Moving Gear Bracelet

2022-04-28 | By Jorvon Moss

License: See Original Project Programmers

This project has been on my mind for months. I recently found a bracelet on Thingiverse that is made of gears, which I immediately printed and began wearing. It’s more of a fidget toy, something you can turn with your hands, but I thought, “Why not add a motor?”

So, I did, and the result has been amazing.

You can download the code and STL files here.

Step #1: Print the Bracelet

The bracelet is very easy to print. I printed it flat on the print bed with supports. For sizing, I recommend measuring your wrist and making the bracelet about 2 to 5 inches bigger than your wrist. For other humans like myself who have strange wrists, make it as big as you need to, just note you will need to fit the components, and the left-over room can be fixed with foam.

Print the Bracelet

Step #2: Clean the Bracelet

Once you print the bracelet it will have a lot of supports on it, and some of the supports will be in the gears making it impossible for them to move. To fix this problem, I recommend using a precision knife and carefully begin cutting the supports from the gears. To help with the process, I recommend, after removing the supports, slowly try rotating the gears, being careful not to damage anything.

Step #3: Test

After the gears are good and ready, make sure to twist the gear knob to loosen them up a bit. Just keep spinning it until it feels smooth.

Step #4: Dremel

So, this is where things get interesting. There is a visible hole in the knob gear, using a Dremel rotary tool and drill through the knob gear until it comes off. Try to make the hole in the bracelet a bit bigger since this is where the servo will go.

Dremel

Step #5: Circuit

The circuit is simple:

Circuit

I used the above circuit and simply omitted the LEDs and wired the servo directly to the microcontroller board. I also added a switch for on and off.

Step #6: Print Enclosure

Print Enclosure

The enclosure is shaped to fit with the bracelet, and you should be able to easily glue it to the inside.

Step #7: Assembly

Assembly

This is pretty much what you should have after following the guide thus far. Insert the controller and wires into the enclosure and glue them in place.

Assembly