Question for DavidEmslie and Griffin/CAD jewelry design

[diamondlil]

Question for you or anyone familiar with CAD jewelry design:






I did not want to hijack the other thread about *size of diamond in relation to setting* so I started a new thread.




This CAD system of design is fascinating to me. Yet another area of jewelry design I''d like to know more about. After the ring is designed on the computer, how does it then go to wax (or plastic). Is this done by a machine that takes the information and makes the wax? Or is the wax made by hand the old-fashioned way? If there are changes to be made, are they made on the computer and a new wax generated? Or is it more cost efficient to modify the wax by hand?




I''m planning to have a custom e-ring and wedding ring made from my ideas, and I would like to have a better understanding of the entire process. I''m getting the gist of it, but if you could detail it a little for me, I''d have a clear perception of what''s ahead.




Thanks guys,


Diamondlil /idealbb/images/smilies/wavey.gif

 

[valeria101]

CAM/CAD and rapid prototyping...

 

[diamondlil]

Wow, Val. Thanks for the link. There were quite a few archived articles, and I read them all.

Diamondlil

 

[DavidEmslie]

CAD/CAM is really changeing the way jewelry is done.

I do a little CAD but I occasionaly contract with Griffin to have my designs done, he is the better one at CAD than I
However I can tell you a bit about it.

He can take any idea, a sketch on a napkin, a photo or a combination of photos on a theam and with the information givin give you an idea of what your ring will look like, By building it on a computer an immage is made, it can be changed with out much problem untill the desired design is achived.

Once you settle on a design and its a go, the ring is cut on the a most remarkable machine, Griffin has the same rapid prototyping machine that both Canada and England use to cut there coin dies. There is not messing around with it. The accuracy is as accurate as 1/8th the thickness of a sheet of paper to give you an Idea of what it can do.

Now the cutting on the thing is an art form in its own right. Getting things to machine on that leval, its not what most asume, its not like you push a button and out pops a ring. Setting it up to do what it can do is not an easy task.

Once cut, the wax modle is exactly like the photo, the modle is then cast and treated just as any other normal jewelery piece is made. Then deliverd too the customer.

I have put together a small web page with a few examples from start to finish if you want to get more information.

the addy is http://users.frii.com/gold/CADPage

Id recomed Emailing and working direcly with griffin...like I said, he is far better than I am at the process, I am more of a metals guy with some cad exp. I was going to be an engineer before I became a jeweler.

 

[diamondlil]

Thanks, David. This is very helpful. I'm sure there are many designers who still carve wax by hand from a sketch, but this CAD/CAM would seem to be much more precise and efficient. Plus, while working with a designer, if you want to make a small change like the mm width of a ring or the type of head a diamond will be set it, this can be done quite easily with a few keystrokes on the computer. The results are before your eyes in seconds. This has got to save a lot of time and miscommunication between the designer and customer. As the software gets better, the computerized image of these designs will look more and more realistic and less cartoon-like. Eventually, we won't be able to distinguish between the computer-generated design and an actual photograph of a existing jewelry piece. Wow!




DiamondLil

 

[DavidEmslie]

CAD has really changed things, at least for us, and some of our clients.
The program for the art work has really gotten better in the last few years. We actualy heard back from one of the stores we work with that the customer upon seeing a CAD Email was upset for a moment because they thought the ring had already been made!
It has not, but it was kind of funny, Just the other day I used the CAD software to show what the difference on a particular sized diamond would look like with different thicknesses of bands. below is the example.

View attachment feb27pic1a.jpg

 

[DavidEmslie]

And this was the other band possibility, Its nice becuase you can get size aspect ratios correct and looking right before its made.
Not too many people know its an option, or know that it exists, but its alot of fun to use and work with.

View attachment feb27pic2a.jpg

 

[Griffin]

The articles Val supplied links for and David's points pretty much say it all.

The only thing I might add is that there are two fundamentally different concepts that these machines can work from. Some are additive and some subtractive.

Additive machines start with nothing and "print" a thin layer of plastic on top of the last layer, slowly building up a model with each successive pass.

Subtractive machines start with a solid block or tube of wax, plastic, or metal. It then moves in and around the block, and spins the block about, carving away everything that doesn't belong.

Each has it's own strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and compromises. They are capable of very greatly different things, and even where they meet they are not equal - a shape fairly easy to design on one is almost by definition difficult on the other and vice versa.

Someday this will be easier, but not this decade...

 

[diamondlil]

Griffin,


I can see where each type machine would have its points. I would assume that the "additive" type machine would be a signifiantly more expensive machine. The local designer I recently spoke with has the "subtractive" type that creates a wax of the design. I see pictures posted here at PS of "Vatche on the inside" showing his Envision machine and the plastic rings it produces. Looks pretty high-tech.




David E,


My husband is an engineer, and after 18 years of marrige, I think his "tech-talk" has rubbed off on me!

DiamondLil

 

[Griffin]

Yes, the "additive" type of machines tend to be the most costly. They also tend to have HUGE monthly maintenance costs.
There are several categories of this type of machine, each with wildly different ways in which they construct models and materials that they do it in.
As a category they currently tend to be the least capable machines overall, with the lowest quality models - but there are shapes they are capable of making that a "subtractive" machine couldn't begin to touch.

These machines are clearly going to be a big part of the future of the industry if they can be developed into having practical cost/model quality/reliability standards, but for right now they are still definitely still in thier infancy.

"Subtractive" types will always have thier place as well. There are things they can inherently do that "additive" types can't. I work with this type the most often - for what I do they are all but occasionally the most useful.