FAB — Printing Out a Japanese Quartz Watch Movement
Last week, Mike November and petew had an interesting discussion about the viability of quartz watch movements over long periods of time. Mike is a mechanical watch enthusiast. He speculated that in the distant future replacement parts for quartz watches, like integrated circuits (IC), may not be available. Petew said we don’t yet know how long these movements will run, and many quartz watches are still going strong after 35 years.
Image: © Seiko Corporation
Neil Gershenfeld at MIT thinks we’ll soon be able to “print out” things like watch parts, including ICs. Instead of companies manufacturing goods, businesses like Seiko will sell blue prints (software packages) online that we’ll download and use to “print out” products at home. Alternately, “FAB” (fabrication laboratory) machines will be available for use for a small fee in Kinkos-like businesses of the future.
If Gershenfeld is right, in 20 years “printing out” an IC for a Seiko 9F quartz movement, or one for a Seiko Spring Drive movement, will be cheap and easy. You can find out more in the video below. Near the end of the film, one of the inventors claims these machines will soon be able to “print out” things like batteries — even entire cell phones. To watch the 2-minute-long movie, click on the image below.
After you watch the video above, for even more information on Fab @ Home, click here.
Gershenfeld says because FAB “breaks” current business models, the main barrier to adoption is social rather than technological. To go to Amazon.com for more information on Gershenfeld’s 2005 book on FAB, click on the image below.
To see Mike and petew’s discussion, click here and scroll down.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:38 am
Hello,
Interesting follow to last week discuss!
A short comment about myself: I am both a mechanical and quartz watch enthusiast (today I have a kinetic watch on my wrist); and, in my engineer carrier, I have been a reliability expert and electronic components technologist! Of course, my publications are not signed “MikeNovember” (my initials in radio language).
My remark concerning Credor cost was on two aspects:
- doubts about long term perenniality of quartz technology (long term meaning here several generations),
- doubts about the possibility that rich amateurs (the ones paying 134,000 USD or more in a watch!) could pay such for a quartz watch, because of the perenniality doubt.
Concerning this article,
- The economic model suggested by the paper already exists, for example with computer video cards (companies like Nvidia do the design, allow to download all the necessary menufacturing files; companies making the video cards use the files, make the cards, BUT shall buy the necessary specific Integrated Circuits set to Nvidia!),
- Why not to see in the future a company like Seiko licensing other ones to make watches? however, Seiko would always sell something… probably specific IC’s!
- However, I am more doubtful about the possibility to “print IC’s” at home. It would be possible only for IC’s with very basic, simple and few integrated technology. At the oppositte, IC’s found in mass production items (watches…) generally use low manufacturing cost technology, but this means very (very) high investment costs (white rooms, steppers, test etc.)!
Regards,
MikeNovember
October 16th, 2007 at 11:18 am
This FAB stuff is pretty cool and this is the first time I’ve seen it. It’s almost like a primitive version of the Replicator machine that the Starship Enterprise uses to provide things for the crew while they are in space.
The fact that it is theoretically possible for us to print any type of IC at home is mind boggling!
October 16th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
The engineering dept where I work has one of these - cost a half a million or so - and they call it the ‘Easy Bake Oven’ (but it’s the size of a refridgerator). It’s used to create prototypes and uses different colored plastic, some sort of resin, that comes in long thin tubes. They load in the program and it builds the piece over several hours.
Printing PCBs on your home printer is already a reality. There’s a DIY video on Youtube I saw a while back.
Digital watches will continue to be operable and repairable far into the future for the same reason that mechanical watches are: collectors, and those interested, will find a way.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Hey Mike November…it was a pleasure reading your long and insightful comment.
Your knowledge of electronics and your qualifications to make
comments on quartz movements is quite impressive.
I am sure that you are aware that my original comments were made tongue
in cheek. You know, about buying watches for your grand-kids.
I often see ads by Patek talking about not buying watches for
yourself, but just taking care of them for the future generations.
Personally, I think that this ad is wrong, and could slip by
a lot of people, and does encourage people to buy an expensive
Patek.
I think that mechanical wrist watches are rapidly becoming
obsolete, kind of like pocket watches. An example of an
earlier obsolescence was the pocket watch. My dad left me a gold
pocket watch that he treasured so much, but I never use it because
it is so obsolete. The idea of carrying it around in my pants pocket
on a chain is too much for me. Now, my son, thirty, uses his cell phone
to check time, the internet, alarm, talk on the phone and refuses to use
a wrist watch. (”too old fashioned”).
So Patek is wrong to act like our grandkids would like to use our
mechanical watch some years from now.
Thus, as far as a “perenniality problem” (interesting word-I never
read it before reading it in your paragraph), 30 to 50 years from
now, extremely few people will be using mechanical watches, I suspect.
and “perenniality” would not be a problem.
Furthermore, these super expensive watches will just be museum pieces.
Sad to say, I think mechanical watches will be long gone too.
However, I suspect that all of our comments are probably correct
and additive, rather than one or the other being correct.
Once again, it was a pleasure to learn from your technical expertise.
Paul.
October 16th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Hello blackdial,
Concerning watches I am “agnostic”! When I look at nice watches, it is the human genius behind these watches that I admire. And this human genius can be expressed in a mechanical movement, or in a quartz one; in the design of the watch; in the choice of materials and in the resistance to environment.
Like everybody I would like my “stuff” to last very long, particularly if it is an expensive stuff! Of course mechanical watches suffer from limited life problems: mechanical parts wear as they are used. I own an automatic Swiss one, from the end of the sixties. It has been deeply repaired twice: first time movement was changed, one was happily found at a broker’s; second time 30% was replaced. And I am afraid there will not be a third time: watch is no longer maintained by its manufacturer, no new parts are available, only old stock ones…
However, if I were rich and if my watch was worth it, I could still have it repaired, provided I find a skilled watchmaker who would be able to make parts (without drawings, from the existing broken or used ones).
It might also be possible with quartz watches, with higher difficulties and at a very high cost:
- quartz are machined, it could be possible to have a compatible quartz made,
- integrated circuits can be reverse-engineered, and a compatible circuit can be manufactured.
Though it would certainly not be worth for everyday’s quartz watch, why not for a very collectible and expensive one like a Credor sonnerie? There is no limit to what you can do with (a lot of) money! For sure, if a rich amateur wants, in 50 years, to have his Credor sonnerie repaired, he will find a way!
Another solution would be to buy spare parts today, when they are still available, (quartz, IC’s or all the electronic board) and store them for long in a cold place (all “chemical” mechanisms are activated by temperature, cold storage slow them) and under an inert gas (nitrogen for example). This could be done also for everyday’s watches! (just need a fridge).
The question is: will he buy the Credor sonnerie today? Apart the technological aspects, today’s fashion is more oriented to mechanical watches than quartz ones; and Seiko has no reputation in the very high end watches (when you buy such an expensive watch it is also for social status recognition). There are rumors Seiko will manufacture soon another “flagship”, a mechanical tourbillon watch. Let’s wait and see if Seiko succeeds in positioning its brand in the very high end segment of the market!
Best Regards,
MikeNovember
October 19th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Hey, I forgot to ask a question.
Does anybody here, Pete W or Bryan or Mike November know some facts
about the quartz movement pictured at the very beginning of this
article-9F61A.
1) which watches does it go into?
2) Is there some way to speed up or slow down the movement, as I
notice there appears to be a screw with a + and - next to it.
Paul
October 19th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Hi Paul,
The 9F caliber movement is used exclusively in the Grand Seiko line. The screw you see is called a trimmer, and is used to regulate the accuracy of the watch. For more, read an excerpt from an article by Carlos Perez included below.
Regards,
Bryan