My colleague Fabian came up with a complete redesign of the clock's housing. Instead of using a wooden frame as in the previous version, the clock will only consist of two (or three) plates mounted on top of each other. The top plate will serve as screen while the actuators and electronic components will be mounted on the bottom plate(s).

With this design the clock will be open on all sides so that one can observe the linear actuators moving. We are also thinking about using transparent sheets to close up the actuators so that the gears inside the actuator are also visible.

Instead of mounting every single actuator separately on the back plate, all actuators within a single row now have a common housing. This should greatly improve the assembly process and also reduces the amount of 3D printed components.