Pivot Time V2

Pivot Time

A custom-built round desktop clock with live weather, powered by an ESP8266 and designed end-to-end — schematic, PCB, enclosure, and firmware — as a hands-on way to learn embedded hardware design.

Overview

Pivot Time started as a simple question: could I build a clock that looks like a tiny smartwatch sitting on my desk?

What began as a single round display turned into a full project spanning three disciplines I wanted to get better at: PCB design in KiCad, enclosure modeling in Fusion 360, and embedded firmware in C++/Arduino. Along the way it grew a battery, a charging circuit, a power switch, and a live weather feed — and became a real, physical object I designed from a blank schematic sheet to a finished, wearable-style desk piece.

Features

Tech Stack

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Repository Structure

PivotTime/
├── README.md
├── CAD/
│   ├── Bottom.STEP
│   ├── Top.STEP
│   └── PCB.STEP
├── PCB/
│   ├── PivotTime.kicad_pro
│   ├── PivotTime.kicad_sch
│   └── PivotTime.kicad_pcb
├── Firmware/
│   └── pivot_time.ino
└── production/
    ├── gerbers.zip
    ├── Top.stl
    ├── Bottom.stl
    └── pivot_time.ino

Screenshots

Schematic

PCB Layout

Finished Build

What I Learned

• Designing a schematic and routing a two-sided PCB from scratch in KiCad
• Creating custom symbols and footprints for modules without off-the-shelf library parts
• Reading and resolving DRC violations, including intentional courtyard overlaps for stacked components
• Modeling an enclosure in Fusion 360 around a real, imported PCB (via STEP export)
• Writing ESP8266 firmware that connects to Wi-Fi, syncs time over NTP, and consumes a REST weather API
• Centering and laying out UI content for a circular display, where content near the corners gets clipped by the glass