Hairspring Power

[Jas14]

I’m having some difficulty understanding the transfer of power between the mainspring the hairspring and the escapement. Is it the mainspring which initiated the power in the hairspring and then the hairspring which then in turn powers the release of energy via the escapement at a predetermined rate based off the hairspring? Any info on this would be helpful.

[Andad]

Check this out?

https://youtu.be/9_QsCLYs2mY

[saxo3]

Originally Posted by Andad

Check this out?

Very nice illustration.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Andad

Check this out?

https://youtu.be/9_QsCLYs2mY

Pictures are worth a thousand words

[Jas14]

I have watched that video and it was very helpful. Let’s say for example the mainspring is unwound and stops producing energy, would the hairspring still put out energy to power the watch until it’s oscillations ran out of power?

[Nickn]

Yes
Shake a watch and it tick till the hairspring looses its energy

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Jas14

I’m having some difficulty understanding the transfer of power between the mainspring the hairspring and the escapement. Is it the mainspring which initiated the power in the hairspring and then the hairspring which then in turn powers the release of energy via the escapement at a predetermined rate based off the hairspring? Any info on this would be helpful.

Yes, sort of.

The hairspring is a regulator. It doesn't power anything, but gets it's power from the mainspring through the pallet fork, which pushes against an impulse jewel each time it locks and unlocks the escapement

[Jas14]

Thanks for all the info.

[HiBoost]

Originally Posted by Jas14

I’m having some difficulty understanding the transfer of power between the mainspring the hairspring and the escapement. Is it the mainspring which initiated the power in the hairspring and then the hairspring which then in turn powers the release of energy via the escapement at a predetermined rate based off the hairspring? Any info on this would be helpful.

We discussed this a month ago or so in this thread: https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=786756

The overview is that all power comes from the mainspring. It is at one "end" of the system and it drives the various wheels in the gear train which end up turning the escape wheel. It is called this because it is allowing power to "escape".

If you took out the pallet fork and hairspring, the mainspring would unwind in a matter of seconds at a very fast rate, possibly even damaging the wheels. The hairspring and pallet fork combo (together with the escape wheel are referred to as the escapement) are what is responsible for slowing the escape wheel (and thereby slowing the other wheels and the mainspring) to a controlled rate. That rate is governed by the hairspring characteristics.

The hairspring's job is providing as precise a rhythm as possible. So while the mainspring pushes on everything continuously, the hairspring only allows wheel movement every tick.

The "magic" which took me a while to fully digest is the shape of the teeth on the escape wheel. As the pallet fork unlocks from a given tooth, that same tooth "kicks" the pallet fork jewel to re-energize the hairspring. If it were not for this "impulse" the hairspring would come to a stop after a few back and forths. So this is the actual mechanism by which the mainspring indirectly powers the hairspring - the push that the escape wheel gives to the jeweled end of the pallet fork and the resulting impulse push that the opposite end of the pallet fork gives to the hairspring's roller pin.

[Jas14]

Thanks Jeff, the way you worded it makes complete sense now. Much appreciated!!