Engineering fundamentals

Quartz clock
Frank Zhang

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0.1 Abstract
The invention of the quartz clock and its rapid development and popularization until it has
dominated the clock industry has suggested its significance for society and scientific research. This
report aims to explore the basic working principles of the quartz crystal oscillator and it’s use in
household appliances. I will be scrutinizing a tabletop clock with its movement powered by a quartz
crystal oscillator as a demonstration to conduct my investigations. In the later section of this report, I
will explain my investigation and summarize the research on the significance of the material
selections of the parts in quartz crystal regulator clock component by component. I will also discuss
about the presence of quartz clocks in modern industries and its impact on the society and life
quality, such as its simplified mechanical structures compare to classical mechanical clocks, friendly
cost, excellent precision, improved durability and outstanding reliability.

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Table of Content

0.1 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 2

Table of Content ................................................................................................................................ 3
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 4
2.0 Background research ................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 The history of clocks ................................................................................................................ 5
2.2 The invention of quartz clock ................................................................................................... 7
3.0 Manufacturing and service properties of materials of the components in the appliance. ............. 8
3.1 Quartz crystal........................................................................................................................... 8
3.1.1 Base working principle of quartz clock ............................................................................... 8
3.1.2 Inaccuracies ...................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Plastic ...................................................................................................................................... 8
3.2.1 Body.................................................................................................................................. 8
3.2.2 Gears ................................................................................................................................ 8
3.3 Others...................................................................................................................................... 8
3.3.1 Stainless steel.................................................................................................................... 8
4.0 Risk Assessment........................................................................................................................... 9
5.0 Disassembling process ............................................................................................................... 10
6.0 Technical drawings ..................................................................................................................... 16
6.1 Orthogonal diagram ............................................................................................................... 16
6.2 Isometric diagram .................................................................................................................. 17
7.0 Detailed descriptions for the components.................................................................................. 18
7.1 PCB explanation ..................................................................................................................... 20
8.0 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 21
9.0 Bibliography............................................................................................................................... 22

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1.0 Introduction
Due to the financial limitations of this investigation such as the chance of damaging the
components and cause irreversible damages or making destructive operation in the disassemble
process, this report will examine a tabletop clock product of IKEA® made with a quartz crystal clock
movement as the driving unit. This product is selected due to its relatively simple mechanical
structure and disassemble difficulty which is more friendly in the term of time cost and risk taking. I
am going to study the applications of materials such as quartz crystal oscillators in household
appliances by disassembling the product into base components, inspect each department and
investigate their use of materials in relation to the junctions and configurations. The sub-sectors
include:

1. Quartz crystal regulator.

2. PCB including a programmable chip for indicator lights and smart time compensation.
3. The gear system (gear train) to differ the rotation speed into three hands.
4. Body(the frame of the clock movement)

(More detailed divisions and explanations of the components will be provided in the following
chapters)

By the close inspection on the parts, we shall gain an insight into the purpose of each component.
We will also analyze the choice of materials of this product, and mainly discover the history and
physical properties of quartz crystal which has made it to be selected to be the oscillator of the
clock.

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2.0 Background research

2.1 The history of clocks

Clocks can be classified as time display (Bellis, 2019), which is an instrument to display the
accurate time of the day. The first records of human timekeeping can be traced back to 3,500 B.C.

3,500 B.C. — Obelisk

The earliest way timekeeping started from shadow clocks, they were constructed in 3,500
B.C. Ancient Egypt in the form of obelisk,

1,500 B.C. — Sundial

The first sundials appeared around 1,500 B.C. also in Egypt, it is the first instrument invented
to measure the parts of the day.

250 B.C. — Clepsydra

Water clocks were invented by Greeks in 250 B.C. It was called Clepsydra, functioned as
alarm clocks triggered by bird-shaped whistles.

520 A.D. — Candle clocks

Candle clocks were found to be used in around 520 A.D. from a Chinese poem. It describes a
type of time measure method that uses the rate o burn of a candle, it is worth noting that
similar candle clocks were also used in Japan around 10th Century.
14th Century — Monastery clocks and clock towers

Monastery clocks and clock towers were first recorded to be built around 14 th century where
they were used in church life and mainly monks for their needs in daily life.

15th Century — Hourglass

The invention of hourglass brings the first dependable, reusable and reasonable accurate
time measurement instrument, the hourglass was mainly used during sea travels.

1504 — Wristwatch

The first wristwatch was invented by Peter Henlein in Nuremberg, Germany, it was the first
piece of portable timekeeping technology being made.

1577 — Minute hand

Jost Burgi invented the first clock with minute hand, it was made for the requirements of
accurate times of a astronomer for stargazing.

1656 — Pendulum clock

The pendulum clock was invented by Christian Huygens with improved accuracy.

1787 — Mechanical alarm clock

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 The first fully mechanical alarm clock was invented in America, however, the first alarm clock
was only capable of ringing at 4 a.m., until 1876, a mechanical alarm clock that could set for
any time was patented.
1908 — Big Ben

Big Ben alarm clock was built in London.

1912 — Battery-powered clock

The first battery powered clock was formed and produced by Warren Clock Company

1927 — Quartz clock

Warren Morrison developed the first quartz clock using the high accurate oscillation of a
piece of quartz crystal in an electrical circuit.

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2.2 The invention of quartz clock

1880
In this year, the piezoelectric property of quartz (silicon dioxide) was first discovered by
Jacques and Pierre Curies, who is also the chemist firstly discovered radium in 1898.

1912
British physicist William Eccles invented the first electrical oscillator shortly after vacuum
tube oscillator was invented in the same year.

1921
The first quartz crystal oscillator was built by Walt.G. Cady. Using the piezoelectric
properties of quartz to construct a signal transmitter of certain frequencies.

1927
In October 1927, Joseph W. Horton and Warren. A successfully described and built the first
quartz clock at Bell Telephone Laboratories, the success of this evolutionary experiment has
renewed the definition of clocks and significantly reduced the cost and production time of
each clock to be made compared to the classical mechanical clocks.

1932
The invention of quartz clock didn’t immediately put it into massive production due to the
limitations from using vacuum tubes. Isaac Koga developed a quartz crystal cut giving
oscillations at certain frequency which significantly decreased the temperature
dependencies and shipping limitations; however, the cost was still unaffordable for the
majority.

1960s
The long-awaited development of cheap semiconductor digital gate finally brought quartz
clock to it’s first success, a portable quartz clock called the Seiko Crystal Chronometer QC-
951, and quartz clocks were soon put into massive production until today.

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3.0 Manufacturing and service properties of materials of the
components in the appliance.

3.1 Quartz crystal

3.1.1 Base working principle of quartz clock

Quartz is chemically defined as the crystal of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), a piezoelectric material,
which haves a special property to react and mechanical stress, such as bending with a weak
electrical pulse as a return, similarly, the reaction can be reversed, meaning that the quartz crystal
will give a slight bent upon receiving an electric signal, without the requirement of transducer in a
resonator (Dwyer, 2000). For example, in some other quartz products aside from clocks such as
quartz speakers, the sound signal is sent out as an electric signal which is later amplified by the
quartz crystal and played through speakers. In the quartz clocks, quartz crystal is used as oscillators
set in certain frequencies to drive the gears to achieve precise time control. A further advantage of
quartz clocks is that the size of quartz does not have dramatic change as the temperature changes,
meaning that quartz clocks have a relatively high accuracy in different weather conditions (Chris
Woodford. Last updated: December 28, 2021).

3.1.2 Inaccuracies
Despite the obtuse reactivity of quartz toward the change of temperature, the small
systematic error still exists which affects the timekeeping abilities of quartz crystal. Furthermore, the
small imperfections made during the production phase of quartz oscillators and gears are still not
guaranteed to be fully avoided. These imperfections error and contribute up to 1 sec/day gain or loss
in time in typical quartz clocks. However, it can be fixed by digital compensation.

3.2 Plastic
3.2.1 Body
The translucent shell of the clock movement is constructed using polyvinyl chloride
(abbreviated as PVC) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (abbreviated as ABS), it’s a type of
thermoplastic frequently used in constructing structures with relatively low strength demands,
therefore they can be found in heavily replicated products or 3D printing industry. These plastics
have high chemical and fatigue resistance, while maintains a high hardness and rigidity level.
3.2.2 Gears
Based on research, the plastic gears located inside the clock movement are made of
polyoxymethylene (abbreviated as POM), usually appearing as opaque white. It’s a thermoplastic
that has intrinsically high stiffness and low friction, fatigue resistance, this type of plastic also has
excellent dimensional stability, therefore it’s commonly used in high precision requiring parts, such
as gears. Additionally, the light weighted property of polymer also provided gears with perfect noise
reduction.

3.3 Others
3.3.1 Stainless steel
The material stainless steel plates were used to connect the battery case to quartz crystal
regulator. Stainless steels are primarily made from iron and carbon, specialised stainless steel alloys
with different metals added in formula such as aluminium can possess relatively high conductivity.

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4.0 Risk Assessment
The demand for safety and WHO issues of this work is relatively low but necessary, in the
table below is the list of potential risks, possible consequences and prevention methods.

Type of risk Probability Consequences Danger Prevention

level

Accidents when Mid-Low Hand injury, breaking the Low Be extra cautious and
handling the product wear hand gloves if
screwdriver necessary.

Getting electric Mid First level burn Mid- Wear inductor gloves
shock while Low
unloading the
batteries from the
cell

Breaking the quartz Mid-High The broken shards might
crystal splash on the floor and cut
hands/feet/exposed skin,
which can later leak into the
bloodstream, causing severe
damage to the body.
Mid- Do the disassemble in
High an enclosed area with
a clear floor for
convenient cleaning,
wear proper shoes.

The wires around High Consuming enamels on Low Wash off the
quartz crystal is unwashed hands has potential enamels/metal
coated with enamel, risk to body health. powders/grease after
which can by each operation
detached from the
wire and cling to
other objects and
people

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5.0 Disassembling process
In this section I will present the record of the detailed process of disassembling the product
with figures provided (This section only specifically shows how the product is dismantled, more
detailed explanations of the purpose and materials of each component will be provided in the later
sections).

Explanation Figure

1. The body of the clock from Figure 1*

front[top], back[middle], and
side[bottom], we can see the time
indication hands through the glass
pane, battery case and standing
legs.

Figure 1: External appearance from front[top],

back[middle], and side[bottom].

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2. Unscrew the 4 spots and the Figure 2*
supporting legs on the back of the
clock, we can lift the back face,
the quartz movement and PCB for
light indication is visible.

Figure 2: Battery cell lid [top left], screws [top middle],

standing legs [top right], clock body [bottom left], back
face shield [bottom right]

3. Taking the mechanical and Figure 3*

electrical components out of the
metal ring with the round glass
panel.

Figure 3: Observation glass pane [top], side shell [bottom

left], PCB for indicator LEDs and clock movement
[bottom right]

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4. Unscrew the PCB down from the Figure 4*
structure, there is a 556-timer
positioned on the mid-left of the
circuit board, a few diodes and
transistors arranged in the middle
with 12 indication lights
distributed around the PCB,
forming a circle. The more
detailed explanation of the PCB
will not be further explained in
this report.

Figure 5*

Figure 4: clock movement [top], screws [middle right],

PCB for switch control and indicator LEDs [bottom]
Figure 5: PCB from photo 1.

5. Disassemble the quartz clock Figure 6*

movement from the battery case,
the minute hand and hour hand
are attached to the axle in the
middle pointing out from the
gearbox.

Figure 7*(see next page)

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 Figure 6: Hour hand [left end], minute hand[middle left],
front side of clock movement[middle right]
Figure 7: Back side of the clock movement.

6. Disassemble the front covering Figure 8*

panel, there are six gears visible
on the first layer, the longest
needle which points those the
center axle is connected to the
second hand(there is no second
hand in this clock, however, this
design in preserved, as the
manufacture uses standardized
production line for all the
products of the same type,
mechanical second hand function
of this product is disabled with the
replacement of LED indicator light
Figure 9*
showing the second), the smallest
gear with a copper ring attached
to it is magnetic to the electrical
signals sent from the quartz
crystal.

Figure 8: Clock movement with the back lid opened [Top

right]
Figure 9: The gears on the first level, they are placed in
the order from the driving gear [top middle right] to the
last driven gear on level 1 which is connected to the next
level [middle]

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7. Lift the second layer of the Figure 10*
gearbox, there are three more
gears present, two for the
movements of minute and second
hands, one other one is connected
to the manual adjustment rotary
button.

Figure 10: The quartz crystal coiled with enameled wires

[top middle], the concentric set of gears responsible for
minutes and hours movements [middle right and right
end respectively]

8. The quartz crystal pulser, with two Figure 11

metal plates functioning as
terminals connected to the
battery case and PCB, there is a
quartz crystal on the top coiled by
the enameled wires which
generates the electromagnetic
force. The enameled wire coil is
not detached from the crystal
since this practice will cause
irreversible damage to the crystal
pulser and the clock will not
return to its normal function after
disassembling.
Figure 12*

Figure 13(see next page)

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 Figure 12: Main components of the quartz oscillator:
Steel plate [left], Coiled quartz crystal [top], Support
[bottom]

9. The PCB of the quartz crystal Figure 13*

control, it has 1 12.5 pf capacitor
which generates enough voltage
to bend the crystal

Figure 13* The PCB designed for sending electric currents

to the quartz crystal to trigger the mechanical bending.

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6.0 Technical drawings

6.1 Orthogonal diagram

Below is the orthogonal diagram, with all dimensions labeled and a brief material list
provided on the top left corner. (note this image is not to scale, please see the original orthogonal
drawing attached in this report)

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6.2 Isometric diagram
This is the isometric drawing of the clock movement, the front, top and side faces are same
as the orthogonal drawing in the previous section. (Note this drawing is also not to real life scale
same as all other drawings in this report, please refer to the original drawings attached with this
report)

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7.0 Detailed descriptions for the components
This image below shows the disassembled components from the clock movement, they are
laid out and annotated with numbers in respective to their physical position in the gearbox, the
definitions of each components including their purpose and material is explained in the table below
the image.

Part No. Additional Purpose Material

information (All
dimensions in mm)

1 Dimensions The body of the movement, a black base Polyoxymethylene,

56*57*12 block on the bottom and a translucent Acrylonitrile
black front cover with a red manual butadiene styrene,
adjusting rotary button on the surface. A Polyvinyl chloride.
2 Dimensions plate is located in the middle to split up
56*57*6 the space and provide supports to the two
sets of gear trains and more components.

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4 Teeth number: 40 These three sleeved concentric gears Polyoxymethylene
Teeth height: 1 share a common center axis, they are
Radius:4 responsible for the rotation of
hour/minute/second hands respectively to
5 Teeth number: 120 the number
Teeth height: 0.7
Radius:3

5 Teeth number: 120

Teeth height: 0.7
Radius:3.5

7 Teeth number: 150 The driven gears of the gear trains, each of Polyoxymethylene
Teeth height: 0.5 the gears have a distinct number of teeth
Radius:5 and radius to vary the rotation speed into
minutes and hours.
8 Teeth number: 48
Teeth height: 0.8
Radius:2.5

9 Teeth number: 50
Teeth height: 0.6
Radius:3

11 Teeth number: 30
Teeth height: 11
Radius:4

10 Teeth number: 12 The copper coated gear designed to be Polyoxymethylene,

Teeth height: 0.6 powered by the mechanical bending of copper(coating)
Radius:3.5 the crystal quartz regulator, this is also the
first driving gear at the start of the gear
train.

12 Length:51mm Hour hand (12) and minute hand (13), are Stainless steel,
attached to the barreled axis striding painted glossy black
outside of the gearbox on the back side.

13 Length:32mm

14,15 Thread diameter: The screws used attach the PCB and Iron
2mm quartz crystal to the box.
Thread length: 4mm
Head length: 1.5mm

16,17 The PCB contains a 2.5 pF capacitor to Iron, silicon chloride,

provide enough voltage to the enameled copper(wire),
wire coils to trigger the bending of the enamel(coating)
quartz crystal, the iron plate (17) is

19
 screwed through the center of the quartz
crystal to fix it on the position.

18,19,20, The conductive iron plate to connect the Stainless steel

21 PCB to the battery cells and the wire coil
outside of the quartz crystal.

7.1 PCB explanation

The electronic circuit configuration for this product is relatively simple, the PCB consists of a
processor, a capacitor and 12 transistors and indicator lights. The processor chip is used for digital
perturbation compensation. The PCB gains electricity from the batteries in the quartz clock
movement. The processor sends an electrical signal which controls the capacitor to release a certain
amount of voltage into the 12 indicator lights in the time intervals of every 5 seconds. The figure
below is an example of LED clock(Robert Gill, Build an analog-style led clock - part 2 2018).

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8.0 Conclusion
As in the modern timekeeping technology industry, quartz clock is the most widely used
technology worldwide and preponderating the sales market due to its production efficiency, low
cost, high consistency and low temperature dependence. The quartz clock takes advantage of the
piezoelectric property of silicon dioxide crystal and can produce steady and strong mechanical
pulses, decreasing the demand of the quality of the gear trains, which significantly decreased the
difficulty and the cost of production. The invention of the quartz clock benefited society by
popularizing the precious time keeping instrument in household applications, from the luxurious
furniture of a pendulum standing clock to a simple and cheap tabletop alarm clock, the development
of the timekeeping instrument is a great example of convenience of technological advancement in
human society.

The research has shown that the material used to craft the clocks is in a tendency of make
minimized cost of production, noise level and maximized accuracy, durability and size. In order to
achieve the certain demands of industries and society, several major compounds in the clocks such
as gears has changed from cast iron to composite or polymers to provide greatly reduced weight and
noise level. As for quartz crystal oscillators, the material of cut of quartz crystal in the wire coil
remained the same, however, as the production method improves, the control in the formation of
the crystal is more simplified and streamlined, and the accuracy compares to the earliest quartz
clocks are further improved. As a matter of future concern, it is estimated that quartz clocks will
reach their maximum physical capacity for producing precise time measurements. Perhaps it will be
replaced with more suitable and efficient materials in the future in the crystal timekeeping industry.

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9.0 Bibliography

Quartz clock working principle

Chris Woodford. Last updated: December 28 (2021) How quartz watches and clocks work, Explain
that Stuff. Available at: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/quartzclockwatch.html (Accessed: March
13, 2023).

Quartz (2023) Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Available at:

https://www.britannica.com/science/quartz (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

Storr, W. (2022) Quartz Crystal oscillator and quartz crystals, Basic Electronics Tutorials. Available at:
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/oscillator/crystal.html (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

Notes, E. (no date) Quartz Crystal Resonator, Electronics Notes. Available at:
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/quartz-crystal-xtal/resonator-
basics-tutorial.php (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

Dwyer, D. (2000) How quartz watches work, HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks. Available at:
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/clocks-watches/quartz-watch.htm (Accessed:
March 13, 2023).

History of clock

Bellis, M. (2019) Who invented the clock?, ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo. Available at:
https://www.thoughtco.com/clock-and-calendar-history-1991475 (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

Technical drawing information & graphics

Technical drawing specifications - timboonp12.vic.edu.au (no date). Victorian curriculum and

assessment authority . Available at:
https://www.timboonp12.vic.edu.au/app/webroot/uploaded_files/media/technical_drawing_specifi
cations.pdf (Accessed: March 13, 2023).

Gill, R. (2018) Build an analog-style led clock - part 2, Nuts and Volts Magazine. Available at:
https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/build-an-analog-style-led-clock-part-2 (Accessed:
March 14, 2023).

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