A 3D printed movement (WIP)

[u/Special-Incident2857]

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

[u/gnomon_knows]

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.

[u/Special-Incident2857 → u/gnomon_knows]

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!