Kyber Crystal Container (Star Wars Death Star Collection)
Sector:Luxury Watchmaking / Collector
Period:March-April 2021 (intensive production ~2 months)
Client:Kross Studio (Geneva) — Watch brand under Disney/Star Wars license
Context
Kross Studio is a Geneva-based watch manufacturer that produces collectible watches under Disney and Marvel licenses. For their collectionDeath Star Central Tourbillon, they needed an exceptional collector's case: anauthentic reproduction of the Kyber crystal containersof the Galactic Empire (Star Wars), serving as a box for the watch, its straps, and a real Kyber crystal from the film.
Specifications:
- Scale:1/2 of the original(1.20 meters long in the film → 60 cm long)
- More than 700 piecesper container
- Fully assembled and hand-painted
- Immersive details true to the Star Wars universe
My role: produce all the black grooved plastic parts and the control panels of these containers ina very tight deadline(March-April 2021).
Problem
Major technical challenge:
- Material:POM-C (Delrin)— high precision plastic engineering,1mm thickness(extremely thin and difficult to machine without deformation)
- Complex geometries: organic shapes, fine details, interlocking parts (700+ parts per container)
- Tight tolerances: all parts must fit together perfectly
- Control panels: parts with text in Aurebesh alphabet (Star Wars), buttons and details in machined aluminum
Manufacturing challenge:
- POM-C 1mm: material that lifts during CNC milling →part holding issue
- Need to create a suitable clamping solution
- High production volume: several containers to produce
- Very short lead time: 2 months of intensive production
Equipment challenge:
- The existing CNC could not properly hold the 1mm POM-C sheets
- Solution to create: development and manufacturing of alarge format vacuum tablecustomized for the CNC
Solution
Technical innovation: large format vacuum table
In response to the POM-C 1mm holding issue, I designed and manufactured alarge format vacuum tablesuitable for my CNC:
- Table design (porous surface, vacuum distribution channels)
- Manufacturing and integration on the existing CNC
- Testing and calibration
- Result:perfect holding of 1mm POM-C sheets without deformation during machining
Production of parts
Materials:
- Black POM-C (Delrin): structural parts, panels, details (1mm)
- Aluminum: buttons, knobs, metal elements of control panels
- Orange paint: characteristic finish of Empire containers
Produced parts:
- Container structural panels (fronts, top, sides)
- Control panels: panels with engraved Aurebesh text, indicators, machined aluminum buttons
- Grills and decorative details
- Junction and assembly elements
- 700+ parts per container, all CNC machined
Process:
- Receiving design files (Kross Studio)
- Preparing CNC programs (adapting to material constraints)
- Manufacturing the vacuum table
- Mass production of parts (POM-C + aluminum)
- Quality control part by part
- Delivery for assembly and final painting (Kross Studio)
Result
Deliverables:
- All plastic parts and control panels for the Kyber Crystal Container
- Precision machined 1mm POM-C (700+ parts per container)
- Control panels with Aurebesh text and aluminum buttons
- Production delivered on time (2 months)
- Large format vacuum tabledesigned and manufactured (internal tool, reusable)
Impact:
- Contribution to aworldwide collector's item(Death Star Central Tourbillon)
- Production within a tight deadline with a particularly difficult material to machine
- Technical innovation: development of specific tooling (vacuum table) to meet the need
- Parts integrated into a case sold with an internationally prestigious collector's watch
This project demonstrates:
- Ability tosolve complex technical problems(difficult material, short deadlines)
- Tooling innovation: create missing tools when necessary
- Precision and quality on large volumes
- Execution under pressure with premium results
Photos/Visuals
product source: https://kross-studio.ch/fr/collector-set-death-star/tourbillon-central-death-star
Tags:projects, watchmaking, collector, Star Wars, Kross Studio, CNC, POM-C, prototyping, precision manufacturing, 2021