3D printed - Watch Escapement Desk Toy (designed by Larkys Prints)

This is a really cool example of a mechanical watch escapement, that shows all of the basic parts of a watch/clock, and how they function.

I have always had a fascination with clockwork, which has led to a life of collecting books, toys, etc.. and I thought this would be a PERFECT project to print/build.. not only to help improve my 3D printing abilities, but also to help me show my young children how a watch works!

It was a hit, they were totally impressed, and in a world of iPhones, electric hoverboards, and 4k cameras that you can fly miles away from you.. the look on their face when they saw all the parts and pieces working together, harmoniously, was MAGICAL!

I printed this using various colors of PET-G, which was a perfect choice for the "internals" due to it's strength, flexibility, and how "slippery" PETG is.. it's slight "gumminess" helps the geartrain working smoothly and quietly, and it makes for a great escapement wheel/pallet combo, since the pallet grabs the escapement tooth and slides effortlessly off again, creating a satisfying, dull, not-too-loud, "tick tock".

The only complaint I have with PETG, is that the base/uprights may be a BIT too flexible (in PETG) because they don't appear to provide enough support, especially to the components on the escapement section, because.. as the clock is running, you can see the section flexing.. causing it to lift off the table slightly each time the force from the balance wheel goes to lift the pallet off the escapement. This slight movement IS enough to affect the performance of the clockwork also, as the clock runs much nicer when you press down on the unit, and hold it firmly on the table.

I think printing the base and uprights out of PLA would have solved this, due to PLA parts being stiffer once printed.

I found this model on thingiverse.com

Go, check it out! Thanks to the creator Larkeys Prints, for such a cool model, AND for the awesome blueprint work as well! I'm considering printing out the blueprints and framing them to hang on a shelf behind my new model!

Heres the link: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:336...