Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Verge escapement with balance-wheel assembly, modeled after the Royal Oak wristwatch by Audemars Piguet, a Swiss watchmaker.
A wristwatch is subject to continuous change in position, resulting in slight and uneven contractions during rotation, shifting its own center of gravity.
A second hairspring, mounted oppositely on the same verge, averages out the sideways force. A second balance wheel anchors the spring as well as increases rotational inertia for a more consistent rate.
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), the leading French horologist of his time, invented the "overcoil" to immune the escapement from errors caused by the changing position of the watch while being carried. Today, Audemars Piguet watch manufacturer mitigates positional error with double-stack balance-wheel and spring assembly.
According to Quill & Pad Magazine (May 29, 2016), which covers the fine watch industry:
“How does a double spiral system resist gravitational forces? Positioned opposite each other, the springs “breathe” alternately; when one expands, the other contracts. In addition, they each move in the opposite direction. So, when the center of gravity of the first balance spring makes a shift, the center of gravity of the second one moves in the exact opposite direction, thus compensating for the error and ensuring that the gravity center is always kept at the center of the balance wheel.”
Torsional constant of the 3D-printed balance spring: K = 4.65*10^-6 Newton*meter
Chapters
00:15 Positional Error in Mechanical Wristwatches
00:40 Mitigating Positional Error
01:10 Wheel assembly — Audemars Piguet Proof of Concept
01:20 Lego verge escapement — front view, 4X Actual Frequency
01:45 Lego verge escapement — top view, 4X Actual Frequency
02:12 Lego verge escapement — Actual Frequency of Oscillation
Watch various Lego Verge Escapements:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
Music
Title: Anomalous Hedges
Artist: Mini Vandals
Album: Anomalous Hedges, Released 2021
#LegoEscapement #ClockEscapement #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #diyphysicsclock
Verge escapement with balance-wheel assembly, modeled after the Royal Oak wristwatch by Audemars Piguet, a Swiss watchmaker.
A wristwatch is subject to continuous change in position, resulting in slight and uneven contractions during rotation, shifting its own center of gravity.
A second hairspring, mounted oppositely on the same verge, averages out the sideways force. A second balance wheel anchors the spring as well as increases rotational inertia for a more consistent rate.
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), the leading French horologist of his time, invented the "overcoil" to immune the escapement from errors caused by the changing position of the watch while being carried. Today, Audemars Piguet watch manufacturer mitigates positional error with double-stack balance-wheel and spring assembly.
According to Quill & Pad Magazine (May 29, 2016), which covers the fine watch industry:
“How does a double spiral system resist gravitational forces? Positioned opposite each other, the springs “breathe” alternately; when one expands, the other contracts. In addition, they each move in the opposite direction. So, when the center of gravity of the first balance spring makes a shift, the center of gravity of the second one moves in the exact opposite direction, thus compensating for the error and ensuring that the gravity center is always kept at the center of the balance wheel.”
Torsional constant of the 3D-printed balance spring: K = 4.65*10^-6 Newton*meter
Chapters
00:15 Positional Error in Mechanical Wristwatches
00:40 Mitigating Positional Error
01:10 Wheel assembly — Audemars Piguet Proof of Concept
01:20 Lego verge escapement — front view, 4X Actual Frequency
01:45 Lego verge escapement — top view, 4X Actual Frequency
02:12 Lego verge escapement — Actual Frequency of Oscillation
Watch various Lego Verge Escapements:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
Music
Title: Anomalous Hedges
Artist: Mini Vandals
Album: Anomalous Hedges, Released 2021
#LegoEscapement #ClockEscapement #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #diyphysicsclock
