Three-Axis 3D Printed Tourbillon Clock – Now Ticking Away at PADT

3D printed Tourbillon 3-axis clock mechanism, assembled at PADT Inc., Tempe AZ

A year ago we highlighted the beginnings of an unusual project undertaken by PADT’s Senior 3D Printing Service Technician, Justin Baxter, in the post Three Dimensions of Time, featuring an enlarged, 3D version of a Tourbillon watch mechanism. That post showed the first (test version) of three subassemblies that would come together after literally hundreds of hours of printing and assembly work to comprise a working three-axis clock.

MiniMechanicaScreenshot
Original test part for the single-axis Mini-Tourbillon clock, printed in 2021. (Image courtesy PADT Inc.)

For a bit of background, an excellent write-up on this concept is on MyMiniFactory, which is also where you’ll find the complete description of the 3D-printable Tourbillon clock from a designer called Mechanistic. Check out this mesmerizing video of his clock in action. Mechanistic has previously done other awesome designs but this one is truly astounding in the level of detail required for both printing and assembly.

Now, check out the PADT version, complete and equally (if not more) awesome.

Justin recently set up the clock in the PADT Tempe, Arizona Demo Room so visitors can enjoy examining the more than one hundred 3D printed components, ranging from the wind-up key to the colorful standoffs to the custom-designed pendulum weights. The latter elements replace the original mainspring, increasing the clock’s runtime between rewinds. (We told you Justin knows a thing or two about the fine art of horology!)

IMG 0666
Close-up of the three- axis mechanism of the Tourbillon clock, showing the EOS metal “Axis 1 Upper Cage” and various colored or clear Stratasys J55 PolyJet stand-off components, along with FDM springs, gears and brackets. This central section rides around the secondary axis mechanism on the circular geared track, which then rotates around the third axis (half-arch yoke). (Image courtesy PADT Inc.)

The Tourbillon clock part production took advantage of almost every 3D printer PADT operates, spanning four of the seven ASTM standard AM technologies:

The project took advantage of several dozen material types, colors and secondary processes, which show up in the colorful stand-offs, metal pointers and clear brackets – some opaque, some translucent and others either as-printed or heat-treated.

IMG 0665 Hours
Black/blue/white Hour indicator printed as a single part on a Stratasys J55 PolyJet 3D Printer. An Ultraclear Polyjet bracket holds a heat-treated 316SS pointer that was printed on an EOS M290 metal printer for the Hour hand. (Image courtesy PADT Inc.)
IMG 0667 Minutes
Black/blue/white Minute indicator printed as a single part on a Stratasys J55 PolyJet 3D Printer. An Ultraclear Polyjet bracket holds an as-printed 316SS pointer printed on an EOS M290 metal printer for the Minute hand. In the background is the Nylon 12CF wind-up key. (Image courtesy PADT Inc.)
Three Axis Illustration
Diagram showing the three structures that comprise the three axes of the Tourbillon clock. All other components provide power to the clock and move the hour- and minute-hands to the correct display numbers. (Image from Mechanista’s Tourbillon Mechanica Tri-Axial Printing & Assembly Guide)

The largest diameter gear and the two driving gears that ride on it were printed in Diran, a Stratasys FDM material similar to Delrin. The larger gears in the base are ULTEM 1010, the smaller ones ABS and ASA, the third-axis arm and second-axis “bridge” are Nylon 12CF, and the wind-up key was also printed in Nylon 12CF. The top section to Axis 1, with three radiating arms, was printed in aluminum on the EOS M290 laser powder-bed system.

IMG 0664 GearBase
Complex gear structure of at the base of the 3-axis Tourbillon clock, which powers the clock and drives the hour and minute indicators. 3D printed parts in this section made use of ULTEM 1010, Antero (PEKK), ABS and ASA (printed on Stratasys FDM systems) and glass-filled Nylon (printed on a DTM (now 3D Systems) SLS system). Cords are used to suspend pendulum weights. (Image courtesy PADT Inc.)

Stratasys Quality Simplifies Clock Assembly

The instructions for printing and assembling all the clock components fill a 125-page document, and even include a section called Ultra Critical Print Parts. Here, the author cautions, “In order to avoid re-printing the same part over and over again to obtain the best fit, I’ve created fitting jigs which (are) essentially a clone of all bearing assembly features with varying dimensions. Print all fitting jigs using the identical printer, filament, nozzle size and print settings that you intend to use for the actual part. Insert bearings into the respective slots and identify the best fit slot number.”

Optional test-print – not needed for any Stratasys 3D printed part. (Image from Mechanista’s Tourbillon Mechanica Tri-Axial Printing & Assembly Guide)

I asked Justin if he did this and how it all worked out. His reply: “I did not print any of the test-fit fixtures, I printed only the “zero” parts and they all fit perfectly. The Stratasys machines are accurate enough that it wasn’t a concern; even when assembling different materials printed on different machines, the tolerances were spot on and needed no adjustment.”

This fits-right-first-time accuracy (detailed in the public Stratasys report, “FDM System Repeatability and Reliability Report – White Paper”), allowed Justin to leapfrog many pages of instructions and save hours of unnecessary trial-and-error printing. He says truly the most time-consuming part of the project was measuring and cutting tiny steel rod-stock sections to create the custom pins.

PADT Inc. is a globally recognized provider of Numerical Simulation, Product Development and 3D Printing/3D Scanning products and services. For more information on Stratasys and EOS printers and materials, contact us at info@padtinc.com.

Categories

Get Your Ansys Products & Support from the Engineers who Contribute to this Blog.

Technical Expertise to Enable your Additive Manufacturing Success.

PADT’s Pulse Newsletter

Keep up to date on what is going on at PADT by subscribing to our newsletter.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Share this post:

Upcoming Events

09/26/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Houston

09/22/2023

AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Technical Symposium 2023

09/22/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Dallas, TX

09/21/2023

Accelerating the Energy Transition through Simulation

09/20/2023

3D Printing vs. CNC Machining - Webinar

09/13/2023

Maxwell Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

09/12/2023

Sandia Science & Technology Park 25th Anniversary

09/12/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Tempe, AZ

09/08/2023

26th Annual New Mexico Flying 40 Awards

09/08/2023

New Mexico Tech Summit

09/07/2023

New Mexico Tech Summit

08/30/2023

Structures Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 (1) - Mechanical, Post & Graphics

08/23/2023

Improved Injection Molding with Additive - Webinar

08/22/2023

SPIE Optics & Photonics Exhibition 2023

08/16/2023

Fluids Updates in Ansys 2023 R2 - Webinar

08/04/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Salt Lake City, Utah

08/01/2023

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Denver Colorado

07/26/2023

Solving Supply Chain Issues with Additive - Webinar

07/25/2023

Arizona Tech Leadership Golf Tournament

07/24/2023

Arizona Tech CEO Leadership Retreat

07/19/2023

System Automation & Optimization Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

07/13/2023

2023 AEROSPACE, AVIATION, DEFENSE AND MANUFACTURING CONFERENCE

07/12/2023

Materials Updates in Ansys Granta 2023 R1 - Webinar

06/30/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/29/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/28/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/28/2023

Revolutionize Packaging Design with Additive - Webinar

06/27/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/27/2023

2023 E-MOBILITY AND CLEAN ENERGY SUMMIT

06/26/2023

Turbo Expo 2023

06/21/2023

Optics Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

06/07/2023

LS-DYNA Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

05/31/2023

Driving Automotive Innovation with Additive - Webinar

05/24/2023

Hill Air Force Base Tech Expo

05/24/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 (3) – Structural Optimization & Ex

05/23/2023

CROSSTALK 2023: Emerging Opportunities for Advanced Manufacturing Smal

05/10/2023

Signal & Power Integrity Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

04/26/2023

Additive Manufacturing Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

04/20/2023

38th Space Symposium Arizona Space Industry

More Info

04/19/2023

38th Space Symposium
Arizona Space Industry

04/19/2023

Additive Aids for Manufacturing - Webinar

04/18/2023

38th Space Symposium
Arizona Space Industry

04/17/2023

38th Space Symposium

04/13/2023

Venture Madness 2023

04/12/2023

Fluid Meshing & GPU-Solver Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

03/29/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/29/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Composites, Fracture & MAPDL

03/28/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/27/2023

8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/26/2023

8TH Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference

03/24/2023

Arizona BioPreneur Conference | Spring 2023

03/22/2023

2023 Arizona MedTech Conference

03/22/2023

Optimize Jigs & Fixtures with Additive - Webinar

03/15/2023

3D Design Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

03/08/2023

Competitive Advantages of 1D/3D Coupled Simulation - Webinar

03/01/2023

High Frequency Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 - Webinar

02/22/2023

Additive Advantages in Aerospace - Webinar

02/15/2023

Structural Updates in Ansys 2023 R1 (1) - Webinar

02/09/2023

IME 2023: MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

02/08/2023

IME 2023 MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

02/07/2023

IME 2023 MD&M | WestPack | ATX | D&M | Plastek

01/27/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/26/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/26/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/26/2023

Venture Cafe Phoenix Talent Night - Job Fari

01/26/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/25/2023

Arizona Photonics Days, 2023

01/25/2023

Building A.M.- Utah: Kickoff!

01/25/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/25/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/24/2023

VFS 2023 Autonomous/Electric VTOL Symposium

01/24/2023

TIPE 3D Printing | 2023

01/18/2023

2023 AZ Tech Council Golf Tournament

12/21/2022

Simulation Best Practices for 5G Technology - Webinar

12/14/2022

Digital Twins Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

12/08/2022

Tech the Halls - AZ Tech Council Holiday Mixer

12/07/2022

Electric Vehicle and Other Infrastructure Update Panel

11/30/2022

SPEOS Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

11/23/2022

Simulation Best Practices for Electronics Reliability - Webinar

11/16/2022

Discovery Updates in Ansys 2022 R2

11/10/2022

VentureCafe Phoenix Panel: Venture Capital in AZ

11/08/2022

2022 GOVERNOR’S CELEBRATION OF INNOVATION AWARDS + TECH SHOWCASE

11/03/2022

VentureCafe Phoenix Panel: Angel Investment in AZ

11/02/2022

High & Low Frequency Electromagnetics Updates in Ansys 2022 R2

10/26/2022

Simulation Best Practices For Chip-Package-System Design & Development

10/20/2022

Nerdtoberfest 2022

10/19/2022

2022 Southern Arizona Tech + Business Expo

10/19/2022

LS-DYNA Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

10/17/2022

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Clearfield Utah

10/14/2022

ASU School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks - Formal Opening Cele

10/14/2022

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Midvale Utah

10/12/2022

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Littleton Colorado

10/06/2022

Fluids Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

10/05/2022

Experience Stratasys Truck Tour - Colorado Springs

09/29/2022

White Hat Life Science Investor Conference - 2022

09/28/2022

2022 AZBio Awards

09/28/2022

Simulation Best Practices for Rotating Machinery Design & Development

09/21/2022

ExperienceIT NM 2022

09/21/2022

Additive Updates in Ansys 2022 R2 - Webinar

Search in PADT site

Contact Us

Most of our customers receive their support over the phone or via email. Customers who are close by can also set up a face-to-face appointment with one of our engineers.

For most locations, simply contact us: