3D Printed Watch

I have designed a watch based on the NH35 platform. For those of you that don't know, the NH35 is a readily available watch movement that has a large variety of hands and dials that can be used with it. There are other movments in this series such as GMT, Day/Date and skeleton. This first build is based on the NH35 with a day wheel.

I wanted the watch to feature as many printed parts as possible whilst not sacrificing functionality and aestetic. Therefore there are only a few parts required to turn this 3D print into a function watch.

I have a video tutorial on my youtube channel - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRCfzQsEtdU

My website is www.theprintablewatch.com

You can also contact me directly via email info@theprintablewatch.com or on instagram @theprintablewatch

Parts Required:

• NH35 Movement
• Dial
• Hands
• Case Screws
• 30mm x 1mm Watch Crystal
• Chapter Ring (optional)
• 20mm Strap

Tools Required:

• Precision slotted Screw Driver (0.5 x 3mm ideally)
• Wire cutters
• Watch hand setters
• Watchmakers Clay
• NH35 Movement Holder (Printable)
• Superglue
• Craft knife/sandpaper (for cleaning printed parts)
• Vernier caliper's (not essential but very useful)

Print the parts.

A .zip folder is available to download on my website.

Once you have downloaded this, you will have 5 parts to print:

• Watch case
• Case back
• Movement bracket
• Chapter Ring/Glass Bracket
• Crown

There is also a glass pressing tool that needs to be printed before proceeding.

These can all be printed with a 0.4mm nozzle and a layer height of 0.1mm. Before printing, ensure your printer is printing parts true to size.

Carefully insert glass so that it in in on one side and stuck in the case. Using the glass press and a soft surface, increase the pressure on the glass focusing on the area when the glass is not fitted. Gradually increase the pressure on the glass. It will click into place if done properly.

The glass bracket should slide into place with some resistance but not be impossible. It should not be able to fall out.

Remove pins from the back of the dial that corresponds to the movement. There should only be two pins.

Gently push dial onto movement. It should snuggly fit without being forced.

Install Hands, this is by far the most difficult stage in my opinion. There is a wealth of knowledge online, especially youtube for installing hands. Take you time, especially with the seconds hand, this will take a while to line up and push on perfect.

Once the hands are on insert into movement bracket. This has been designed to fit one way only.

Place the glazed case and place over the movement, it should slide on and align with the markers.

Check for dust and debris

Check for alignment

Start by threading crown with stem and pliers

• Check depth of crown thread, should be 4.5mm, careful not to overtighten
• Insert crown and stem into case and movement
• Measure distance between case and crown
• Remove stem and crown
• Cut stem to length
• Reinstall crown for final test
• If happy with length, remove from movement, remove crown and glue using Loctite or similar, once dry, insert into case to confirm length. Then leave to set.

Using the case screw, screw the back of the case back to the watch.

Now its time to show off your new watch to friends and family. Experiment with different materials. Most of all, make sure to send me photos of your completed build so that I can feature it on my website and social media.