It is the first part in my recent round of the factory and the museum of Audemars Piguet, in LeBrassus, Switzerland. My excursion started in carbon forged department. Instead of taking notes, I appeared that it would be more interesting really to photograph and record the process of part forgee of carbon. The photographs of devices of presentation (above) of all the stages required to transform raw fibres carbon into only one part of forged carbon .
Initially the raw fibres are unrolled, measured and crosses. The small banks of carbon are then weighed on a numerical scale, where they must be precise with the 1/100th of one gram. If the weight is extinguished, even a hundredth of one gram, the process will not function.
The weighed fibres are sealed in small, dustfree container and are taken in an adjacent room. Here, the carbon fibres are inserted in a metal mould for the part forgee. This is done in a surface of work which comprises an electronic system semi-seal of filtration of dust. Dust can easily cause a piece to be rejected, thus many measurements are taken to prevent this.
After with precision being placed in the mould (to ensure the uniformity), the mould is placed in a furnace. Once the suitable temperature is carried out, the mould is placed in a machine of part forgee cooled by a liquid and the part forgee starts. After 15 minutes the mould quickly is removed and placed in a defect. The final piece then is carefully extracted starting from the mould, using a resistant press of couple. Each piece is immediately hand inspected and cleaned consequently nobody who did it.
If it passes this first quality control, it is moved at another department for more quality control. If it passes these additional controls, it is sent to the service of manufacture for final finishing. In conclusion, it is ready to be employed on a watch of production of Audemars Piguet. In this case, a royal oak at sea.
Go to the excursion of Audemars Piguet:
Part I, part II, part III, part IV, the part V