I don’t currently have any visible clocks on display in my house. I’m never without my watch or phone, and I decided that if I were to sacrifice some space for a dedicated timepiece, it would need to be something special, different, or interesting.

That’s exactly what these 3D-printed clocks are.

Fully functional mechanical 3D-printed clock

Complete with pendulum

You can buy a simple clock mechanism for relatively cheap; they’re even available for sale on the MakerWorld shop. Most of the clock designs featured today don’t actually make use of a simple mechanism, instead opting for more interesting ways to keep time.

This mechanical clock is fully 3D printed except for one part: the pendulum rod. The designer recommends an “M6 threaded rod with a minimum length of 1.1 m” in order to keep the mechanism moving and the clock accurate. This design “costs” around 700g in filament and presents you with a detailed yet satisfying build project.

Take a peek at the detailed instructions before you print it to see what’s entailed—it looks a lot like putting LEGO kits together to me. Once built, the clock should keep itself running and will almost certainly start a conversation with anyone who is visiting. This is the revised second version, but the original is still available (which requires more non-3D-printed parts).

Word Clock

Bring it to life with an ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Zero W

3D printed ESP32 word clock by MakerWorld user Johniak.Credit: Johniak / MakerWorld

A word clock is, unsurprisingly, a clock that tells the time with words. Rather than seeing the numbers 10:20, you’ll see the words “twenty past ten” instead. This is a fun spin on the simple act of telling the time, bound to brighten up any kitchen, office, or anywhere else you want to stick it.

This 3D-printed word clock uses an addressable LED strip, a printer with a multi-material system (like Bambu Lab’s AMS), and a Raspberry Pi Zero W or ESP32 microcontroller. Some soldering is required, and you’ll need a few extra bits like screws and wires (on top of 2m of LED strip).

Flip clock

With an RTC module to track the time when it’s off

An oldie but a goody, this flip clock design has been sitting on Thingiverse since 2020, with a GitHub repo dedicated to the build that includes a bill of materials, plus instructions for printing, assembling, and calibrating the clock. At the end of it, you’ll have a physical moving flip clock made from 3D-printed parts.

Powered by a small Arduino-compatible microcontroller, the clock uses stepper motors and drivers to move the flaps. In addition to tracking time even when the power is off, the clock will automatically adhere to US daylight saving time.

Wandering hour clock

Once you figure out how it works, it’s great

Wandering hour clock by David Kingsman on Printables.Credit: David Kingsman / Printables

I spent a few minutes staring at this clock, trying to figure out how exactly one is supposed to read the time. It turns out that it’s incredibly easy: the current hour always points at a minute counter at the bottom of the screen. So as 9 o’clock approaches the 60-minute mark, 10 o’clock will reach the 0-minute mark and start again.

A rework of an existing project, the wandering clock depends on an upcycled IKEA Bondis wall clock (though you could probably adapt other mechanisms to suit), a few screws, and some bearings. The Printables project has detailed instructions for assembling everything, and of course you can customize the colors to suit whatever room you’re putting it in.

Cube clock

Two cubes move to tell the time

Cube clock by KRASNOVSKY on MakerWorld.Credit: KRASNOVSKY / MakerWorld

This minimalist cube clock works with Bambu Lab’s clock component kit or cheap IKEA (and other) clock mechanisms. It’s incredibly simple: the background is a static cube, while two more cubes sit on top. One is connected to the minute hand, the other to the hour hand. As the time changes, so does the shape of the clock, making for an interesting and ever-changing timepiece.

There’s nothing particularly complex about this one, but it’s the perfect example of a fast project that you can make yourself using old clock mechanisms that might just be lying around. Go even further by customizing the clock face, changing the colors, or adding a light to the back of the design.

Many of these projects depend on an ESP32 or similar microcontroller. Check out some more 3D printing projects you can only make with an ESP32.