www.3ders.org

Apr. 3, 2015 | By Alec

It’s always great to see Kickstarter projects involving 3D printing doing well and realizing their goals, but the custom watch American Artisan Series isn’t an ordinary 3D printing crowdfunding project. While most involve components for (or even entirely) new 3D printers or 3D printed toys, this project by Vortic LLC is using 3D printing technology to give new life to classic American pocket watches from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s an inspiring project that pays tribute to the marvels of classic manufacturing and craftsmanship by relying on the latest 3D printing technologies.

As Tyler Wolfe from Vortic explained to 3ders.org, their watches essentially combine parts from salvaged vintage pocket watches and 3D metal printed components to replace missing or broken parts and cases. ‘The watches use the time keeping components (the movement) from antique pocket watches. These movements were made by the companies that made pocket watches for America’s railroads in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s,’ Tyler explains. ‘We print our patent pending cases out of metal, and we use our own Formlabs SLA printer to create custom resin inserts for each individual movement that fits in the slot of the metal case.’

For those of you unfamiliar with the details of watch components, ‘the movement’ is (as you might expect) the part of the watch that moves. While just about every modern watch relies on battery powered quartz movement, batteries invariably run out of power eventually – unlike the wonderful watches of old. ‘The movements we are using here (known as manual wind mechanical movements) have been running inside of a pocket watch for around 100 years, and all they need to keep going is a few twists of the crown (the button or small pin on the side or top of the watch face) every 24 to 48hrs,’ the guys from Vortic explain on their website.

But these watches also specifically pay tribute to a great American watch making tradition. For as part of the expansion of the American railroads in the late 1800s and early 1900s, time became increasingly important. ‘[The railroads] often found themselves significantly off schedule for a reason that we take for granted today; they did not have a consistent way of keeping time. This is when three American companies took the initiative and started manufacturing high quality, precision time pieces for our railroad's engineers,’ the guys write.

And this American Artisan Series of watches pays tribute to those three companies, which were: The Elgin National Watch Company (Chicago, Illinois), the Waltham or American Watch Company (Boston, Massachusetts) and the Hamilton Watch Company (Lancaster, Pennsylvania).

To make these new yet classic wrist watches, Vortic bought up tons of old pocket watches last year, professionally cleaning and servicing every one before converting them into wrist watches. In December 2014 Vortic successfully gathered $41,000 in pledges through a Kickstarter campaign to take these watches into production, and – just one month behind on schedule – are set to start shipping their reborn wrist watches in May. But as they assure they backers, that month has not been wasted, as they have incorporated various improvements in design and a few components. And to prove their confidence in these 3D printed watches, they have also decided to include warranties with each watch (including the ones through Kickstarter).

As Tyler explains to 3ders.org, all of their 3D printed cases have been made on ExOne’s M-Flex 3D printer using 316 stainless steel. To ensure complete precision, they have teamed up with Colorado-based Swiss-O-Matic manufacturers. ‘After the parts come off the printer they are infiltrated with bronze, a patina is applied, and each one is clear coated (the finishes are very unique and interesting). I can’t speak as to how quickly each case is printed, but after we place an order we can expect to receive parts in 3-5 weeks,’ Tyler explains.

The manufacturing process.

During that process, they have found that 3D printing technology is enormously beneficial. ‘3D printing allows us to make small runs of products, prototype quickly, and make every single part custom. Because of this we are able to time and cost effectively make a custom product for each customer, Tyler tells us.

Now the long-awaited time is finally approaching: the watches are almost ready to ship. According to Tyler they have complete confidence in the quality of their watches, and everything we’ve seen so far looks amazing. But for everyone who missed the initial Kickstarter, there’s some more good news: Vortic has also started offering these watches through their website here. These vintage watches can be pre-ordered for anywhere between $1300 and $1600 (and are set to rise further once all orders are completed). But even at these prices, these watches are a steal. How often do you have to opportunity to bring the past and future together into one gorgeous timepiece? 

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

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