Kong
[Moderator]
7855
For small parts, it is quite inevitable ...
not to get the hands dirty.
Most machinists when gripping smaller parts, would not like to wear finger-cots as it muffles the sensitivity of the hand to feel just a very light grind.
Since you have seen 'black' dirty, how about 'white' dirty ? 
This is micro-sandblasting .....
A side view of the microsandblasting chamber. As the blasting media (should silicon carbide powder)
is extremely fine (70 to 110 microns), it is unhealthy to breathe in.
With the lid of the chamber open, quickly have a look...this is the fixture which holds the buckle.
These buckles were just cut out.
These are sandblasted, placed on the other side away from the unprocessed.
The technician/machinist sat down and slided his hands into the working gloves attach to the blasting chamber
(shown in the first picture above).
Note the non-through notch area which the buckle pin rest on .... it was partially punched out.
As it is not a through slot, files and burnisher could not be used.
The micro sandblasted buckle. The excess material was removed and the surface of the notch
was of the same texture as the top surface.
A side view ...
This is the fine white blasting media.
The micro-sandblasting machine.
Hope you appreciate your ardilon buckle more.
Kong
Watchmaking at Bulgari - Part 2 Making Bracelets at Prestige d’Or
Posting on behalf of Don Corson. For Part 1 : Casemaking at H.Finger, please click here. During a half an hour trip from Lengnau down in the valley to Saignelégier up in the Jura mountains we change the scene from the beginning of spring to winter. From t...
Dirty hands
Kong, I always see the photos showing watchmakers working in a clean enviroment. This is the first time I notice a manufacturing factory enviroment with dirty hands. It means hard work. I like the worker who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. Bulga...
For small parts, it is quite inevitable ...
not to get the hands dirty. Most machinists when gripping smaller parts, would not like to wear finger-cots as it muffles the sensitivity of the hand to feel just a very light grind. Since you have seen 'black' dirty, how about 'white' dirty ? This is mic...
It's amazing how specialized these machines are!
I love that the machine can work at producing the small parts of the bracelet for four hours before needing to be fed more material. Fascinating! Polishing the links looks like dirty work though! Check out the fingers on our friends in the photos! I hope ...
Though machines is highly specialized, nothing could replace the hands yet ...
Just posted more process pictures for the buckle. The black metallic dirts are not easy to remove, even after several rounds of washing. The machinists prefer to use their bare hands then put on protective media, but it kills their tactile sensitivity whi...
On the contrary...
One of the main advantages of CNC is that they are not specialised. That is their main advantage for small prodution runs. You do not need to commission dedicated machines, software takes care of that. In general, they are equipped with interchangable cut...
This is good to know...
...and clever that the machines can be redeployed to other tasks fairly easily. You are, as always, very informative! Thanks! Cheers, Daos
Bvlgari, Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta.....
Bvlgari Group includes the brands Bvlgari, Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta. So, we could see stamped in some of the photos...partial brand names (some in mirror-image just to confuse us): ....LGARI DANI.... So, whether movement, case or bracelet....they are ...
