Laser Engraving Watch Dials: Materials, Heat Management, and Work Piece Holding
Fiber lasers generate intense localized heat that can instantly warp, “potato-chip,” or ruin thin brass watch dials. In this video, we break down the exact physics of laser heat management and the critical tolerances required for flawless dial fabrication.
No matter what type of fiber laser you have, you will learn tips and techniques on how to design custom workholding jigs, use vises, and thermal paste to manage thermal shock and draw heat from the metal work piece to minimize or eliminate thermal deformation. I also cover how to align pre-machined blanks so your dial feet, date windows, and hour markers line up perfectly every time.
This video covers:
Heat Management & Workholding: how air cooliing, fans, or air assist isn’t enough to prevent deformation and why a flat watch dial matters and I show how to make a simple and easy to use aluminum blocks as a workpiece holder and heatsink to prevent heat warping using a drill press and flat aluminum bar stock
Choosing your initial stock material: The pros and cons of engraving blank stock without dial feet versus using pre-made blanks with pre-installed feet.
Precision Alignment and Workflow: how to make a custom holding fixture or a dial foot template to ensure your hour markers and indices are perfectly aligned on your watch within fractions of a millimeter. (To skip directly to the 3-in-1 Dial Tool Holder you can go here to skip the rest of the video: https://youtu.be/bUvKpglmUsM?t=830)
Movement Clearance & Thickness: How different blank stock thickness affects heat deformation and hand clearance and vital case metrics for considerations of cannon pinion height, preventing watch hand collisions, and crystal clearance considerations
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Links & Resources:
Custom Brass Watch Blanks (eBay Store):
44.8mm and 40mm brass blank two packs – https://ebay.us/m/TMzyaN
Barger Watch Web Store Link to Brass Blank Dials:
https://www.bargerwatch.com/product-page/blank-dial-44-8mm-2-pack
Barger Watch Web Store Link to Aluminum Work Piece Holder:
https://www.bargerwatch.com/product-page/makers-tool-50mm-x-60mm-watch-dial-workpiece-holder
Fiber Laser Marking Metal Sheet Holder Marking Attachment Fixed Bracket Metal Foil Thin Paper Clamp For Laser Marking Cutting Machine
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNMFE3z
Questions? Drop them in the comments belowโI read and answer them all!
Check out my other popular watch videos:
๐ฅ Check out my other watch video: Fiber Laser Watch Dials 101 – How to make a watch dial on a fiber laser
How to Make Custom Watch Dials using laser engraving on fiber laser: power settings, speeds, & setup. โค๏ธ https://youtu.be/ZRC3gs276Sc
Custom Watch Dial and Custom Watch Build – with the same Swiss Movement as a $2000 watch
Custom watch dial and building an Automatic watch. How I built this one.
Ruined or Fixable? Tissot Day/Date Water Damaged Disaster
Rushed for time? Check these shorts on watch dials:
How to make custom watch dials – fiber laser engraving and Lightburn 3D slice
Making a Custom Watch Dial and Custom Automatic Watch – fiber laser engraving watch dial #watch
How to Make a Watch Dial on a Fiber Laser for a custom watch
Making a Custom Watch Dial using a Fiber Laser
#watch #watchdial #customwatch #watches #watchdials
#bargerwatch
Website: BargerWatch.com
Instagram @BargerWatch
#Watchmaking #FiberLaser #BargerWatch #CustomWatch #CNCMilling #LaserEngraving
0:00 The challenge of heat
0:59 Planning dial specifications
2:45 Workholding and heat sinks
5:36 Designing for clearance
8:33 Alignment and dial feet
13:04 Building a custom fixture
17:16 Finalizing the process
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