Project Watch Band Revival

Due to years of use and cumulative wear, the band of my Casio G-Shock Ga 100 watch broke recently. Due to the necessity of the watch in my daily routine and the long time of shipping for a replacement watch band an alternative means of watch repair had to be devised.

The goal of the project is to design a reliable and comfortable part as to repair the broken band of Casio G-Shock GA-100 within a limited time frame.

Via the use of a digital vernier calliper, the various dimensions of the existing watch band and clasp were measured, inclusive of the watch band's thickness, clasp rod radius and the distance between the rectangular holes in the watchband.

The first design solution was that of a print in place 3d model of which possessed a rod section that anchored the model only the watch band and possessed a curved section of which enclosed the broken area securing the watch clasp to the plastic watch band.

This design was printed on an FDM 3d printer such that its face of the largest surface area came into contact with the printer build plate and hence the circumference of the circular sections was manufactured in the vertical axis. As such it was found that such section was not strong enough to reliably secure the watch clasp into place and a new design iteration was generated.

Whilst designing the Project Robotic Pen Version 4 and the Project Headphone case, I had learnt about the unique properties of thin layers of printed sheets of PLA plastic. These sheets possessed a great deal of flexibility and overall durability and can be altered to take a unique contour after printing via heating.

As such this iteration utilized 2 anchor sections of which anchored to the top and bottom of the watch band whilst wrapping around the watch clap's rod using an aforementioned thinly printed sheet section. Such section was then heated into shape around the curve of the watch band's end section.

Model After folding into place

The model was then printed and the tips of the anchor sections were sanded to minimize skin irritation. After such the model was folded and heated into place and then installed onto the watch band as seen below.

After Strength and Durability Testing minor Iterative tweaks were made to the model's printing settings to further improve design durability and comfort to the user.

In Conclusion, a reliable and comfortable part was Designed, Manufactured and Tested to repair the broken band of Casio G-Shock-GA 100. All of which was done in a limited timeframe to allow the usage of the watch till a suitable replacement band was able to be sourced and installed onto the watch.