Adventures in case-making.

[Dimman]

Playing around with straps.





So far I'm pretty happy with the shapes and fits. Buuut...

I kinda screwed up:



This printer isn't intended for high accuracy, but even so it's showing that I didn't use a dense enough mesh of polygons. You can see 'facets'. And if you can see them on the low res, they will be very apparent on high res/finished product.

Not a big deal to redo as these shapes are still useable for reference, and they served their purpose of identifying areas that need improvement.

[Dimman]

Refined the mesh so the faceting will be less apparent. Old was 2102 faces, new is 34418 faces. Pics are of the base wireframe mesh, then a rendering mode with a shader with no smoothing. Looking better. Redo the lugs next.

[Dimman]

Ugh...

Well after waiting this much time:


... (8 hours, 24 minutes, 19 seconds) for the resin printer to do the new smoother case model, plus a few extras to fill space on the build plate, I excitedly opened it up to this:


Damnit...

The closest to success was a model from a scan of Bill Reid's Raven and the first men sculpture that's in the Vancouver International Airport. But auto supports left little warts.


I guess the female torso was beginner's luck.

Well, off to the other non-watch part of the internet for help...

[Dimman]

Well after the resin disaster, I vented by doing a different design. A bit 1970s diver, maybe some Genta influence. Bezel is integrated into the case though.

Turned out awesome enough that I tore apart one of my German-cased divers to get to the parts. So, all assembled minus the crystals, it all fits. Everything clears. Only needs minor cosmetic work (chamfers, adding and enlarging).

Should I get it done in cast bronze?






(Yes, that's a Top Grade 2824. Not messing around here. Lol.)

[Dimman]

I think I mentioned I would show some modelling sequence. This is amateur, on a decade+ old animation and rendering software suite. But it's what I know.

This is going to be a proper ratcheting bezel 70s-ish dive watch, inspired by the previous success.

[geoffbot]

That is very cool

[Dimman]

New filament isn't dialed in yet, and the bezel broke, but design is getting there. So thinking of a fixed bezel and then getting it cast in bronze.

[Dimman]

Back to the dress case. First two pics are making sure everything fits where it is supposed to. From here I can then play around with different lug designs.

Went with a less cow-hornish design, printed it out, checked fits. This one I'm happy with. So the files get sent to a foundry in New York City to cast them in bronze for the next prototype stage.

[Broker]

Ok one question. Why cast in bronze?

[Dimman]

Ok one question. Why cast in bronze?

Because it's about half the price of silver for a casting. Silver is my intended final material.

I still need to check dimensions and fit in the metal part to check for shrinkage from the casting, plus checking the locations for tapping and reaming for caseback screws and crown tube, as well as pressing in crystals. There will probably be a few more prototype iterations before I am actually happy to wear it as a final watch.