World's first 3D printed tourbillon watch
While most major watch brands hustle to create their own version of a smart watch, one designer is taking watch innovation in a very different direction. Christoph Laimer, a Swiss Engineer, just created the world's first 3D printable tourbillon watch. The best part: his designs are all open source, which means you can now make your own at home.
The Laimer Tourbillon is an innovative design with the heart beating highly visible in the core. The key function to indicate the time is direct and straight. Balance, Escape Wheel, Tourbillon Cage, Hands, and Barrel are all arranged co-axial. Gears for the transmission from the Barrel, and the reduction from Seconds to Minutes and Hours are placed behind the Tourbillon in order to keep the design circular.
All parts are 3d-printed except a few screws and pins. The concept also includes a 3d-printed Mainspring even though it is irrational (plastic is not elastic - it slowly flows and deforms). In order to make it 3d-printable, a lot of engineering effort was invested. The complete movement was essentially re-invented. The resulting timepiece works surprisingly well - of course, with it's runtime and accuracy, it can't compete with a conventional watch.
The project demonstrates that the 3D-printing technology is developing. Compared with earlier generations of 3d-printers, the process works more reliable and more accurately. However it's still a very advanced project, because printing inaccuracies need to be trimmed manually with some watchmaker skills, or the watch won't tick.