Additive Timepiece Waterproof Joint With Etched Base Tolerancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing waterproof joints in timepieces, such as thermoplastic seals, struggle to meet strict tolerance criteria for dimensions and surface finish, particularly in additive manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving additive manufacturing where a bespoke print bed mat with etched tolerances is used to produce precise waterproof joints, allowing for iterative growth and verification against predetermined setpoint values to ensure strict tolerances are met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If additive manufacturing is used to produce waterproof joints, then small series production is enabled without expensive tooling, but manufacturing precision and tolerance compliance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The base is pre-machined with a precisely etched negative geometry of the reference surface before additive manufacturing begins. This preliminary precision action establishes a tolerance-compliant foundation that guides the subsequent additive material deposition, ensuring the final component achieves strict dimensional tolerances without requiring expensive post-processing or tooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The machined base acts as an intermediary element between the additive manufacturing process and the final precision requirement. By transferring the precise negative geometry from the machined base to the additive material, the system bridges the gap between the low-precision additive process and the high-precision tolerance requirements, enabling precision production without traditional moulds.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional injection moulding is used to produce seals, then manufacturing precision and tolerance compliance are improved, but device complexity and tooling costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential precision requirement from the traditional injection moulding process by isolating it into a separate base preparation step. Instead of requiring a complete mould system, only a simple machined base with etched geometry is needed, dramatically simplifying the overall device while maintaining precision through the base's pre-established negative geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The precise geometry is copied from the machined base surface to the additive material through the additive manufacturing process. The base serves as a physical template or master model, and the additive material replicates its negative geometry, achieving precision through copying rather than through complex moulding tooling.
3Device complexity
If additive manufacturing is used without a machined base, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision and surface finish deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A simple but essential preliminary action is introduced: machining the base to create a precisely etched negative geometry. This relatively simple preparatory step establishes the precision framework that enables the entire additive manufacturing process to achieve tolerance compliance without requiring complex equipment or procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention shifts the precision requirement from the additive manufacturing process itself to the base preparation dimension. By establishing precision in the base's etched geometry before additive manufacturing, the system transfers the dimensional control burden to a different stage where simple machining and etching can achieve the required tolerances more easily than direct additive manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a timepiece component, a first part whereof includes a toleranced first reference surface, whereby, in a first step, a first material is chosen to produce this first part by additive manufacturing, and a base is prepared; in a second step, a base surface is etched in the base, which base surface is the negative of the first reference surface, and the base is positioned on an additive manufacturing means; in a third step, the first part of the component is grown by additive manufacturing in contact with the whole of the base surface; in a fourth step, the development of the first part is verified against a predetermined setpoint value, and the third additive manufacturing step is repeated iteratively until the desired level of development has been reached.