July 7, 2014
In horology, a tourbillon is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement and designed to improve accuracy. Although it is developed around 1795 by the French-Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, tourbillons are still included in some expensive modern watches to show off the mechanism.
"A tourbillon is the ultimate expression of mechanical beauty." said Nicholas Manousos, an engineer and a horologist. Since it is incredibly hard to see in its entirety to understand its complexity, Manousos decided to create a Tourbillon at 1000% scale using 3D printing.
But why a Tourbillon 1000%? According to its creator, "the 1000% scale is a result of the resolution capabilities of today's 3D printers." The final result is not a clock, "but rather an educational device", said Manousos. Manousos has spent the last three years designing and prototyping the Tourbillon 1000%. The piece is the symmetrical variant of George Daniels' Co-axial escapement and printed with a Delta Kinematics robot Manousos built and calibrated himself. Manousos printed all of his parts at 200 microns in PLA. The only movement part not printed is its ball bearings.
The 3D printed Tourbillon 1000% is available in very limited numbers. If you like to own one of them, contact Manousos here for details and to purchase. "Each piece will made specifically for each client; customization is possible." Manousos said.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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This is real: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1249221
What? wrote at 7/10/2014 1:21:38 PM:
Palmer, I didn't see him using his finger other than to start it. Like a pendulum and many examples of motion, you need to use a little kinetic energy to give it enough potential energy to start. The persistence of that motion is an effort to physically display a laws of energy: can't be created nor destroyed, inertial, equal/opposite reactions, etc
Joris wrote at 7/8/2014 7:37:27 PM:
Too bad it's not really a tourbillon but "just" the escapement. Looks cool non the less
P.Palmer wrote at 7/7/2014 3:12:09 PM:
Its nice but hes pushiing it with his finger to keep it moving, this is a weight problem and you cannot achieve this in plastic....
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