Big stud

 

For the last 12 months we have been working on our next release from NHW. While it's still far too early to talk about the watch, I can say that it's pushing the limits of our manufacturing, in the best way possible. In this photo below, you can see a component called a "stud". It's an incredibly small part that holds onto the hairspring of the watch. Like all components in a watch, the stud is very tightly toleranced, and requires the utmost care in design, manufacturing, assembly and decoration.  Our in-house, NHW stud is made from titanium, which is very rare - usually studs are made from either steel, which is magnetic and may influence the very fine motion of the hairspring, or from brass. Titanium offers superior strength, anti-magnetic properties, and is light, corrosion resistant and holds a very good aesthetic finish.  Manufacturing something this small is a feat of our machinists here at NHW. Burrs, cracks, nicks, or any other defect totally destroy the function or aesthetic quality of the part. Even a small scratch, a 10th of the size of your hair, would render this stud useless! 10 years ago if you told me that this part was going to be in my palm, made by our internal workshop... I wouldn't have believed it, but here we are. Modern artisanal watchmaking, Manufactured in Australia. Josh Hacko

Crème de la crème

 

ANCA is Australia’s only machine tool builder. Established 50 years ago by Pat Boland and Pat McCluskey, ANCA has been manufacturing the machines that manufacture the tools that are used in CNC machines worldwide and across all industries, to make parts. In short, ANCA are at the bleeding edge of the manufacturing chain. It would not be a stretch to say that ANCA have influenced every single object around you in one way or another. Based in Melbourne, and employing over 1000 people worldwide, ANCA believes strongly in Australian Manufacturing. NH Micro is a supplier to ANCA, and last year I had the pleasure to walk through their manufacturing facilities in Bayswater North - truly incredible. They are completely vertically integrated, making and assembling nearly every component of their machine in-house. This is a level of industrial strength that you would only see in Japan, Germany, Switzerland and the US.   Just this weekend, the two Pat’s – Boland and McCluskey, were honoured by our government, each being presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), in recognition of their achievements in Australian Manufacturing. The story of ANCA is far more in-depth than just a few paragraphs here, and to capture it, the company has filmed a documentary sharing their journey. It is one of the most inspirational Australian Manufacturing stories I’ve ever seen. I can highly recommend watching it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6NBl9gEJ1k Josh Hacko

Update from the workshop

 

Manufacturing complex parts for our watches, as well as for industries outside of watchmaking, requires complex metrology, too. In this case we are seeing what the limits are of our new Zeiss Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM).  CMM's use tactile measuring devices in the form of ruby spheres to very accurately "feel" how big (or small) a part is. On our new CMM from Zeiss, we've been able to use this method to measure parts with a certainty below 1um - that's such a small value, it's difficult to even comprehend! For reference, a human blood cell is around 7um in diameter. Tactile measurement has worked incredibly well for us, and generally works very well when the feature sizes are relatively large - so you can use a large ruby sphere (called a stylus). But, part of the reason of why we purchased this particular machine was due to its very unique ability to use incredibly small styli. Generally these ruby spheres are around 1mm in diameter, or larger - however this can pose problems when the parts you are trying to measure are very small in and of themselves! For example, measuring a hole that is 0.5mm in diameter, you would need a ruby that is significantly smaller than the hole size!  Last week we pulled out our new 0.2mm stylus - this ruby is just two sheets of paper in diameter, or about 3 human hairs wide! It's dwarfed against the tip of a ballpoint pen, and requires a special ceramic sphere to calibrate it in our Zeiss CMM, shown below.

These probe tips or styli are manufacturing marvels themselves - here is a great video walk through of how these tiny measuring devices are manufactured! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3oINXdHLNw When we set out to do watch manufacturing in Australia, I never thought we would be doing this! Josh Hacko

The first and only watchmaker-manufacturer in Australia?

Do you know that starting a watch repair business in Australia requires no formal education, certification, or licensing, or even experience? You can call yourself a watchmaker, print a bunch of business cards, and start a business literally today. Yes, you can call yourself even a Master Watchmaker! And if you find repairing watches a bit boring, then you may skip that altogether and start your own brand—and show Rolex how it’s done. I am not making this up. In Australia, we have a number of watchmakers who lack both skills and qualifications, yet they are visibly present, advertising themselves for years as ‘independent makers.’.  About ten years ago, when the Rebelde project took off, one of the driving forces behind the project was a desire to establish the NH brand in a way that it could face fierce competition. I always thought, well, if I can start a watch brand, then surely there would be other watchmakers who can do the same. I was expecting plenty of competition from within the industry but also from individuals who are mechanically minded, have sufficient funds to invest, and are willing to learn the trade. It turned out that ten years later, we are the only people capable of making watch components and complete watches in Australia. The purpose of this short article is to provide you with facts. To empower you, so you can differentiate and assess horological ‘manufacturing’ claims yourself. After all, as an Australian watch collector and enthusiast, you should be armed with the facts. Here is a short list of some of the NH watchmaking capabilities developed in recent years.  1. Design, reverse engineering, and engineering of complex, multi-component devices Multiple workstations. We use the same CAD software as used in the Patek factory. 2. Milling Ability to manufacture various parts using five-axis CNC mills. We use the same CNC machines that make key watch components for Lange, Rolex, and IWC. 3. Turning We are capable of making cylindrical parts by CNC turning, ranging in size from a fraction of a millimetre to the size of a watch crown. Again, we use the same automatic lathe as Swiss watch manufacturers. 4. Wire EDM The cutting-edge technology! Wire EDM allows us to make not just some of the most complex parts that could not be made manually, but also to prototype various one-off parts. 5. Gear hobbing The ability to manufacture watch gears was traditionally the most challenging aspect of watchmaking. Even today, only a selected few can claim true in-house gear hobbing fame. Our CNC gear hobbing machine was built by the Swiss leader in the field of gear making, the very same model used by top Swiss brands like Patek, Vacheron, and Rolex. 6. Thermic treatment of machined parts Extremely challenging! We are mastering it slowly but steadily. 7. Tool and fixture making This is a completely separate field of engineering and manufacturing than the watchmaking itself. Yes, we make our own tools and holders. 8. Grinding Precision grinding is an art form. While we use CNC grinders, the grinding process is still a combination of computer and manual skills. 9. Case manufacturing With the NH55 project, we have completely immersed ourselves in the manufacturing of complex watch cases. We are capable of making cases in stainless steel, titanium, composite resins, and even ceramic. 10. Micro-particle blasting and polishing Both internal and external watch components are finished using various applications. We make things beautiful. 11. Guilloche A horological art form where precision and intricacy take the enjoyment of watchmaking to a completely new level. Unlike Swiss watch dial manufacturers, who use soft metals to create guilloche patterns, our specialty is guilloche in titanium and Timascus. We are extremely proud of our ability to manufacture dials and hands in-house. 12. Anodizing The ability to turn a dull alloy into a fireworks of colour is what makes NH different from most other watchmakers. Anodizing is tricky! It takes lots of skills and patience to master it.  13. Dial printing Yes, completely in-house! We print our dials using the same printing machine used by Omega! Down to exact Swiss paint… 14. Measuring Over the years we have heavily invested in cutting-edge, high-precision measuring equipment. Our ability to measure manufactured components in the submicron range provides us with an unparalleled ability to make components in the submicron range. Without precise measuring, there will be no precision manufacturing. During this year, we had the pleasure to share with you a number of exciting projects of our involvement as a key manufacturer in medical, space, electronics, and scientific projects—for local and international customers and universities. It is important to highlight the obvious: that our manufacturing capability is first and foremost a result of our ability to manufacture watch components and complete watches in Australia. Again, the purpose of this short article is not to brag about what we do. We still see ourselves merely as students of horology on a journey that will take a lifetime—or two—to master. What an exciting journey it is! The Australian-made watch is here—and if you wish to join us, we are looking forward to serving you in years to come. Happy Watchmaking and Happy New Year, NH & the team