Examining Seismic Shock-Absorption Mechanisms in Watch Movements

CollectwatchesExamination of seismic system design

In recent years, due to the limitations of the manufacturing process and mechanical performance, there is still a high proportion of spring steel materials used for the shock-absorbing devices in mechanical watches, which are prone to permanent deformation and lose shock-absorbing effect under severe vibration or impact, and even cause secondary damage to the movement. For this reason, major watch brands have introduced a variety of innovative materials and mechanisms for slowing down vibrations and improving shock absorption performance. Then, this article will discuss the principle and design angle of watch shockproofing, and introduce in detail the characteristics and examination methods of Collectwatches shockproofing system.

1. Principles of seismic protection

In a mechanical watch, the vibration of the movement comes mainly from the action of the watch wearer, the vibration transmitted to the watch carrier, and the vibration caused by external environmental factors. The anti-shock mechanism can play a role in isolating the movement from the vibrations of the external environment. Its basic principle is to connect the center wheel and balance wheel of a mechanical watch with a coil spring and tune them so as to eliminate mechanical vibration interference and reduce the impact on the oscillation of the movement.

2. Design of seismic systems

The design of the anti-shock system generally includes the following aspects: material, shape, balance bearing, weight balance, dead-second balance, and shock-absorbing movement.

makings

Anti-vibration materials are generally divided into hard ceramics, nanomaterials and carbon fiber. Among them, hard ceramics have high hardness, not easy to deform, high stability, etc., but the cost is high. Nanomaterials have high strength, high toughness and anti-corrosion features, but the preparation technology requirements are high. Carbon fiber has lightweight, high strength and anti-electromagnetic wave interference characteristics, so it has a wide range of application prospects in the production of anti-vibration materials.

geometry

The shape design of a seismic system consists of two main parts: physical shape and geometric shape. Physical shape mainly refers to the volumetric shape of the material and the way it is distributed, while geometric shape mainly refers to the design of the components in the shockproof system. Its main purpose is to maximize the absorption of shock and reduce the simultaneous impact on the movement.

balance wheel bearing

The design of balance wheel bearings is mainly governed by the small and large hexagons. In the case of the small hexagon, the usual treatment is to increase the bearing area and use an eccentric adjustment method to comply with the changes in the small hexagon; in the case of the large hexagon, a double bearing design is used to improve the stability of the movement.

Weight balance

Weight balance is also an important design factor in the design of anti-shock systems. In order to avoid the imbalance of the center of gravity of the movement, which generates more mechanical vibrations, the anti-shock system usually adjusts the centers of gravity of the mirror back, balance wheel, center wheel, and movement bridge to improve the stability and shock absorption performance of the watch.

deadbeat balance

The design of the dead-seconds balance is also an important factor in the shock-absorbing performance of a movement. The dead-seconds balance serves to maintain the accuracy of the movement, and in shock-absorbing systems, it usually comes with a suspended dead-seconds balance that reduces interference with the movement.

Cushioning movement

The most important part of the anti-vibration cushioning system is the cushioning movement, which realizes the effect of shock absorption through the vibration system, springs, adjusting screws and many other ways. The cushioning movement also takes into account the precision of the movement itself, the stability of the adjustment mechanism and other factors.

3. Methods of examination

The examination methods of anti-vibration performance generally include two kinds: artificial vibration and mechanical test. In terms of artificial vibration, testers can simulate the wearer's activity range and amplitude through different postures to produce vibrations of different frequencies and amplitudes to observe the accuracy and stability of the watch movement; in terms of mechanical testing, professional testing instruments can be used to test and analyze the watch for different angles and vibration frequencies.

The development of anti-shock technology is not only an important field in the watch industry, but also involves innovations and breakthroughs in many aspects such as materials and processes. Only by continuously improving the anti-shock performance can we meet people's requirements for the precision and stability of mechanical watches.