3D printing mainspring roundel?

[GuyMontag]

In an attempt to not break the bank I ordered only a subset of the right handed Bergeon mainspring winders (size 4 through 7). For those mainsprings that are left handed, my thought was to just first transfer the mainspring to a roundel and then flip it over and be good to go. I have a friend with a 3D printer who will print these for me and wanted to see if anyone here happens to have had the same idea and might have the files to share? If not, I will see if I can't learn how to use the software to make the files.

For the inner diameter size of the roundel, would you just make it, say, .2mm larger than the outer diameter of the winder barrel?

[Zero]

On 4/4/2022 at 2:15 AM, GuyMontag said:

For those mainsprings that are left handed, my thought was to just first transfer the mainspring to a roundel and then flip it over and be good to go. I have a friend with a 3D printer who will print these for me and wanted to see if anyone here happens to have had the same idea and might have the files to share?

I'm not sure I understand the exact part you are referring to. However, building/using it as a custom 3D printed part might be impossible as the inner loop of the mainspring is quite small, thus the hook required for it will be very tiny. It is quite difficult to 3D print a plastic piece that tiny and still be able to handle the winding stress. Maybe this will change in the future. For files, you may take a look my 3D printed mainspring winder project: https://github.com/vishnu350/rs-mainspring-winder

 

On 4/4/2022 at 2:15 AM, GuyMontag said:

For the inner diameter size of the roundel, would you just make it, say, .2mm larger than the outer diameter of the winder barrel?

A general guideline for part clearance would be 0.125mm (tight fit), 0.25mm (fit) and 0.5mm (loose fit). You will have to experiment with printouts to get a good idea of what works. I would recommend FreeCAD for designing custom parts.

[LittleWatchShop]

3 minutes ago, Zero said:

might be impossible

I agree with @Zero.  Whenever I try to do something really small, it fails.

Do you have a lathe?  If so, you can make your own winding arbor that is ambidextrous.  I have done this.

[GuyMontag]

I designed this as a first crack at it:

 

I wasn't clear in my first post. It's not for the winder, it's just the roundel so that I can take a left handed mainspring and wind it in a right handed winder, then insert it into this roundel, flip the roundel over and insert the mainspring into the barrel.

 

This is a for a #6 Bergeon winder with a 9.8mm barrel. I put in .2mm clearance, so a 10mm inner diameter and 1.2mm tall. My Bergeon winders are on backorder so will have to wait about  a month before I can try it out.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by GuyMontag

[LittleWatchShop]

Just now, GuyMontag said:

I designed this as a first crack at it:

 

This is a for a #6 Bergeon winder with a 9.8mm barrel. I put in .2mm clearance, so a 10mm inner diameter and 1.2mm tall. My Bergeon winders are on backorder so will have to wait about  a month before I can try it out.

 

 

Oh! I see now.  I thought you were talking about the winding arbor.  Yes, these are easy to make.  Take a look at my post this morning about the Mido crystal wrench. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I agree with @Zero.  Whenever I try to do something really small, it fails.

Do you have a lathe?  If so, you can make your own winding arbor that is ambidextrous.  I have done this.

Hi lws. I'm curious about the hook for it, what material did you use ?

[LittleWatchShop]

21 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Hi lws. I'm curious about the hook for it, what material did you use ?

Somewhere on this forum, I posted a picture of what I did...I think...but cannot find it yet.

I used what is called 01 steel I think.  It may also be referred to as "silver steel."  I learned about it from @nickelsilverabout a year ago.  It is soft enough to turn easily but is still plenty strong.  After turning the arbor portion, I drilled an orthogonal hole and drove in a piece of pivot steel that I had turned with a nib on it.  I felt like pivot steel was necessary because it deals with the stress. 

[LittleWatchShop]

Here...take a look at this thread.

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Somewhere on this forum, I posted a picture of what I did...I think...but cannot find it yet.

I used what is called 01 steel I think.  It may also be referred to as "silver steel."  I learned about it from @nickelsilverabout a year ago.  It is soft enough to turn easily but is still plenty strong.  After turning the arbor portion, I drilled an orthogonal hole and drove in a piece of pivot steel that I had turned with a nib on it.  I felt like pivot steel was necessary because it deals with the stress. 

Thanks for that, I was about to say whatabout steel filament  for the 3D printing, although I would think still not strong enough. I mostly wind by hand with a simple little whirlygig. I've just acquired a lathe and thought I would have a try at making something like you described. Was the hook difficult easy to do  and is it just a friction fit ?

[LittleWatchShop]

1 minute ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Was the hook difficult easy to do  and is it just a friction fit ?

It took me all day long, but as I recall, I had one misfire making me start all over.  It was a friction fit, but I may have put Loctite on it when pressing in...it was a couple of months ago...so some of those brain cells have already expired.

Was it hard?  I thought it was pretty easy until I got to drilling the holes.  The other thing I cannot remember is which starting material I had.  I may have had to do a lot of turning to get it down to the right diameter before starting the shaping.  It was fun though.

[LittleWatchShop]

11 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Thanks for that, I was about to say whatabout steel filament  for the 3D printing, although I would think still not strong enough.

Pondering this further, 3D printing the arbor might work.  PLA is strong enough.  It would not be very pretty...at these dimensions, 3D results are are a bit rough.

[Neverenoughwatches]

6 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

It took me all day long, but as I recall, I had one misfire making me start all over.  It was a friction fit, but I may have put Loctite on it when pressing in...it was a couple of months ago...so some of those brain cells have already expired.

Was it hard?  I thought it was pretty easy until I got to drilling the holes.  The other thing I cannot remember is which starting material I had.  I may have had to do a lot of turning to get it down to the right diameter before starting the shaping.  It was fun 

Are you pleased with how the winder works ?

[LittleWatchShop]

2 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Are you pleased with how the winder works ?

The nibs are slightly too long.  I am gonna file them down a little whenever I am inspired to do so.  I have used it and it works, for sure.

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

The nibs are slightly too long.  I am gonna file them down a little whenever I am inspired to do so.  I have used it and it works, for sure.

Thanks. The hooks on the ones I've retired are pinched out from the arbor, so not particularly tough  I might make it my first lathe project. Springwinders are a thorn in my side. I've been scammed twice buying secondhand, which is why I've resorted to handwinding. 

[LittleWatchShop]

13 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Springwinders are a thorn in my side. I've been scammed twice buying secondhand

With a lathe, you can fix the ones you got second hand.  Generally the only issue is the nib has worn.

[Neverenoughwatches]

28 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

With a lathe, you can fix the ones you got second hand.  Generally the only issue is the nib has worn.

Some it's the nibs and some its wear between the pusher and the inner wall of the winder. When pushing the spring out it becomes hopelessly trapped in the space between them.