what is the best way to duplicate watch wheel?

[vanjuxa]

Ive got 2 watches
One complete ( nearly sold )
other incomplete / one wheel is missing on incomplete watch ( cant get any spare parts for current model )

I can use all parameters from the first watch or my idea was to send it to jewellers
not sure if they can scan it and make some 3d moulding for example

Please give me some advise and best options to make a copy from the part

 

[vanjuxa]

GLASHUTTE UROFA

 

[vanjuxa]

right

 

[vanjuxa]

too many numbers in my had

 

[Skutt50]

Have you tried locating a used part?

Google " UROFA 59 parts". I found at least three eBay ads with your watch and who offered "Parts on request".

 

[vanjuxa]

non on ebay ( asked )

 

[praezis]

non on ebay ( asked )

I will check if I have it in stock.

 

[praezis]

I will check if I have it in stock.

Unfortunately only one it no good shape.

Frank

 

[vanjuxa]

Frank - can you message me please

 

[karlmansson]

A watch wheel needs to be cut. To match older wheels, probably with a topping tool. For modern ones probably with an approximated epicycloid cutter like from the Thornton cutter system.

Casting can be a way to get a blank but it will still need to be machined inside and out. So using a sheet stock blank is probably easier.

I see you found a more practical solution to your problem but this is to answer your original question.

 

[vanjuxa]

>@karlmansson Ive got some access to casting but the person does the jewelery from 3d and such things
thats the only option we can try for the future parts
by the way jeweler things its possible to make it ( print on machine I do believe )
what type of metal should be used?

 

[karlmansson]

>@karlmansson Ive got some access to casting but the person does the jewelery from 3d and such things
thats the only option we can try for the future parts
by the way jeweler things its possible to make it ( print on machine I do believe )
what type of metal should be used?

Printing won’t hold the tolerances needed or more importantly surface finish needed for a wristwatch wheel. Cosmetically it will not look anything close to original and it will likely not run without a great deal of post processing.

The original wheel will have been some sort of brass alloy. Probably gold plated.

But I hope I clarified that watch wheels need to be cut with a milling cutter or dedicated topping tool file. The tolerances for the tooth profile in higher end watches are very tight.

 

[vanjuxa]

Printing won’t hold the tolerances needed or more importantly surface finish needed for a wristwatch wheel. Cosmetically it will not look anything close to original and it will likely not run without a great deal of post processing.

The original wheel will have been some sort of brass alloy. Probably gold plated.

But I hope I clarified that watch wheels need to be cut with a milling cutter or dedicated topping tool file. The tolerances for the tooth profile in higher end watches are very tight.

Yes thank you karlmansson
Milling cutter is ineradicable tool
My good friend senior got this machine only as a decor in his workshop and I dont think we will use it
Unfortunately this option is unavailable for me at all

the casting solution might be not good at all as you mentioned
All I want is to see the result and how hard will need work on it ( refinishing )
also this technology of printing can be made on a super quality machinery only
3d jeweler needs type in all measurements and make this wheel in 3d
One day I will make some test and will show you the result

 

[karlmansson]

Yes thank you karlmansson
Milling cutter is ineradicable tool
My good friend senior got this machine only as a decor in his workshop and I dont think we will use it
Unfortunately this option is unavailable for me at all

the casting solution might be not good at all as you mentioned
All I want is to see the result and how hard will need work on it ( refinishing )
also this technology of printing can be made on a super quality machinery only
3d jeweler needs type in all measurements and make this wheel in 3d
One day I will make some test and will show you the result

If he uses it for decoration I assume it’s a topping tool. As I mentioned, those tooth profiles are appropriate for older watches. For something recent, such as the watch you asked about, something like this is probably what you would need. Used in a milling machine with rotary table or indexed lathe spindle with milling attachment. Wheel Cutter - Horological Cutter Makers

What printing process did you have in mind? Only SLS comes to mind as a process to me. And that does not generate a surface finish fitting for a bearing surface. You can’t get a finish finer than the powder used either.

The other option that comes to mind is what jewelers usually do in regards to 3D printing: lost PLA or lost wax investment casting. In which case you have doubly troublesome issues. Firstly there will be layer lines and an upper boundary in regards to tolerance. You won’t be able to print a point finer than the nozzle you are using. My printer has a 0,4mm nozzle, standard for most domestic printers. Far too coarse for this application.
Then comes the issue of dimensional accuracy in casting. Even if you did manage to print a perfect copy of your wheel, you would have to scale it very precisely to compensate for material shrinkage in the casting process. This is extra tricky for thin parts, where different parts cool at different speeds.

Consider all of the above. And then this:

Choose a brass sheet of the final wheel thickness. Make an arbor for it to be held in a lathe. Turn to final desired diameter. Mount Thornton cutter on arbor, center on wheel blank, index using your preferred method. Cut two “slots” until you get a fully formed tooth in between. Then cut the rest. De burr. Done! Then it’s the matter of cutting the spokes but that is cosmetic. You will have a mechanically working wheel with the described process. Some trial and error may go into centering the cutter but if you make a bunch of blanks in one go you’ll not have lost much work. Rather than starting a modeling and printing process again.

 

[gmorse]

Hi Karl,

Just to clarify, a topping tool can only work properly if the wheel is already cut, or at least divided.

Regards,

Graham

 

[karlmansson]

Hi Karl,

Just to clarify, a topping tool can only work properly if the wheel is already cut, or at least divided.

Regards,

Graham

Yes, probably a worhwhile clarification. That is, however, one thing a precise casting process would be able to achieve.

 

[praezis]

Making a brass wheel is the minor problem, you still don't have the pinion!
Casting is rather inappropriate for making wheels, I never heard of such. Exact sizing is not possible, you will get distortions in the round and most of all, the part will shrink by some arbitrary amount of 2...5%.

Frank