Method for manufacturing a one-piece mechanical timepiece part
AssigneeThe Swatch Group Research and Development Ltd
InventorsSimon Springer, Ahmad Odeh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A one-piece mechanical timepiece part formed by a gear for timepiece mechanisms, a wheel for timepiece mechanisms and/or a pinion for timepiece mechanisms, and its related method. The method for manufacturing the one-piece mechanical timepiece part by laser light includes the steps of providing a one-piece material part, oscillating and/or rotating the rotary element and forming the one-piece mechanical timepiece part by power and time modulation of the laser light.
Claims11
A method for manufacturing a unitary one-piece mechanical timepiece part from a one-piece workpiece by laser light, the timepiece part including a pinion, said manufacturing method comprising:
- providing the one-piece workpiece;
- transmitting a first power, geometry and time modulation of said laser light;
- exposing at least a first portion of the one-piece workpiece to a first modulation of said laser light so as to form at least a first volume of the timepiece part, the first volume including a first part corresponding to a first wheel and a second part corresponding to the pinion;
- transmitting a second power, geometry and time modulation of said laser light;
- and
- exposing at least a second portion of the one-piece workpiece which has been exposed to form the first volume to a second modulation of said laser light so as to form at least a second volume of the timepiece part, the second volume unitary with the first volume and including a second wheel,
- wherein the pinion, first wheel and second wheel are formed as the unitary one-piece mechanical timepiece part from the one-piece workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.