Hi,
I’m in need of a small freewheelto use on my project, and I hope someone here will know of a place to get one.
The project is this: I found an old digital flip-clock in my neighbor’s trash. I removed the flip clock mechanism and I have a microcontroller driving a stepper motor to set the flip clock’s time automatically. (The time comes from a GPS module. I can detect when the flip clock advances past midnight by setting the clock’s alarm to midnight - the alarm triggers a switch. From there, I just track how much I turn the setting wheel.)
Everything works great. But after hours of operation, the clock stops advancing. The problem is that the setting wheel is supposed to turn slowly as time elapses. The stepper motor, even with no power to it, has enough inertia that the shaft of the setting wheel can’t turn. After several hours, the clock stops.
So I figure I need a freewheel to allow the shaft to turn when the stepper isn’t moving, while still allowing the stepper to rotate the shaft. It’s diameter should be on the order of an inch.
I’ve never seen such a thing for sale. If you know a source, I’d be grateful for your help.
Thank you,
Bob