Empty spools make useful tools, like counters

What's the point of getting things done? There's a Seinfeld anecdote that boils down to this: get a schedule, do one thing, and do a big X every day you do the thing. Soon you'll be craving chains of X, then you'll want to black out the month. That's good advice.

[3D Printy] loves streaks too and took several resolutions in early 2022. As the first of 30 videos to be made throughout the year, they featured this giant 3D printed counting mechanism (video , embedded below) that uses empty filament spools, 3D prints, and not much else. These are all Hatchbox coils, and won't work for all types, but the design should accommodate other flavors.

This isn't [3D Printy]'s first counter rodeo - it's made several full-sized ones and perfected a clever carryover mechanism in the process, which is of course open-source. So each reel represents a single digit, and there are coins printed in the core that cause the count to carry over to the next reel. While early meters used a threaded rod, this giant version sits on a smooth 2.5mm rod, so the coils can separate easily. But how does it all stay together? A giant TPU filament rubber band, of course, because the answer is always in the room.

Watch the video after the break and stay for the 900% accelerated assembly at the end.

Thanks for the tip, [Zane]!