MechWatch PCB Watch Ready for Everyday Use

“J_Hodgie,” who just completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, decided to make a watch that would show off both his advanced electrical…

Jeremy Cook
6 years agoWearables

“J_Hodgie,” who just completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, decided to make a watch that would show off both his advanced electrical and mechanical knowledge. What he came up with he calls the “MechWatch,” based on the ATmega328P along with an RTC to keep accurate time.

The watch uses 24 LEDs arranged around the circumference of the watch face as hour and minute indicators. Since this can only show time to within five minute intervals, another four LEDs are lined up inside the face to indicate the exact time.

As seen in the first build video below, SMD soldering techniques are used to attach the electronics together, reducing a decently sized component list down to something that can be worn on one’s wrist.

In order to make the watch practical for everyday use, Hodgie even included an inductive charging coil to power the onboard lithium battery. This allows it to easily recharge on the custom stand that he also made for it, and avoids using a vulnerable and inconvenient charging port.

The electronics of this build would be impressive enough by itself, but he also made a custom case for it out of aluminum. This required a rather detailed machining procedure on a small CNC router, seen in the second video

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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