Festo’s Harmonices Mundi is a technical work of art comprising a mechanical calendar clock with an integrated infinite calendar up to the year 4900 and an astrolabe in the form of an astronomical clock. Calculated, conceived, designed and built in his spare time by Professor Scheurenbrand, former director of research and development, it represents a synthesis of mechanics, electronics, astronomy and melodics and stands as a symbol for intellectual innovation and ultimate precision at the Festo Technology Centre in Germany.
Smaller versions of these precision-engineered masterpieces with the same functionality, aesthetics and harmony have been created, and are presented as awards on special occasions for outstanding achievement. Festo South Africa is the proud recipient of one of these awards.
Festo’s Astrolabium is the most accurate astronomical clock ever built. It is 500 times more accurate than the famous astronomical clock in Strasbourg cathedral. It shows the positions of the sun, moon, planets and constellations and even forthcoming solar and lunar eclipses can be read from it. It adopts the classical form of geoclassic representation and takes it to an unparalleled level of precision thanks to new calculation methods for the gears. In the original, the movements of the various pointers are derived from the minute drive of a radio controlled quartz clock via numerous gears with a very complex design. About 300 gearwheels grouped into numerous gear assemblies ensure the most precise possible representations of the motions of the sun, moon and stars.
In the award version, 11 stepper motors provide the control for exact positioning of the pointers. They are controlled by a processor that calculates the respective position angles of the pointers of the sun, moon and planets from the time signals of a radio clock at minute intervals via a stored program.
To achieve a high level of accuracy, all deviations in orbit have been taken into account and incorporated as correction factors. Long term orbit data, that also take into account mutual perturbations of the planets as mean values over a century, form the basis for calculation of the gears and the processor-controlled movement of the stepper motors.
The mechanical calendar clock displays not only the time and day of the week, but also the complete date. All features of the calendar up to the year 4900 are taken into account. This design requires a number of logic circuits to take into account all features of the Gregorian calendar. Professor Scheurenbrand’s design provides an elegant solution for incorporating these circuits.
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