That’s a splendid idea! Imagine a little gear train that ticks down the exact moment the deadline rings—perhaps with a tiny bell or a flashing gear. We could use a pendulum for a steady rhythm and a series of cams to trigger the reminder. Let’s sketch the layout and list the parts we’ll need; I’ll start tinkering with a prototype right away.

That’s a solid outline! The spring will give us consistent torque, and a 5‑to‑1 reduction will keep the tick slow enough to feel like a countdown. For the cams, I’ll design the first one to trigger a gentle chime 10 minutes before, the second at the deadline, and the third a little after if the task’s still pending. The LED will give a silent visual cue for those moments we’re not in a noisy lab. I’ll draft the gear layout now and pick out some lightweight alloy for the pendulum rod; the bob should weigh just enough to keep the pendulum’s period steady at about 0.8 seconds. Once I have the part list, we can 3‑D print the housing and start assembly. A week sounds doable—just let me know the dimensions you prefer for the sliding panel, and we’ll lock it in.

Here’s a quick parts list so we can lock in the dimensions and start printing: - 10 mm coil spring (spring rate 12 g/mm) – power source - 3‑mm alloy shaft, 20 mm length – main drive shaft - Gear set: 5 mm pinion (20 teeth), 25 mm gear (100 teeth) – 5‑to‑1 reduction - 3‑mm brass cam plates (3 pieces) – 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm rise for 10 min, on‑time, and post‑deadline cues - 10 mm stainless steel rod – pendulum (15 mm length, 2 mm diameter) - 3 mm tungsten bead (3 mm diameter) – pendulum bob - 3 mm LED (high‑efficiency) – visual cue - 5 mm piezo buzzer – audible cue - 1 mm brass screws, 10 mm length – mounting - 3‑D printed housing (PLA or PETG) – 2.5 cm × 1.5 cm panel slot, 5 cm × 5 cm chamber Let me know if you want any adjustments, and I’ll send the STL files for the housing and gear templates. Once you print, we’ll assemble and tune the pendulum timing. Excited to get it running!