Bringing some old world class to the new age, Matthew “Rick” Shaw has provided instructions and downloadable prints for a 3D printed pocket watch. All of the gears and plates can be printed if compatible with the models. A few parts still need to be purchased separately like the springs, which require tension not readily available with 3D printing and a glass front if that is the customer’s face choice. However, as Shaw points out, there are numerous clear materials available for 3D printers, so the limitations are confined to printers and material available, and it will take precise measurements to attain the right compatibility.
Shaw takes the space and time to not only explain the basic premise of the pocket watch, but he also provides two links for guidelines concerning pocket watch function, one short and one long. While a lot of prints work like Legos snapping into place, the inner workings of a watch, any watch, requires meticulous attention to detail and a complex working of gears and springs. Luckily, Instructables provides a platform for Shaw’s pocket watch in an easy-to-follow guideline.
Shaw provides a paraphrase of the instructional videos, “The Balance Wheel is the key to the watch. It is attached to a spring, and is pushed by the Fork Pin. When pushed, it spins a little before the spring pulls it back, knocking the fork pin on its way past, which gives it an extra little push to continue the momentum. By doing this, the fork pin is able to quickly move from side to side, allowing two paddles to catch and release a wheel with long pointed teeth called the escape wheel. This is the ticking sound you hear from watches, and is what controls the speed of the watch. A series of gears are attached which pass the motion on in a way that gives the correct rate for each hand. The power for the watch comes from a second spring inside the barrel of another gear. When you wind the top, the spring is tightened, and releases slowly, pushing the chain of gears.”
With sites like Instructables and 3D printing aficionados like Matthew Shaw, 3D printing continues to maintain its DIY aura as the industry continues to expand into corporate realms. Projects like the pocket watch provide a dignity, not only in style but in artistic and communal integrity found with the free exchange of ideas.
Source: Instructables
