Erin's Pendulum Clock

Objectives

COSMOS at UCSD's Cluster 2: Design and Control of Kinetic Sculptures assigned students a pendulum clock project, which covered many ideas and introduced students to new technologies. First, we worked with Computer Aided Design to craft a personalized look for our individual clocks, then simulated the motion on Working Model 2D. The physical parts were made with LaserCAMM, then put together with a multitude of new tools including drill presses, hand presses, taps, and more. In order to predict and analyze the oscillation frequencies of the clock, we were also taught new mathematical concepts such as differential equations. The goal of the project was to expose students to the manufacturing process and give them opportunities to problem-solve.