Barrelhand

New airlock crown update for Monolith🚀 We decided to design around a robust crown that can be used in any condition as opposed to a screw down system. In most cases, popping out a crown or winding a watch under water would cause the movement to get completely flooded. Our airlock crown is currently passing 10ATM crown in or crown out, and allowing it to be wound or set while fully submerged. Further tests still need to be performed but initial data is great. We also maxed out our pressure testing machine at 570m with no issue, almost double the worlds deepest scuba dive on open circuit (332m by Ahmed Gabr) Already overkill but cool to know it can exceed the extremes of human exploration.

Worth noting the design must also handle negative pressure as seen in the vacuum of space, where the watch has 1ATM internally from being assembled on earth, and then being exposed to a 0ATM (vacuum) environment of space. 🛰️

T-07: Airlock Crown🛸

New article is live!

The crown serves as the primary point of interaction between an owner and their watch. From specially designed tools for gloved hands to the significance of "International Orange" in aerospace applications, we dive into the evolving landscape of human-machine harmony in space exploration🚀

Big thanks to for selecting us as a semi finalist for the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize🚀 3D printing will have a significant impact on the future of manufacturing as precision and selection of materials continues to increase. Project One features the worlds first 3D printed steel movement bridge in a production watch. This is only the beginning of our journey and we can’t wait to embark on the next chapter with all of you, let’s go to space🚀

Super cool demo of some incredible 3d printing technologies in collaboration with our partners 🛰️

-fully 3d printed titanium Monolith Chassis using Direct Metal Laser Sintering

-Multi Jet Fusion printed wireframe cage

-full high resolution 3D scan of the actual 15536 Moon Rock recovered from the apollo 15 mission. The scan not only mapped 3d textures but also the colors, and was then imported into a 3d modeling software. We then printed a color accurate high res model with a technology called multicolored Polyjet.

The future is here!🚀

Swipe to see some images of the site where the rock was originally extracted from. The original rock was collected by the astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin on August 2, 1971 at station 9A, (the second stop of the third moonrover excursion) at the edge of the Hadley crack. The age of the rock is estimated at 3.3 billion years, it has a weight of 317 grams, and consists of 40% Plagioclase, 40% Pyroxene, 18% Olivine and 2% Ilmenite.

The crew behind the mission🚀

Beyond watches, we are dedicated to being a platform for innovation. We are collaborating with engineers, scientists, artists, and aerospace pioneers. Each product is an expression of curiosity and excitement for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Here’s the Barrelhand crew with our good friends at materialise helping to codevelop the next generation of the 3d printed Monolith chassis🛸

Left to right: Michael Sorkin, Philip Buchholz, Karel Bachand, Henricus Engelman, and Nicolas Klaus.

New device in development🛰️ any ideas what this is for?

New Monolith casebacks are in🚀 testing out Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) vs clear hard anodizing.

DLC (black) is a harder more resistant coating generally, however once scratched it reveals the silver metal underneath and cannot easily be resurfaced/finished.

A clear type III hard anodize is also highly abrasion resistant, chemically stable, and heat resistant with the added benefit of not easily seeing scratches since it still looks like the raw metal.

Will be testing some prototypes with both finishes to see how they wear/scratch over time, what would you guys pick from a technical and visual standpoint?

Simplicity🛸 While complexity is often appreciated in traditional watchmaking, Monolith focuses on a simple construction to optimize for reliability and maintainability.

We opted for standardized ISO screws so that the watch can be easily serviced/repaired with the tools and resources already available on the ISS as opposed to watchmaking specific tools for screw down caseback systems.

The caseback itself is also simple in architecture and uses a bidirectional gasket seat so that it can handle back pressures in the vacuum of space 🛰️

T-08 of our launch sequence: the Monolith Caseback

Space exploration pushes the boundaries of human capability. In such an extreme environment, maintenance and repair work become especially challenging. The Monolith caseback is specifically engineered to address these obstacles, utilizing aerospace-grade materials, ISO certified components, and part numbering systems based on NASA standards, ensuring seamless integration and simplified maintenance.

Learn more about the Monolith Caseback with our latest article:

https://www.barrelhand.com/post/caseback

RB Metalworks setting up the printed titanium chassis for post processing on the 5 axis CNC. The parts are printed with extra material so that critical tolerances can be machined and surfaces can be cleaned up for final finishes. The arches at the base of the print are used to bind to the build plate to create a stable/flat print surface. In addition to printed steel, titanium, and aluminum, we will also be testing out a new aerospace alloy🛸 more info soon!🚀

T-09 of our launch sequence: the Monolith Window.

When venturing beyond the protective atmosphere and gravitational pull of our home planet, we find ourselves in an environment vastly different from that of Earth. Building products for space therefore requires us to optimize for conditions that are not typically considered in the development of Earth-bound products.

The Monolith Window strikes a balance between optical resilience and shatter resistance. In microgravity environments, a shattered crystal with fragments floating around your spacecraft would not only be unfortunate - it could become a serious hazard to your eyes and lungs.

During the ongoing development of Monolith, we have been exploring everything from the traditional hesalite and sapphire to more exotic materials like diamond slabs and bulletproof glass to identify the most suitable solution. Learn more about the Monolith Window with our latest article:

barrelhand.com/monolith

Underside of the Monolith chassis. Some really cool geometries and flowing curves that would be impossible to do without 3d printing. With traditional machining the more features/engravings cutouts your part has, the more expensive and time intensive the part is to produce.

This highlights another great benefit to additive manufacturing (3D printing) where you only pay based on how much material you use. So no matter how complex of features you want to add it doesnt really effect the final print time and can actually expedite the whole process🛸🖖

Another cutaway view of the ultralight Monolith Chassis🛸 As mentioned in the previous posts, the hollowing of the case could only be done with 3d printing and helps reduce weight which is critical for space exploration.

This hollow section also serves a critical role in insulating the engine, which needs to operate in -120C to +120C during Extravehicular Activities (EVA) outside the ISS and beyond. This air pocket built into the case is fully sealed off from the external environment creating a great deal of insulation much like double pane windows.

Let’s go to space!🚀

Monolith Chassis all cleaned up through a process called wire EDM (Electro Discharge Machining) and ready to be post machined for final tolerances and finishes.

There are still many steps to 3D print metal parts, but a few years from now the technology will mature to where we should be able to print a metal part at such a resolution that you can bake the tolerances and finishes right into it.

Think of what plastic printing was 15 years ago when we first started. some of the first printers we worked on had a resolution of 0.3mm and now were already printing metal in the microns (0.025mm) The future is here🛸🖖

Open the pod bay doors HAL🚨

These "spacesuits" are used to remove all the powder from the print bed so that only the final parts remain, and no metal powder gets into your eyes and lungs. All the powder which is vacuumed up gets recycled right back into the machine, making for a much cleaner/efficient process. With traditional machining a lot of material goes to waste cutting away a big block of metal, and then must be melted/recycled before it can be reused. With 3d printing you only use exactly what you need🛸

Quick cutaway of the Monolith Chassis🚀 Entire body is hollowed out to further reduce weight and can only be achieved through an additive manufacturing process (3d printing). Any idea what the lattice structures inside the case might be for?

Sneak peek of some Monolith Chassis mid print. This metal printing process is known as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Each print starts with a bed of ultrafine metal powder (in this case titanium) which is then sintered by a high powered laser layer by layer. Each layer is printed at a resolution of

Project One next to the new Monolith chassis🚀 we’re currently printing prototypes in 316L steel, titanium, and aluminum. Based on the poll it sounds like you guys really dig the titanium, so we’re excited to share some of the more exotic aerospace materials we’re exploring for the next batch of prototypes.

The goal is a case that is ultra lightweight to reduce cost to orbit, but this also needs to matched with the proper strength and rigidity to meet the harsh conditions of space exploration.

Overall dimensions are going to be 38mm diameter with 20mm lugs, the alpha prototypes seen here (version mk10) were around 13mm thick and we’re hoping to get that down to sub 11mm for the next batch of beta prototypes (version mk14).

Monolith chassis prototype 14🚀Any ideas what the numbers in between the lugs are for?
The entire body is fully 3d printed, allowing us to test out some impossible geometries, reduce part count, and shave weight.

We're already wearing some working titanium prototypes and it feels really good on the wrist. The printing process allows us to reduce nearly 40% of weight over a traditionally machined case in titanium.

Initiating the Monolith launch sequence.

Every month we will share one of 10 Monolith features, highlighting their purposes in the context of space exploration and the innovative technologies involved.

The launch sequence is starting today @ T-10 with the 3D Printed Chassis.

The chassis is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with digital fabrication. It is developed in collaboration with Materialise - a leading innovator in advanced manufacturing for the aerospace industry.

Visit our website to learn more about why weight is a key metric for space exploration and how 3D printing has enabled us to rapidly iterate on a chassis that is both ultra-lightweight and extremely strong:

barrelhand.com/monolith

New podcast is live!🛸 Founder Karel Bachand sits down with AJ from to geek out on the early days of the Urwerk homage, developing Project One, and all things 3D printing for the next chapter🚀 link in our bio and on Spotify: Analog Explorer episode 15

Next chapter: Monolith🚀 Super excited to start sharing with you guys what we’ve been cooking up! As we finished up production/deliveries of Project One we began applying and refining key learnings towards a new project. The entire case will be monolithically printed as a single piece, this time not just as a demonstration of the technology but to optimize towards a functional purpose🚀 any ideas what the next piece will be?

Space exploration is entering a new era. After more than half a century since humanity stepped foot on the moon, we are now preparing - not only to go back - but to venture further into space than ever before. Soon, the Artemis program will launch humans to the moon, this time with plans to build a permanent lunar base. Crewed missions to Mars will follow, and space more broadly is becoming accessible for tourism and various business ventures.

This space renaissance will touch the lives of all of us - whether you take a trip beyond the atmosphere or by experiencing new technologies and insights here on Earth that are a consequence of humanity pushing toward this next frontier.

Barrelhand is a platform for innovation to explore emerging technologies and ideas that will take us to the stars. We are partnering with pioneers across industries to create products designed and engineered for life beyond Earth.

In order to create new realities, one must first be able to imagine them. This is why we highly value the preservation of art. The illustration in this post is the result of a collaboration with the artist Marcel Deneuve, who is building incredible worlds that allow us to imagine possible realities for our future.

Learn more about our mission: barrelhand.com/mission
Learn more about Marcel’s work: https://www.instagram.com/marceldeneuve/

A spaceship for your wrist: Project One showcases the world’s first 3D printed movement bridge as well as other key-components that have been 3D printed in 316L stainless steel. The precision and complex geometries of these components demonstrate the vast yet largely untapped potential of digital fabrication technologies for watchmaking and beyond.

Also highlighted in this picture, you can see the glow of the extra thick ForgeGlow lume composite inserts.

The orange color featured throughout the watch has several symbolic meanings: not only is it the Barrelhand signature color, it is also known as “international orange” which is commonly used in the aerospace industry.

While Project One was limited to only 10 pieces, it has primarily served as a research platform to build an entirely new infrastructure outside of the traditional watchmaking hubs and to gain insights that are now the foundation for our upcoming line of products.

We can’t wait to share more insights with you🚀

Barrelhand: the next chapter.

Project One has been a journey of more than 7 years, which was completed last year with the delivery of all available pieces.

While Project One was limited to only 10 pieces, it also served as a research platform to build an entirely new production infrastructure and to gain various insights that are the foundation for what’s to come next.

Most importantly, Barrelhand has seen the growth of an amazing community that has been extremely supportive.

We are now super excited to share with you the work that has happened in stealth-mode for the past (almost) two years – and the plans & vision for the next chapter!

For a start, please feel welcome to get a taste of what’s to come on our newly launched website at:

Barrelhand.com

Stay tuned.🛸🌌

Image courtesy:
NASA, JPL, Space Science Institute / “Saturn Shine, 2006” / spacecraft: Cassini Orbiter