How does the clockwork of a mechanical watch work?
Do automatic mechanical watches need to be wound manually?
Why is the clockwork always dissatisfied?
Will frequent winding damage the movement?
It is the so-called specific analysis of specific problems. First of all, you have to know what kind of mechanical watch your watch belongs to? Mechanical watches are divided into three types: automatic mechanical watches, semi-automatic mechanical watches, and manual mechanical watches.
The automatic mechanical watch is a set of automatic winding mechanism added on the basis of the stand-alone watch. When the arm wearing the watch moves, the weight swings around the axis under the action of gravity and inertia, thereby driving the automatic gear train for winding.
Fully automatic mechanical watch: The pendulum can be wound in any direction (including clockwise and counterclockwise) around the axis, that is, it works in both directions.
Semi-automatic mechanical watch: When the pendulum rotates, only one direction is effective and the other direction is idling, one-way work.
Manual mechanical watch: Usually the crown is turned to wind up the mainspring in the watch, and the clockwork system releases kinetic energy to drive the watch, which needs to be wound regularly.
Any so-called "automatic" thing is not unconditional, the mechanical operation must obey the principle, and the same is true of the watch.
What is clockwork
A clockwork is a rolled-up sheet of steel that is found in mechanical clocks, watches, and toys. "Winding the mainspring" refers to compressing the mainspring in a certain space and using its elastic force to gradually loosen it to generate power.
How a mechanical watch spring works
The quality of the mainspring in the prime mover has an important impact on the timekeeping performance of the watch. It should have sufficient but not excessive output torque. The working principle of the mainspring of a mechanical watch is that when the mainspring is gradually wound up, as the torque increases, the swing of the balance wheel will inevitably increase. When the mainspring is fully wound up and reaches the maximum working torque, the watch will move. . If the swing of the balance wheel still cannot reach the required certain swing, it is necessary to consider whether the output torque of the mainspring is sufficient. If the output torque is too high, the phenomenon of "swinging" will occur. When the mainspring fluctuates greatly at any time, the time experienced by one oscillation of the speed regulating mechanism will also change, and the watch will appear fast and slow when running, which is related to the uneven output torque when the mainspring is working.
Do automatic mechanical watches need to be wound?
The power source of the automatic mechanical watch is the swing of the wearer's wrist to generate energy to wind the mainspring. A fully wound automatic mechanical watch can run for about 36 hours: if it is guaranteed to be worn normally every day, it can run for about 15 hours. If the watch is not worn for more than the above time or the swing is insufficient (the wearer does not exercise enough), the watch will stop running, so the watch should be fully wound before wearing it again.
How to wind a watch?
There are three points to pay attention to when winding a mechanical watch, the winding time period, the number of windings, and the method of winding.
Winding time period: The winding time of a general manual mechanical watch can be before going to bed at night, or twice a day at noon and at night. Arranging the winding time in this way ensures that the watch has enough power to operate normally when we are not paying attention. The automatic mechanical watch is when we get up in the morning, we usually wear the watch during the day, and the power provided by the normal arm activity for 8 hours is enough to make the watch work at night.
Winding number: about 30 laps for an ordinary manual mechanical watch.
Winding method: As shown in the picture, the crown is at the A position, rotate the crown clockwise, there is a magnetic sound, and the feeling of resistance is the winding. Usually, it is considered to be full when it rotates about 30 circles. It is recommended to wind up the clock after adjusting the time. It should be noted here that an automatic mechanical watch is different from a manual mechanical watch. Even if it is fully wound, it will not feel tight, which is an indirect answer: why is the winding always dissatisfied? Because there is a slippery device, the principle of this design is to change the shape of the outer hook of the mainspring to release the extra strings, so as to achieve the purpose of protecting the movement and avoid damage to the mainspring caused by excessive winding.
Will the frequent winding of automatic mechanical watches damage the movement?
Try to wind up as little as possible, because every time you wind up, the handle needs to drive many automatic wheels to rotate together, which will cause the internal parts of the automatic rotor to wear each other, which will cause damage to the movement in the long run.
Generally, an automatic mechanical watch should be worn on the hand for more than 8 hours a day to make up the energy of the clockwork. At the same time, it is recommended to wear a watch on holidays. Only when you wear it on your hand and continuously replenish the energy of the clockwork, the watch will not stop. Nowadays, people who work in the office are common, and the watch often stops and goes. In addition to the reason of the movement itself, it is also due to the lack of exercise of the wearer, which cannot replenish enough energy to the mainspring. You may find this troublesome, you can choose a watch shaker that suits your watch to provide enough kinetic energy to your watch when you are not wearing it.
If it is found that there is still a problem with the running time after the watch is fully wound, it is recommended to perform a movement inspection at this time to see if the movement is short of oil; whether the parts of the movement are worn; whether the mainspring is deformed or disconnected, etc.
If you have multiple automatic mechanical watches or you don't have that much time, you can choose a suitable watch winder box to maintain the kinetic energy of the watch.
