nmanousos
14
material, resolution, price
horological 3d printing can be thought of in terms of a "pick any two" euler diagram - material, resolution and price.
technology exists to print at a resolution usable a watch scale, fully assembled, in suitable materials (different metal alloys), but the price is extremely expensive. it's easy to predict prices when working with 3d printing, since it is an additive process. the cubic volume of any part is directly related to the price to print. microfabrica is a company working at this level, their focus is the medical device field.
fused filament fabrication printers represent a choice of material and price over resolution, and allow for rapid iteration. the effect of this is that everything needs to be scaled up to work in horological applications. 1000% is a good scale, since it allows a direct relationship between millimeter and centimeter scale.
3D-printing updates?
I recall John having aquired a 3D-printer quite a while ago. So I wanted to ask about his experiences with this technology. My curiosity was stimulated by a report by Rainer Nienaber I read a short while ago. Rainer is very eager to try out new technologi...
the materials
In the mean time the materials are improving. I have now seen plastic rapid prototyping parts used successfully in automotive prototypes, but for watchmaking I think they are still far away. Those automotive people think that a 3mm screw is miniscule. But...
3D-printed tourbillon
Here is a 3D-printed tourbillon I made, it is at 1000% scale. ...
Thanks for showing! ...
This is interesting! However, from your post title, I had expected the technical breakthrough of a tiny wristwatch tourbillon from the 3d printer. Somehow I am relieved to see that technology has not come so far already. Your tourbillon has an interesting...
with hairspring
That's the carriage counterweight. The orange is the balance wheel. Here is another photo showing it with the hairspring installed. It works well. Now, I'm focusing on a version with a symmetrical co-axial escapement instead of a lever. ...
Great stuff!
Maybe you'll find the time to make a video of your printed tourbillon operating? Marcus
I was hoping you'd chime in!
Thanks Nick. Why not YouTube it? Share it with the whole world. :-)
another try
try this one: <iframe width="640" height="480" src="/" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> EDIT: I embedded the video, so it can be viewed directly in this post. Marcus
more photos
Here are two more photos, showing different stages of work on the carriage, and the hairspring. ...
it's a lot of fun
Hello Marcus, I've started a blog devoted to my adventures in 3d printing (well, mostly about building my bot, which has spun out into an OCD steampunk modified creation of completely indefensible time and effort) that you can likely google just looking f...
material, resolution, price
horological 3d printing can be thought of in terms of a "pick any two" euler diagram - material, resolution and price. technology exists to print at a resolution usable a watch scale, fully assembled, in suitable materials (different metal alloys), but th...