Clock escapement

This escapement serves the purpose of converting the pendulum motion into an intermittent rotary motion for the operation of the clock. It also transfers the potential energy of the weight into the pendulum motion, so that the pendulum keeps swinging.

I have designed 3 different escapements, functionally interchangeable in the clock design (though the complete clock design shows escapement 1). They all use the same attachment for the pendulum. The part list for each escapement is found at the bottom of this page.

• Escapement 1

  

  This escapement is made by putting two 6-spoked constructions together. They are mirror images of each other, and then rotated 90 degrees on the axle. In order to assure sufficient rigidity, I made the two halves mesh through the use of the 14-tooth gears (which is cheating, really). The two pairs of double wheels by which they connect to the axle are then 1 brick-width apart; the result may be gleaned from the side view in the complete clock .

  In order to mesh properly, all 14-tooth gears need to be aligned so that a single teeth points in the direction of the axle of length 4 (there are always two ways of mounting the 14-tooth gear, since 14 is not divisible by 4). I used the old type of this gear, since I do not yet have enough of the new type; you may possibly achieve the same rigidity of the escapement by putting those new types one way up on the one 6-spoked half, and the other way up on the other 6-spoke, but I cannot test this.

• Escapement 2

  

  This version is also made out of two 6-spoked halves, mirror images to each other. The rigidity is obtained by the black 'm' parts (see parts list below). Make the two halves and press them together on the axle.

• Escapement 3

  

  This version is also made out of four 3-spoked subassemblies, two of them mirror images of the other two, which are identical. This is the simplest escapement.

• Amnon's escapement
  Amnon Silverstein made an escapement on a rather different principle, with a lot fewer parts. Check it out here.

               +-------------------------------------------------+
               |   b  c  f  i m*  n q A2 A3 A4 A10 Z14 tri-prong |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| escapement 1 |   0  0 24 24  0 12 4  0 12 12   1  12     0     |
| escapement 2 |  12 12 12  0 12 12 4  0 12  0   1   0     0     |
| escapement 3 |  12  0 12  2 12  0 0 12  0  0   1   0     4     |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------+
       m* is the black version of m
       A  is an axle, with its length
       Z  is a gear, with its number of teeth