Silicon wafer clock
Posted By azog on April 16, 2010
I suppose this isn’t very original, but I know I haven’t done it before. And if it is original, well, I’d be surprised, cause it just seems so “natural”:
This is an analog clock face using a silicon wafer.
I was randomly browsing ebay when I suddenly stumbled on several wafer listings. On a whim I did a “Buy now”, and this is what I got:
It’s an 8″ round wafer. The pattern is interesting. Not knowing a single thing about silicon wafers, I like to think this is a production test wafer, cause it almost likes like those varying shades of gray you see for copier or photograph tests.
Anyways, all I did was get two peices of 9″ unfinished MDF, glue them together (to make it thicker), and pick up a clock movement at Michael’s. The movement came with gold hands, but I didn’t think that would contrast very well with the shiny surface of the wafer, so I got black hour and minute hands, instead.
Drilling a hole thru the wafer was a bit daunting. I actually cracked it, but thankfully it’s not very visible. I need to polish it now, after my fingers have been all over it. If you ever handle a wafer, make sure you really do use clean cotton gloves, something that won’t scratch it. Not only will you prevent smudges, but you might even actually scratch the surface, it’s extremely delicate. There are several smaller scratches, but they don’t seem to appear, but even so…
Comments
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.