Eta Sa Manufacture Horlogere Suisse

Eta Sa Fabriques D'ebauches

Omega Sa

Philippe Marmy

Thierry Conus

Benjamin Krähenbühl

Jean-Luc Helfer

Marc Lippuner

Eric Favre

Michael Reber

Christoph Schlencker

Christoph Schlenker

The process comprises the following steps:

Method of manufacturing multi-level, silicon, micromechanical parts and parts thereby obtained

A micro-mechanical part made of insulating material, such as a silicon balance spring () for a timepiece movement, tends to adhere to a neighboring part when it is in movement, such as the balance cock (). This drawback is removed by carrying out, over all or part of the surface, a thin deposition of a layer of conductive material, such as a metal, which is preferably non-oxidizing and non-magnetic, such as gold, platinum, rhodium or silicon.

Micro-mechanical part made of insulating material and method of manufacturing the same

The mobile element includes a central rigid zone () provided with arms () extending radially from the central zone () towards a peripheral zone including teeth (). The arms () are flexible to allow a small tangential and/or radial movement of the teeth () in order to absorb shocks. The invention is characterized in that the arms () are curved and bend gradually towards an orientation tangential to the rotation of the mobile element, in that the thickness of the arms gradually decreases, and finally, in that the ends of the arms form the teeth.

Mobile micromechanical element with shock controlled rotation

A method for manufacturing a balance-spring for a clockwork movement wherein a spring is formed by winding, from a wire or metal strip, said spring including an inner end intended to be fixed to a balance and a outer end zone intended to be fixed to the balance-spring stud and wherein the whole spring is subjected to a first heat treatment subsequent to the winding step of said wire. The method of the invention is characterized in that it further includes an additional step consisting in subjecting at least said outer end zone to a second heat treatment. This method improves in particular the shock resistance of the balance-spring.

Method for manufacturing a balance-spring obtained according to said

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Porrentruy, Switzerland

Philippe Marmy