3D Printed tools, jigs, and helpful accessories

[dpd3672]

I got myself a 3D printer for Christmas and have been toying around with it. I'm far from an expert in either 3D printing, CAD design, or watchmaking, but I came up with a few things that are working well for me and thought I'd pass them along for anyone to use, improve, or adapt. Some are finished products, some are still being tweaked, and some might not work at all, but it's a starting point, and I continue to try to improve them as I go.

Please add yours if you have anything to share!

NOTE: 3D printers are not precise to fractions of a millimeter, so anything you print will likely require a little bit of clean up...surfaces sanded, especially mating surfaces, holes chased with a drill, etc. They're the equivalent of castings, and need a small amount of final "machining" to be ready to use. Unless you get lucky and it's perfect right out of the machine, lol.

 

[dpd3672]

First up is a jig I made for engraving between the lugs on cases, like Rolex model numbers and serial numbers. It holds 34mm or 36mm cases pretty securely. I think it would probably lend itself well to holding cases sideways for shaping crown guards, too.

3D design Watch Jig for Engraving BETA - Tinkercad

3D design Watch Jig for Engraving BETA created by David Patterson with Tinkercad

www.tinkercad.com

It goes together like this:

 

[dpd3672]

I also wanted to find a way to make dials cheap. I found dial blanks on Ali for a few cents each, but they need to be polished, have holes for the center pinion drilled exactly in the center, and have dial feet soldiered on.

https://www.aliexpress.us/w/wholesale-brass-and-blank-and-circle.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.search.0

Buy the ones that are .5mm thick, in the diameter you need (27mm for Rolex, 28 or 29mm for Raffles, 38-39mm for Panerai, etc)

Polishing is just elbow grease and abrasive...not much time to be saved here.

For drilling the center hole, I made this jig:

3D design Watch Dial Drill Jig - Tinkercad

3D design Watch Dial Drill Jig created by David Patterson with Tinkercad

www.tinkercad.com

Put the dial blank in the correct size opening (27mm, 28mm, 29mm for Rolex, 38mm and 39mm for Panerai) and then the correct "plug" to support it. Flip it over and drill through the 2mm center hole, which should keep the bit straight and parallel. It works better on a drill press than a hand drill, as any variation from perpendicular is prone to snapping bits.

 

[dpd3672]

To hold dials while applying decals (for waterslide dials) or luming, and for locating dial feet precisely, I made jigs for the ETA 28XX dials, Miyota 82XX/DG2813/3804 dials, Seiko NH series, 775X, and ETA/Unitas 649X.

There are holes where the dial feet go , and a center "nub" for holding the dial in place.

3D design Watch Dial jigs for decals and feet - Tinkercad

3D design Watch Dial jigs for decals and feet created by David Patterson with Tinkercad

www.tinkercad.com

 

[dpd3672]

Copied in its entirety from another thread, but this jig SHOULD allow a gen Rolex dial to be used with an ETA movement...assuming you can make the precise cuts/holes required.

Not sure if this will work or not, but did a little research on using gen dials with ETA movements WITHOUT cutting the dial feet. It's possible, it just takes a very precise modification of the 28XX main plate. Here are a couple threads discussing the process:

How to modify ETA movement to take Rolex dials - without cutting the dial feets

Like most of you know, Rolex vintage dials for 15xx movements have feet positioned at 30/57min. which doesn’t fit to any ETA. So how to can these been fitted together without cutting the Rolex dial feet (which make them worth less)? Let‘s see… Putting dial & movement side by side shows that...

forum.replica-watch.info

Gen Rolex case with ETA movement

Hello, Does anyone can tell me if the ETA movement 2836-2 may fit in the gen rolex 1675 case? I'm not worry about the diameter as I can put the adaptor. But the thickness might be the one of major problem. Thanks Jay

rwg.cc

Essentially, since gen Rolex dials have feet at 30 and 57 minutes, one has to either drill or notch the main plate at 57 minutes and 30 minutes and the gen dial will work. There is almost no margin for error, however.

That said, I always liked a challenge, so playing around with CAD software, I came up with this. It's a jig designed to hold a 2824 main plate snugly (as in, you might need to sand a little bit of the inside diameter so it will fit), and notches that are 1mm wide at exactly 30 minutes and 57 minutes.

You would then either drill or file/cut within the notch (drilling would require a measurement of the exact distance to the center for the dial foot hole, but I don't have a gen dial handy).There's also a couple generic 2824 movement holders, because I don't know what size is needed for a 15xx case.

3D design Adapter for ETA 2824 to RLX 15XX - Tinkercad

3D design Adapter for ETA 2824 to RLX 15XX created by David Patterson with Tinkercad

www.tinkercad.com

 

[Oascom]

Very nice jigs, what printer do you use ?

 

[dpd3672]

Very nice jigs, what printer do you use ?

Just a Creality Ender 3 that I got on Black Friday. It's nothing fancy, but it's working pretty well so far.

 

[Oascom]

Just a Creality Ender 3 that I got on Black Friday. It's nothing fancy, but it's working pretty well so far.

Me and @WatchSmith.US need printing some stuff too. 3D printers are really nice addition for watchmakers

 

[dpd3672]

Me and @WatchSmith.US need printing some stuff too. 3D printers are really nice addition for watchmakers

I first looked at them a few years ago, when they were very crude and still very expensive. Today, you can pick up a nice, new one for under $100. I even picked up a couple refurbished ones for ~$60 each, since the printing is so slow on bigger items. One is going to be repurposed as a laser engraver, which will be a nice add with some real potential if some I ideas I have work out.

 

[Oascom]

I first looked at them a few years ago, when they were very crude and still very expensive. Today, you can pick up a nice, new one for under $100. I even picked up a couple refurbished ones for ~$60 each, since the printing is so slow on bigger items. One is going to be repurposed as a laser engraver, which will be a nice add with some real potential if some I ideas I have work out.

I have a laser, it's great tool as well

 

[dpd3672]

I have a laser, it's great tool as well

What I would like to do with the laser, or with a precision cutting machine (A Cricut or Silhouette...I just ordered a Silhouette) is:

1) Stencils for luming dials...Ideally, I could "mask off" the indices, so luming wouldn't require a needle, magnifying glass, and a steady hand...it would potentially be doable with spray paint or any kind of brush, without getting paint where you don't want it. Multiple stencils could even allow the concentric designs seen on some of the better dials (IE, a thin line of gold gilt, then a thin black line, then the lume). It should be fairly simple to adjust the sizes of the printed indices...and if it's printed on very thin vinyl, the stencils should be reusable...just stick them on with hair spray or similar and peel off when done.

2) Stencils for saltwater etching between lugs or case backs. You could mask off the metal you want to protect and etch the exposed parts. You could even do engraving on the movement plates inside a watch, if you're so inclined. A good scan and some software, and it should be fairly simple to do...I'm just not sure if either tool is capable of the detail required for this.

3) Stencils or stamps for POSITIVE printed dials. Instead of the negative printed gilt dials, potentially we could do dials in colors other than black against a gold gilt relief. It opens up lots of possibilities. Paint the base dial black, for example, and print the white writing over it. I've played with waterslide decals with a white film, and with dials painted white and black waterslide decals, but the font doesn't pop like it does on a gen...it needs to be glossy, raised print, which would mean paint on top of the background. This would potentially be doable if a stamp could be printed with enough detail.

 

[Oascom]

What I would like to do with the laser, or with a precision cutting machine (A Cricut or Silhouette...I just ordered a Silhouette) is:

1) Stencils for luming dials...Ideally, I could "mask off" the indices, so luming wouldn't require a needle, magnifying glass, and a steady hand...it would potentially be doable with spray paint or any kind of brush, without getting paint where you don't want it. Multiple stencils could even allow the concentric designs seen on some of the better dials (IE, a thin line of gold gilt, then a thin black line, then the lume). It should be fairly simple to adjust the sizes of the printed indices...and if it's printed on very thin vinyl, the stencils should be reusable...just stick them on with hair spray or similar and peel off when done.

2) Stencils for saltwater etching between lugs or case backs. You could mask off the metal you want to protect and etch the exposed parts. You could even do engraving on the movement plates inside a watch, if you're so inclined. A good scan and some software, and it should be fairly simple to do...I'm just not sure if either tool is capable of the detail required for this.

3) Stencils or stamps for POSITIVE printed dials. Instead of the negative printed gilt dials, potentially we could do dials in colors other than black against a gold gilt relief. It opens up lots of possibilities. Paint the base dial black, for example, and print the white writing over it. I've played with waterslide decals with a white film, and with dials painted white and black waterslide decals, but the font doesn't pop like it does on a gen...it needs to be glossy, raised print, which would mean paint on top of the background. This would potentially be doable if a stamp could be printed with enough detail.

I did some "glit dials" before. One I painted brass and just simply laser engraved the paint to show the brass. It's so so option.

Another dial I did was engraved the brass, filled with black enamel sanded and then a layer of clear. I like that, only did tried it once and I'm sure I could get better results if practicing few times.

Here is the little video:

 

[dpd3672]

I did some "glit dials" before. One I painted brass and just simply laser engraved the paint to show the brass. It's so so option.

Another dial I did was engraved the brass, filled with black enamel sanded and then a layer of clear. I like that, only did tried it once and I'm sure I could get better results if practicing few times.

Here is the little video:

A new rabbit hole to get lost in, lol. I like it. Did you use a .jpg or .svg file for the basis? I think .svg has much cleaner lines than .jpg, but when converting from .jpg to .svg, a lot of detail can get messed up. Some dials turn out great, some turn out awful.

Never considered doing a Daytona dial, were any of the gens ever done in gilt?

It does give some good ideas for the raised printing, however...paint the dial in thick, glossy paint, polish, then laser engrave away anything that's not the paint you want.

Like this...the black would be the paint, the white would be what the laser removes. Maybe if the dial were chemically treated or anodized, it would work:

 

[Oascom]

A new rabbit hole to get lost in, lol. I like it. Did you use a .jpg or .svg file for the basis? I think .svg has much cleaner lines than .jpg, but when converting from .jpg to .svg, a lot of detail can get messed up. Some dials turn out great, some turn out awful.

Never considered doing a Daytona dial, were any of the gens ever done in gilt?

It does give some good ideas for the raised printing, however...paint the dial in thick, glossy paint, polish, then laser engrave away anything that's not the paint you want.

Like this...the black would be the paint, the white would be what the laser removes. Maybe if the dial were chemically treated or anodized, it would work:

I design my own dials and have a AI and whatever other files I desire. They are perfect in terms of quality.

Never used jpg

 

[dpd3672]

I design my own dials and have a AI and whatever other files I desire. They are perfect in terms of quality.

Never used jpg

Interesting, I never even considered that AI would be something useful in watchmaking, but now that you mention it, some things are clicking.

Damn this hobby...the more I learn the more I realize I don't know anything, lol.

 

[Geonor]

Interesting, I never even considered that AI would be something useful in watchmaking, but now that you mention it, some things are clicking.

Damn this hobby...the more I learn the more I realize I don't know anything, lol.

If you want perfect stencils, you can send your jpg to someone on Fiverr to trace it for you. You'll get a proper vector image in .ai or .svg back.

 

[Oascom]

Interesting, I never even considered that AI would be something useful in watchmaking, but now that you mention it, some things are clicking.

Damn this hobby...the more I learn the more I realize I don't know anything, lol.

I mean Adobe Illustrator
Here is new dial I have been working on in fusion 360. It's gonna be laser cut and engraved

 

[dpd3672]

I mean Adobe Illustrator
Here is new dial I have been working on in fusion 360. It's gonna be laser cut and engraved

Adobe Illustrator...lol, I see "Artificial Intelligence" in the news so much, that's where my mind goes by default.
Thanks for letting me know about FFiver, I commissioned one of the artists to convert a bunch of Rolex dials from .jpgs, screen shots, and anything else I could find into svg images by hand tracing them, so they should be PERFECT when it's all done.

Pretty much anything that could be printed in 2 colors without indices or any applied markers, there were like 70 images in total, I think every variation on 4 digit Subs, GMTs, and Explorers/Air Kings/Commandos?Space Dwellers/Everests that I could find. I even threw in a Panerai so I had something else to play with.

And now I'm looking at pad printers, because why not move from 2 color to multiple colors?!?

 

[Geonor]

Adobe Illustrator...lol, I see "Artificial Intelligence" in the news so much, that's where my mind goes by default.
Thanks for letting me know about FFiver, I commissioned one of the artists to convert a bunch of Rolex dials from .jpgs, screen shots, and anything else I could find into svg images by hand tracing them, so they should be PERFECT when it's all done.

Pretty much anything that could be printed in 2 colors without indices or any applied markers, there were like 70 images in total, I think every variation on 4 digit Subs, GMTs, and Explorers/Air Kings/Commandos?Space Dwellers/Everests that I could find. I even threw in a Panerai so I had something else to play with.

And now I'm looking at pad printers, because why not move from 2 color to multiple colors?!?

Awesome I'm sure people will pitch in to offset some of the cost if you are to sell the files on. I'd be up for that at least.

A lot of the guys over in

The 1016: The Under Appreciated Thread

JIATIMES Good Luck Repair Store https://m.aliexpress.com/store/v3/home.html?wx_navbar_hidden=true 😉

forum.replica-watch.info

Would be salivating over some proper SVG files

 

[dpd3672]

Awesome I'm sure people will pitch in to offset some of the cost if you are to sell the files on. I'd be up for that at least.

A lot of the guys over in

The 1016: The Under Appreciated Thread

JIATIMES Good Luck Repair Store https://m.aliexpress.com/store/v3/home.html?wx_navbar_hidden=true 😉

forum.replica-watch.info

Would be salivating over some proper SVG files

Yeah, those bastards are the origin of most of the financial pain I've felt this year, lol. Great guys, but damn expensive to be friends with!