I purchased the original orrery plans from Clayton Boyer designs. I used these plans as a starting point, and modified a majority of the design to have a custom enclosure. The gear ratios and the parts used for the brass tubing and rods were really the only thing I didn’t change. The enclosure was designed by me, and uses a combination of walnut and maple proofgrade plywood, and clear acrylic. The constallation and Zodiac artwork was purchased off Creative Market. I purchased planet marbles off Amazon and Etsy, instead of making my own planets. Overall, I am very happy with the way this turned out!
The original orrery plans incorporated a hank crank to move the plants. I modified the design to use a motor instead. I used a 3 RPM gear motor from ServoCity to rotate the gears and the planets.
Aloha Mike…that orrery is a “WOW!!!”
Spectacular work and amazing detail. YOU are the reason that I ask builders for pictures. I absolutely love seeing this kind of builder creativity.
Thank you for sharing these pictures of your beautiful and unique Copernican Planetary Orrery. You certainly have created an orrery you can be quite proud of, and thank you for doing the CPO plans so proud.
Enjoy! Aloha.
So you want a Glowforge more than ever. I’m happy to answer your questions, and I’ve mentored a number of new Glowforge users to help get them started. If you’d like to use my referral code, I’d be delighted and use the credits to buy more Proofgrade materials for future creations. I’ve added a contact form here if you’d like to ask anything I haven’t covered. You’ll love owning a Glowforge!
Here is my Glowforge referral code and link: TBPLHPFL
