Raspberry Pi Clock Project

Overview

This project uses a Raspberry Pi to control a motor using keyboard input and timing. It simulates a clock, running at a user-set speed.

Hardware Required

• 28BYJ-48 Stepper Motor
• ULN2003 Motor Driver Module
• Raspberry Pi
• T-board (GPIO extension board)
• Breadboard

Assembly Instructions

Motor + Driver

• Plug the stepper motor into the white connector on the ULN2003 driver board.

Power

• Connect:

  • + to 5V on Raspberry Pi
  • - to GND on Raspberry Pi

Control Pins

Connect driver inputs to GPIO:

Driver Pin	Raspberry Pi GPIO
IN1	GPIO17
IN2	GPIO18
IN3	GPIO27
IN4	GPIO22

GPIO Extension (T-board)

• Use a ribbon cable to connect the T-Cobbler to the Raspberry Pi

• Make sure:

  • The red stripe aligns with Pin 1 (near the SD card slot)
  • The cable orientation matches the "J" column on the breadboard

CAD Files

• Available as:

  • Fusion archive files
  • STL files

Parts to print:

• StepperMotorArmV2
• clockBody

Notes:

• Other arms in CAD files are compatible with different motors
• A test body is included for experimenting with motor peg spacing in CAD files

Starting the Program

1. Set up your Raspberry Pi

• Connect your Raspberry Pi (with Raspberry Pi OS or simular installed) to:

  • Monitor
  • Keyboard
  • Mouse

• Power it on and open the Terminal.

2. Open the Terminal

• Click the terminal icon in the top menu bar OR
• Press: Ctrl + Alt + T

3. Navigate to your file

Use the cd command to go to the folder containing your script:

cd /path/to/your/file

4. Run the program

python3 main.py

Using the Program

• Follow the instructions printed in the terminal.

• Use the following during calibration:

  • Left Arrow to rotate motor left
  • Right Arrow to rotate motor right

• Use the following afterwards:

  • 1 to rotate the clock hand at one rotation per minute
  • 2 to rotate the clock hand at one rotation per hour
  • 3 to rotate the clock hand at one rotation every 12 hours

• Press Enter repeatedly or Ctrl + C to stop the program at any time.

More Information

For images and additional details, visit:

https://www.notion.so/Raspberry-Pi-Clock-34dec355cc71804cb621e4a4db88a392?source=copy_link