The balance wheel is the beating heart of every mechanical watch mechanism. The delicate springs are usually made of cast, forged Nivarox alloy. At Empa a new generation of balance springs is produced with means of electroplating. Image: A. Lange & Söhne
What happens when something keeps getting smaller and smaller? This is the type of question Empa researcher Johann Michler and his team are investigating. As a by-product of their research completely novel watch springs could soon be used in Swiss timepieces. Applied research is not always initiated by industry - but oftentimes it yields results that can swiftly be implemented by companies. A prime example can be seen on the Empa campus in Thun: Tiny watch springs are on display at the Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures. These springs - the beating heart of every mechanical clock - are not your usual components. They are not made of the famous Nivarox wires, but rather deposited electrically - or, rather, electrochemically - in the desired form from a cold, aqueous saline solution. By now, the production in the Empa lab has outgrown the first pilot tests.
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