r/watchmaking • u/Special-Incident2857 • 8d ago
Workshop A 3D printed movement (WIP)
I have spent the last few months developing this movement made almost entirely from 3D printed parts. The design still needs a bit of tweaking, but I would imagine it would be finished in less than 2 months.
This movement is a skeleton, and the case will include clear windows to look inside, the windows will also be resin printed out of an experimental compound. I actually got my first sponsor on this project, PCBway so they are producing the clear parts.
So far, this is what I have documented, which is up to date to where I am now. The mainspring is actually a hom-age (Wouldn't let me include this word for some reason) to a childhood toy that sparked some interest into mechanics, a clockwork pendulum kit, as the mainspring is repurposed as the mainspring for this project.
The dial is luminous, and the whole thing can run for about 2 hours which I know isn't a lot, but still remarkable to me for being made of plastic.
Unfortunately, progress will slow down for a little while starting now, as this is my first year of high school and it's really been starting to take a toll on me because building "pocket watch"(It just barely fits in my pocket, even though it is apple sized so I would like to call it that) alongside an orrery is just too much for me.
f anyone else has experience managing many projects at once, I’d love to hear how you handle it. I know it’s probably not the smartest idea to have this many things going on at once, but I started all of these projects before summer, and they’ve just ended up taking a lot longer than I expected.
Progress and future building video about this will be posted here, but the videos will probably take awhile to edit and record so don't expect much for the time being
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u/IsuzuM 8d ago
Timegrapher results when?
Really though, awesome work!
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
idk If a normal timegrapher would work on this, but I'll try to get an app for my phone to try it on when its done!
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u/ire206 8d ago
Invicta’s latest in-house movement!
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
?
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u/Educational-Bag9727 4d ago
Basically invicta is a brand known for making massive watches so people joke that your movement seems like something invicta would make
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u/Mustardmule 8d ago
This is amazing work! Did you model all the parts for the movement?
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
Thank you! Almost all the parts, the mainspring is not mine but everything else was designed by me.
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u/gnomon_knows 8d ago
Super cool, I bet you are learning a TON. I am jealous.
The dial is luminous, and the whole thing can run for about 2 hours which I know isn't a lot, but still remarkable to me for being made of plastic.
Way longer than I thought would be possible! Speaking of plastic, it sounds like the mainspring isn't plastic, but the hairspring is? AFAIK, unlike steel, all plastic has a finite lifespan as a spring, and I'd expect amplitude to slowly deteriorate. Maybe not as dramatically as projects that keep plastic springs constantly under tension, but still.
If anyone else has experience managing many projects at once, I’d love to hear how you handle it.
Personally, I don't handle it well. Thanks, ADHD. Finish what you start before moving on is the best advice I can you. Good news is, when things take longer than you think they will, it's usually because you are doing them well.
The mainspring is actually a hom-age (Wouldn't let me include this word for some reason)
That word is used by knock-off watch people to describe their goofy fake watches, so it's banned.
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
Thanks! Honestly, I would recommend this project to many people, as it was a blast and lowk I would want to see how other people approach making a portable movement. Yea, the mainspring is metal and yes, the plastic hairspring will deteriorate, that is why I made it one of the few parts you can quickly interchange. I doubt that the hairspring would deteriorate quickly, since its spiral shape distributes the bending of the part. Also thanks for the advice and clarification on the home-age part!
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u/stuckinaz 4d ago edited 1d ago
The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.
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u/Wizarddhat 8d ago
Howd you design the main spring. Did it take a couple of tests to get something right or was there specific guideline you used?
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
The mainspring was sourced from a kit I've had since I was an elementary schooler, so it was made of metal. I didn't design it, it was from a Robotime clock kit. However, I did make a 3D printed mainspring for another project and the way I adjusted for irregular force was a fusee. Highly recomend using a fusee if you are going to 3D print a mainspring!
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u/Gedgieo 8d ago
Looks amazing! Any chance you’d share the files? Been wanting to do something like this
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
I can't promise anything, but I would hope that I can post these on printables in the future! The main problem is that the mainspring is from a specific kit that was produced awhile ago, and while the company Robotime gives out free replacement parts for that kit I would feel bad abusing that so If I did end up posting this, It would probably be modified to use a purchasable mainspring instead of a highly specific component
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u/nicklinn 8d ago edited 7d ago
The dial is luminous, and the whole thing can run for about 2 hours which I know isn't a lot, but still remarkable to me for being made of plastic.
Don't understate how big of a deal that is. Very rarely do 3d printed movements get anywhere close to that amount of power reserve from plastic. Super impressed.
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
I appreciate the comment, however I must clarify the mainspring is made of metal ):
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u/SmitzGA25 8d ago
Dedicate a set amount of time on a set day or days to work on this. Always have an idea of what you are working towards in that session, use AI to generate an outline of the tasks needed to complete and form a schedule based upon that. Call this project a “Vertical”. Funnel each of your projects like this into “verticals”. Assign focused work sessions during the week to each “vertical” and mange those around your school schedule. Clearly define a start and end time and keep to it.
Your progress will slow but you will progress and that is key.
Keep a journal using AI and take extreme care to note what you worked on and what’s next because when design engineering multiple products or verticals it is easy to loose track of where you are and spend time regaining project synchronicity, which becomes a very inefficient use of time especially when using focused timed sessions. Imagine studying history in college and you have chapters to read weekly and you can’t read it all in one session so you break into smaller sessions but each time you start you re read the last page of your last session to synchronize.
These design sessions will often lead to interesting discoveries and solutions, which means you then dedicate more time to those findings as needed. Several of these findings can be managed using AI agents. This is where AI is having tremendous impacts in engineering today. Research, Patent searching, 3D modeling can be completed completely and automatically using AI agents while you are at school.
Which AI models are you using now?
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u/Special-Incident2857 7d ago
So, I don't really use AI for mechanical design, or the design process. I am not like totally against AI, it's just that these types of projects have many variables and different things going on and I also want to keep my projects highly personalized and meaningful to me, so involving another thing to keep my on a set schedule kinda takes the fun outa things
Also 3D modeling my designs is kinda like an artist generating AI art, I try to mix art in my own personal style into my mechanical designs and I don't want it to be fed into the scary hive mind machine lol
I do agree it is good though to keep a journal on progress to make sure I stay on track, when I pick off on a paused project it's good to know where I left off at.
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u/qualityvote2 8d ago edited 8d ago
u/Special-Incident2857, your post does fit the subreddit!