Clock mechanism generation using interaction graphs

The 3D modeling of heritage objects is now regarded as a significant aid and has become essential in the study and mediation of cultural heritage. In horology, 3D models serve not only for visualization but also to simulate complex movements, replicate mechanisms, and study their functionality for scientific and educational purposes. While promising, modeling accurate functional 3D clock models presents challenges that require considerable time and expertise in both clockmaking and mechanical modeling. This paper presents a new method to automatically generate functional mechanical clock assemblies given a formalized interaction graph. The latter describes both the parts of the mechanism and the sub-assemblies, all respecting constraints defined with the help of experts in the field. This graph is then used as a base for our novel parameter propagation algorithm to automatically generate valid 3D models of the corresponding clock from a limited amount of input data. Our method provides different generations of clocks that adhere to functional constraints such as the mechanism category (e.g. comtoise, Neuchâteloise, Paris...), gear ratios or part placement. • An automatic generation process to produce functional 3D models of clocks from a minimal set of input parameters. • A formalized abstract mechanism representation called the “interaction graph”. • Horology cultural heritage application.