Different options are available with runtimes ranging from 7.8 days to 32 days.
This is a great starter clock because of the simplified construction. Use the forum at to discuss clock making topics or assembly issues. Go to to download the latest assembly guide. Some of the changes that make this clock to be easy to build also made it more efficient and the runtime was able to be significantly increased. These are only fuzzy thoughts about my next project – certainly, it will be something else (as long as it is challenging and inspiring).This is my easiest to build clock with a runtime of up to 32 days. I'm wondering, if I would buy a 0.25 mm nozzle, if gears with module 0.3 are printable ( that is, it might be possible to print smaller gear teeth and thus make a smaller watch -Ed.) If I'd also replace the plastic main-spring by a real steel spring, it might be possible to print a wearable thing that runs for 12-24 hours. Maybe the published watch can help? I certainly won't stop constructing things with my 3D printer. Since I very much like designing complex mechanics in 3D, I'm keen to find a new profession. My family explained, that my time-out is over now. That was the moment when I realized, that a clock is THE living creature, which finally made (it make) sense to own a 3D printer. Some iterations later I had designed and printed the gear-train with hollow shafts for the 3 clock-hands, "only" the escapement was missing. I wanted something useful, and so I started experimenting with custom LEGO-gears for my children. When I bought my first 3D printer, I realized, that many people were designing "stupid" decoration pieces. What was your inspiration for focusing on horological 3D printing? In my case, my mistake in designing the Tourbillon 1000% was sticking with conventional, modern movement layout.
There are a lot of reasons for this (including the height of early fusée cones, and the fact that the earliest known escapement – the verge – is inherently thick) but one relevant issue is that machining techniques for those first watches didn't allow for the high precision needed for a flat ( Lépine style) movement.
#3d printed mechanical clock portable
If you take a look at early portable timepieces – the first watches – you'll see that they're often nearly as tall as they are wide. Notice that his tourbillon is directly on top of his mainspring barrel. So, instead of using traditional horizontal movement architecture, Laimer instead built upwards, layering parts vertically. (One part in particular causes the most problems – the mainplate). Usually, traditional watch movement architecture isn't compatible with ratio between nozzle diameter and bed size found in most 3D printers. These two variables determine the overall scale at which the project can be printed – for practical purposes in a watchmaking project, they determine how small you can make your watch. How did Christoph Laimer overcome the issues that I faced before stopping work? He built his watch by arranging his gears in a vertical stack rather than the usual horizontal arrangement, and also he used a different type of bearing than I did.Ī major consideration in any 3D printing project is the relation between the nozzle diameter (X/Y resolution) and bed size (how big a printed part can be, in X/Y/Z). The only non-printed parts are the metal pins used as the axes for the gears, and some screws and washers (aka "vitamins" as non-printed components are called in the 3D printing community).
To top it off, Laimer made all of the source files available for free! Sure there have been watch components made in the past, but this is the first (as far as we have been able to determine) entire, working watch that is 3D printed: every gear, escapement component, the case, even the balance spring and mainspring – and we have to emphasize that it's not just a collection of files, it's actually running. The whole thing is 98mm in diameter, and 93mm tall – coincidentally, exactly the same diameter as the Vacheron Constantin ref. What matters is that this watch was manufactured using an affordable consumer level 3D printer (an Ultimaker 2). Sure, it's a bit large (a pocket watch, not a wristwatch, and they'd need to be good sized pockets to boot) not very accurate, and only runs for about 30 minutes – but none of that is what really matters.
You can wind it, set the time, and carry it with you. Think about it: the tourbillon – a 200+ year old invention designed by one of the greatest watchmakers to ever live, which for most of its history has been practically synonymous with hand-craftsmanship and high end watchmaking, has been produced in a working watch with a 3D printer. This is an actual watch, with a tourbillon, that is almost entirely 3D printed.
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