Amorphous Watch Plate Manufacturing via Supercooled Forging
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high manufacturing costs and complexity of producing precise watch plates with complex geometries, exacerbated by the need for expensive machining techniques and surface decorations, make existing methods inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing amorphous materials that can be shaped at low temperatures and stress levels, allowing for precise reproduction of fine geometries through forging or casting, enabling simultaneous manufacturing and decoration, and reducing material thickness while using high mechanical performance alloys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional machining techniques are used to produce precise watch plates with complex geometries, then manufacturing precision is achieved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical state parameters of the material by using amorphous metals in a supercooled liquid state between Tg and Tx temperatures. This parameter change allows the material to be formed under low stress conditions while maintaining high precision, eliminating the need for complex digitally controlled machining centres and reducing device complexity significantly
Solution Approach 2:
The invention exploits the phase transition characteristics of amorphous metals within the temperature range [Tg−Tx], where the material transitions from a rigid state to a soft, moldable state. This phase transition enables the material to flow and reproduce fine geometries under low stress, achieving high manufacturing precision without requiring complex machining equipment
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional machining techniques are used to produce precise watch plates, then manufacturing precision is achieved, but production time and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the temperature parameters to within the [Tg−Tx] range, the material viscosity decreases dramatically, allowing it to be formed rapidly under low stress. This parameter change enables quick reproduction of precise geometries without the time-consuming multi-step machining process, significantly improving productivity while maintaining precision
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary preparation of amorphous metal sheets with controlled thickness and composition before forming. This preliminary action ensures that when the material is heated to the forming temperature, it can be rapidly shaped with high precision, reducing overall production time by eliminating the need for multiple post-processing machining steps
3Productivity
If amorphous materials are used with forging method, then manufacturing cost and production time are reduced, but equipment and process control complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses parameter changes to soften the amorphous material within the [Tg−Tx] temperature range, allowing it to be formed under low stress conditions. This approach replaces expensive digitally controlled machining centres with simpler forging equipment, reducing device complexity while maintaining high production speed and precision
Solution Approach 2:
The invention substitutes complex mechanical machining systems with a thermally-assisted forming system. By heating the amorphous material to the appropriate temperature range, the material becomes soft and moldable, allowing simple forging tools to achieve geometries that would otherwise require complex CNC machining equipment
4Ease of manufacture
If amorphous materials are heated to softening temperature, then ease of shaping is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter to within the [Tg−Tx] range, where amorphous materials exhibit reduced viscosity and increased formability. This parameter change allows the material to be shaped more easily at lower temperatures compared to traditional melting or high-temperature processes, reducing energy consumption while improving ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies heating locally to the amorphous metal sheet only in the regions that need to be formed, rather than heating the entire material to high temperatures. This localized heating approach reduces overall energy consumption while providing sufficient thermal energy to soften the material in the forming zones, improving ease of shaping efficiently
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces production time and costs while maintaining precision, allowing for the use of less complex tools and enabling the creation of more resistant, thinner watch plates with integrated decorations, thus overcoming the limitations of traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
these amorphous metals have the peculiar characteristic of softening while remaining amorphous within a given temperature range [Tg−Tx] particular to each alloy (Tg: the vitreous transition temperature and Tx: the crystallisation temperature)
Implementation Method 2
the viscosity of the alloy is greatly decreased, allowing it to mould to all the details of the dies
Implementation Method 3
cooling everything so as to obtain said timepiece plate in an at least partially amorphous state
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of making a timepiece plate. This method is characterized in that it includes the following steps:a) taking (A1, A2) the material forming the plate including at least one metallic element;b) forming (B1, B2) the plate;c) cooling (C) everything so as to obtain the timepiece plate in an at least partially amorphous state; andd) retrieving (D) the plate.