Patek Philippe’s high-tech watch followed closely, which was the industry’s first watch with a compliant mechanism.
Patek Philippe’s most important new release at Baselworld 2017 does not boast its most complicated movement or new case style, but the latest Advanced with a redesigned silicon hairspring The Research movement, and more importantly, it is a compatible movement in the second time zone.
Aquanaut travel time reference. The 5650 Advanced Research is the first watch to use a compliant time mechanism in the watchmaking industry, making it attractive on multiple levels.
The early quartets of advanced research watches were all calendars (three years and one permanent), while the new Aquanaut uses Patek Philippe’s sporty dual time zone watch as the basis.
Functionally, it is the same movement as the stock Aquanaut Travel Time reference. 5164 (the same caliber number), but the Advanced Research version conducts business in a completely different way. The first innovation introduced by the new Aquanaut is the modified Spiromax hairspring.
Patek Philippe’s first silicon balance spring was associated with Advanced Research Ref in 2006. Launch together. 5350. Specifically, the balance spring is made of Silinvar from Patek Philippe. The trademark of silicon is silicon covered in a thin oxide layer that protects the balance spring from temperature changes (and almost all such in the entire industry). The same silicon is used for the balance spring).
For ten years, almost all Patek Philippe movements produced today are equipped with the first-generation Spiromax hairspring, which has a single outer end curve.
Patek Philippe launched a new and improved Spiromax hairspring through Aquanaut Advanced Research. The hairspring has two end curves, which can reproduce the traditional Grossmann curve (in the inner end of the spring) and Phillips curve (in the outer coil). The balance spring of the SWISS AAA replica watches.
This is achieved by slightly bulging the width on the inner and outer curves of the spring, and only due to the DRIE technology used to make silicon parts, very fine adjustments are possible.
The result is that the second-generation Spiromax respirator breathes more concentrically no matter where it is, thus maintaining the same center of gravity.
According to Patek Philippe, the traditional movement equipped with the first-generation Spiromax is adjusted from -3 to +2 seconds per day, but with the new hairspring, the deviation can be reduced to -1 to +2 seconds per day. Unlike traditional hairsprings, Spiromax is flatter because there are no coils, and it is easy to install without adjustment.
The second technological advancement of Aquanaut’s advanced research is the compliance mechanism of travel time display. The normal travel time mechanism showing the second time zone consists of 37 parts, while the advanced research version only requires 12 parts.
It all depends on the compliance mechanism, which is derived from the research done by Professor Simon Henein. Professor Simon Henein is the Patek Philippe of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne. ) Chairman.
The compliance mechanism is an articulated flexible structure that can transmit force, but is made of a single seamless piece (usually plastic and made by 3D printing). The field is still in its infancy, but it is developing rapidly.
Patek Philippe replica applied a compliant mechanism to the second time zone display, replacing the traditional lever and spring network with a crab-like structure with four crossed leaf springs-one pair for pushers and the other for The beak, the second time zone pointer of the rotating gear is backward or forward.
When the push rod is pushed to change the second time zone, the entire structure will slide and bend-but because the compliant mechanism is integrated, almost zero friction can be achieved. The component has no joints or pivots, so there are no friction surfaces, so no lubrication is required.
It can also make more effective use of the limited space inside the case: the compliant mechanism reduces the space by 20% and becomes thinner by 15%. Of course, because it is one piece, there is no need for assembly-only four screws are needed instead of the 10 screws in the traditional travel time mechanism.
The compliance mechanism of the second time zone is significantly different from the mechanism of regular travel time, although the difference is not significant. The new mechanism is smoother, and there is almost no “click” when the hands are engaged and the second time zone hands are jumping. That may just be due to the specific prototype exhibited at the Baselworld. The final production parts arriving later this year will be confirmed.
Although plastics are usually used on 3D printers to quickly produce compliant mechanisms in other fields, the compliant mechanisms in Aquanaut Travel Time are milled from steel on CNC machines. The machining required to produce a compliant mechanism is very complicated, especially for arms that cross but do not touch.
The production of parts from steel allows Patek Philippe to apply traditional finishing techniques to compliant mechanical devices, so that the surface has straight lines and inclined edges.
Patek Philippe prides itself on compliant machinery in terms of concept, production and finishing. This is why the dial is hollowed out to reveal all the glory of machinery.
Unfortunately, this design choice has been widely known because it will interrupt the dial without warning, exposing an unfamiliar appearance. In any case, Advanced Research watches are limited editions. If you want, it can be said to be a watch of a certain concept, which means that opening the dial is unlikely to be repeated.
From a philosophical point of view, the compliance mechanism is fascinating because it simplifies the second time zone mechanism, contrary to the trend of complex movements commonly seen in high-end watchmaking. Although it takes a long time to produce the mechanism on a milling machine, it significantly reduces the time required for assembly and adjustment.
In this respect, it is similar to using silicon in a balance wheel or escapement, eliminating the need to adjust and adjust these key components. But although the escapement is vital, as the cliché goes, it is the core of the movement, but they are small and difficult to observe. The compliance mechanism of the second time zone is greater, and somehow it feels that more technology is being injected into the best fake watches for men.
It is even more fascinating to imagine the possible impact of other complications using compatible mechanisms. What is a chronograph without springs and levers?