND" NASA SOLDER & SOLDERING TECHNIQUES ELECTRONICS INSTRUCTIONAL FILM XD48824When do you first notice you have agency over your time?
“A sense that life is unfolding in a particular direction” - Alanna
“Back up to-do list (for when you’re on holiday)” - Devon
Untethered time. Bounds and constraints. But which ones provide safety?
Past tells me it’s all about balance. It’
14 version of a project is not the only one. But it should be a complete one. The version needs to have its deadline.
When I have an unrelated job, is it
How many things
Am I doing anything that well?
My survival tactics are frowned upon here.
Granula
If company monitors
Leisure, according to Aristotles = time that serves no other purpose.
9 to 5 and 5 to 9 are
Highest Tech vs Textiles.
20 November 2025
When naming my chapters, I felt the need to be very truthful (including any darkness) and for them to be fully representative of the time occurred. It’s too honest to a point that it starts being negative, when that is not in fact how I feel about the chapters at all. In a way, by always trying to be true to myself and be ethical at all times, I’m out of practice in this whole other way of living.
What are you lacking in being susceptible to a cult? Other people to reflect reality back to you.
What stories are getting purposely cut out from the archive?
Nostalgia can be forward looking and backward looking too.
Episodic vs Semantic Memory.
Are nostalgia and narrativization the same?
“No archive will restore you”.
Algorithm serving of a memory.
Would you order your chapters any differently?
Knowing edges around the chapters but having the content be abstract.
Nostalgia as a political force being imposed on you as something to go back to or as a hyperfocus on a specific emotion instead of an accurate recount with all the misconceptions of a reality.
“Freedom of not having reality weighed on you”
Nostalgia as a trojan horse.
Having these discussions on the personal vs national level is very indicative of our state of mine.
Exporting order and importing order. Entropy is the increased sense of chaos.
“Labour saving devices don’t save labour”
You need to rest before you can be reeincarnated.
Tea Time at Hex House
“Thousands marched in protest of the future’s arrival tomorrow”
Man saves Time
“Just at the moment that time ends, man survives to save time”
Time shortage
“The nation is in the grips of a massive time shortage. Everyone is encouraged to hurry and not waste time”
Human Beings Unite
“Many human beings are uniting today due to the discomfort of disunity”
Add photos from friday nov21
Silly writing on planning vs executing
As one Twitter user puts it, “now we’re all managers”.
Another counterpointed that “The only difference being that their developer is thinking about a ton of use cases and how any new requests will affect the overall architecture of the build now and down the line. Even though the headline sounds cute, managers have not been vibe coding.”
The truth did not surface at the time of closing of this newsroom. More hypothesis need to be set forth before an official statement is made.
A business consulting team will then conduct further research on these aforementioned hypotheses and according to recent studies, is 100% likely to require assistance from a coalition of academic research centers, such is the complexity of the matter.
Until then, interested parties will stay inert as they study their own role in the matter. Confidants, lovers and mental health specialists operating on a B2SC (Business 2 Silly Consumer) model will man the support team. Occasionally there might be contract workers who were wrongfully told they’re on the a Truman Show run by the MTA on the pay roll say a few words of encouragement. (Editor’s note: When management noticed the mistake, senior management deemed it would be too sensitive to issue a notice this late. Instead, these contract workers will continue to be staffed at various stations in and around the MTA to provide words of encouragement to those who may be tasked with an architecture assessment on any given day). As the reader may notice, risk management is a way of life for this institution. we pride ourselves on being.
Stay online and ready, the daily paper .
Quote of the day: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it," Henry Ford, a star business manager who did not invent the automobile, but revolutionized ✨ manufacturing as a process ✨, system if you will.