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Opening Fibo Module

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Digital Sundial

  • PLA
  • Advanced
  • Secondary
  • High school

About this print

A sundial that shows the time in digits inside its shadow, from 10:00 to 16:00 in 20-minute steps. No batteries, no electronics: the shape is calculated so only the right sunrays get through at each time.

A striking way into the Earth's rotation, the Sun's apparent path, latitude and time zones, and into how mathematics designs a shape. There are versions for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Design by Michal Potocký on Printables, shared under CC BY 4.0. The files and photos are the designer's, unchanged.

Printing and using it

  1. Print the gnomon for your hemisphere: most of Indonesia, Jakarta included, is south of the equator.
  2. The "NETFABBED" files are repaired versions; use them if your slicer complains.
  3. Set it up facing true north/south and adjust the time by turning the gnomon.
  4. Students record the displayed time against a clock over a day and explain any difference.

Photos