the Kahlenberg Timepiece


The Kahlenberg is a custom designed and built watch for the modern man.  It’s stainless steel construction make it practically indestructible and the dial is machined directly into the body, eliminating the need for costly realigning or replacement.  The Kahlenberg uses an ETA 2824 mechanical watch movement and winds automatically while you wear it.   The watch is a testament to a name (my Mother’s maiden name) that has lasted through centuries, wars and displacement from one side of the world to the other.

While researching the current watch landscape, I noticed that almost all watches have separate dials, inserted into the watch and attached to the mechanism with small dowel pins and are a huge pain to attach and align.  I decided to remove a step from the process and machine my face directly into the body of the watch.  This actually proved quite difficult as part flips on a CNC often lead to misalignment in x, y or z.  My plan eventually worked and I created what I think is a beautiful, all stainless steel time piece.

To model my watch, I first sketched many designs and shapes.  I then modeled my designs using SolidWorks and printed a few prototypes on the FDM 3D printer to see how they would feel on my wrist.  After making subtle changes I began using HSMworks CAM software to compile my designs into G-Code, the language HAAS VF1 CNC’s use to machine.  After my first iteration I made a few changes to my design including subtle inner angles that matched my tool angles to allow for better machine finishes.  My final cutting time for all operations was roughly 14 hours but I probably spent about 90 hours in total creating this final high definition prototype, including about eight hours of manual sanding and polishing.  I loved the experience of creating a watch and look forward to designing and manufacturing more in the future.


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