Comments:
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 technologies, since especially for an independent watchmaker these could be useful within the small production series typical for him. After a rather disappointing experience with a laser sintered watch case, he decided to give 3d printing a try.
So he designed a simple watchdial:
... and approached several companies offering 3d print services.
The dial should be 0.4mm thick, with the numerals raised by another 0.5mm. However, not a single print service provider would accept such an order, due to the small dimensions. The production tolerances simply were too large, so the dial thickness without the numerals should have been at least 1mm.
He then ordered some simple parts for a watch holder, which worked rather well:
Drilling the material proved difficult, due to its softness.
However, it would have been easier to integrate the drill hole in the print template already.
Apparently, working watch movement parts from a 3d printer are still a vision yet to be realized.
Marcus
So he designed a simple watchdial:
... and approached several companies offering 3d print services.
The dial should be 0.4mm thick, with the numerals raised by another 0.5mm. However, not a single print service provider would accept such an order, due to the small dimensions. The production tolerances simply were too large, so the dial thickness without the numerals should have been at least 1mm.
He then ordered some simple parts for a watch holder, which worked rather well:
Drilling the material proved difficult, due to its softness.
However, it would have been easier to integrate the drill hole in the print template already.
Apparently, working watch movement parts from a 3d printer are still a vision yet to be realized.
Marcus
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 it is much bigger than anything I have ever seen in a watch.
Those are just different worlds.
Don
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 it is much bigger than anything I have ever seen in a watch.
Those are just different worlds.
Don
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 design. What is the green "collet" or ring within the orange balance wheel (I suppose it is the balance)?
Marcus
This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2013-12-18 11:34:22
Your tourbillon has an interesting design. What is the green "collet" or ring within the orange balance wheel (I suppose it is the balance)?
Marcus
This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2013-12-18 11:34:22
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
Marcus
I was hoping you'd chime in!
Thanks Nick. Why not YouTube it? Share it with the whole world. 
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 for ei8htohms.
I didn't get into 3d printing expecting any immediate applications for horology other than for large scale jigs and things, for which it really is quite useful. I can't share most of that type of work publicly unfortunately since it is mostly for work however. I do have plans to make a 3d printed pocket watch case for an beautiful old Patek movement I have (sort of a study in contrasting manufacturing methods) and I'd love to make some 3d printed horological models although I don't plan to be as "purist" about them as Nick is (he's got very well defined ideas about how the models should be made that actually increases the difficulty a great deal from a development standpoint, I hope he will explain a little here if we prod him).
The thing that 3d printing explorations have done to me that I did not really expect was that they have turned me into a small-time industrial designer. When I come up with an idea and iterate it until it works, I'm usually so invested by that point that I want to share it with others, so plenty of things I've come up with I share on Thingiverse in a manner that allows others to customize, download and print them for themselves.
This 3d printed "cord stopper" went through about 7 or 8 different design iterations before I arrived at something I was happy with and now a couple hundred folks have downloaded it and hopefully a few of them have printed them out and are using them.
An amusing fact about 3d printing at this stage is that the vast majority of the things that folks design and print on them are parts for 3d printers. Of course this is the backbone of the RepRap movement, but for me it's just meant making enhancements and add-ons for my printer like this "duelling fan mount".
As far as real world horological applications go, I don't think we're that far off from minimum functionality while still possibly a ways off from doing something that is actually desirable outside of the sheer "wow" factor at having printed a watch mechanism (similar to the "wow" factor of the Sistem51 perhaps?). For example, look at the stuff that this company is doing:
Amazing what they can do at this size in 3d printed metal already, but the surface finish is very rough and surely horrible for friction and transfer of energy (and it would surely make a LOT of metal dust in use). That said, the technology is advancing so fast that it would be silly to say that we're all that far from something that could function as a watch mechanism and could possibly be printed as a complete system with no assembly required.
_john
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.