Method for manufacturing a horology component
AssigneeRolex SA
InventorsFlorian Calame, Alexandra Maegli, Xavier Multone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Method for manufacturing a horology component, including manufacturing (E1) a first structure (10) from a first photosensitive resin (31) having at least one layer of photosensitive resin having a first pattern obtained by polymerizing the first photosensitive resin by irradiation through at least one mask (4), then developing the first photosensitive resin; and transforming (E2) the first structure (10) into a second structure (1) by structuring at least one surface of the first structure by the addition of a second photosensitive resin (32) to the at least one surface, the second structure (1) being intended to at least partially form a manufacturing mold for the horology component.
Claims20
A method for manufacturing a horology component, wherein the method comprises:
- manufacturing a first structure from a first photosensitive resin comprising at least one layer of photosensitive resin comprising a first pattern obtained by polymerizing the first photosensitive resin by irradiation through at least one mask, then developing said first photosensitive resin, the first structure having opposite main surfaces parallel to a main plane of the at least one layer and a lateral surface extending between the main surfaces;
- transforming the first structure into a second structure by structuring at least one portion of the lateral surface of the first structure by the addition of a second photosensitive resin to the at least one portion of the lateral surface;
- and
- manufacturing the horology component using a manufacturing mold, wherein the second structure forms at least a portion of the manufacturing mold,
- wherein the transforming comprises:
- (i) applying a layer of the second photosensitive resin on at least part of the at least one portion of the lateral surface of the first structure;
- (ii) performing two-photon polymerization on the second photosensitive resin in order to obtain three-dimensional polymerization according to a second pattern, using a photon device which comprises an objective lens which is at least partially immersed in the second photosensitive resin to direct and focus a beam on voxels that define a shape or a geometry of the second pattern;
- and
- (ii) developing to eliminate non-polymerized second photosensitive resin and obtain the second structure formed on the at least one portion of the lateral surface of the first structure and having a shape defined by the first and second patterns.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.