At 23FEB19 this project is still not complete, but is now closer to being semi-functional!  This is mostly because I cannot stop adding stuff onto the mechanism.  First, I re-did most of the frames for a sleeker look to include cantilevering the annular gear.  This exposes the heart-shaped tourbillon cage more.

To power the system, I added a massive PLA spring mounted opposite the tourbillon in a manner similar to the Cartier Astromysterieux watch.

The Drum works by essentially holding the center of the spring in place while the outer 72T gear drives the carrier via a fixed sun gear on the hub.  These intermediate  gears transmit the power.

Of course, if I'm holding one end of the spring stationary, I might as well hold it NEARLY stationary instead so that it can indicate minutes (an essential feature in a mechanism that will only run for about 2 minutes).  I accomplish this by a gear set of 59-60 off of the hub.  Hours use a fixed 30-12/11-30 planetary set.

This tomfoolery permits everything to be controlled from around the hub.  The stack of gears below allows for both rewinding and setting the hour/minute time.  All of the large co-axial bearings use 4mm diameter bearing balls in printed races.  I'm likely going to plastics/material science hell for lubricating them with sewing machine oil.


And so there you have it.  It just needs a base with the rewind and time set keys as well as a set of ratchets so that it will retain spring tension.  I'm sure that I can come up with a few more doo-dads to throw on as well.  Unfortunately, it's now too big to mail to the various long distance paramours, and I like them too much to force them to try and assemble this thing from pieces.