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3D-Printed watch a world’s first [VIDEO]

A Swiss engineer has designed and created the world’s first 3D-Printed mechanical watch.

As Gizmodo reports, Christoph Lamer made the watch almost completely from 3D-printed plastic parts. (The only components not 3D printed are some metal pins which hold the parts together).

It is powered by a spring-driven tourbillon, a system of springs and gears which was developed way back in the 1700s and is still used today in some expensive watches.

Made from plastic, the device does have its drawbacks. It is very bulking, is not very accurate and only runs for about 30 minutes. As such, it could not be used as a functioning time piece.

However, Lamer’s effort represents a first step and further innovations, such as a move to metal parts would obviously improve performance.

Anyone tempted to take the next step in the development of 3D printed watches can access Laimer’s source files from the Autodesk 3D printing hub. The attached video gives a brief overview.

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