3D Printing for fun.....

[swaye2010]

I am lucky to now have a jeweler in the family now which has allowed me to play around with some of the new technology available for printing and design. These are not my everyday rings so I know they may not be considered as sturdy as some cast or hand forged but I was interested more so in the process & technology itself. I bought a few rings through some of the vendors in the Fabulous Fashion Jewelry thread but the platinum was softer than I liked. I had an antique cushion moissanite that I really liked but the tapered baguettes were rather flat & ‘plasticky’ looking so I bought a matched diamond pair from Ivy & Rose that are .40 tcw. I think they ended up matching the center moissanite really well. That ring is getting hand engraving and miligrain added to it right now. The 2nd ring was an antique diamond 5 stone that I bought off ebay that was in a really ugly 14K white gold setting. I decided to get it remade in PT950/RU in a very low tapered setting. The last ring is a solitaire that I managed to deform pretty easily because the platinum was so soft. This was made a little thicker and also in PT950/RU with a 10mm moissanite.

Here is a short time lapse video:

These are just some fun rings for me but I find the process very interesting. They are also using a program called Sketchfab so you get a CAD drawing but also a 3D model which allows you to see the ring from every angle. I think this really helps visualize the setting and makes it easier to fix things without guessing. Here is an example:

https://skfb.ly/6KO9E

 

[Dee*Jay]

Swaye, the link to the video doesn't work for me. Is there another way to post it? I'm dying to watch!

 

[swaye2010]

Swaye, the link to the video doesn't work for me. Is there another way to post it? I'm dying to watch!

OK. I went with the vimeo code rather than the embed code. See if that works.

 

[tyty333]

Very cool...

 

[Dee*Jay]

OK. I went with the vimeo code rather than the embed code. See if that works.

Yes, thank you! That's really cool!!!

 

[bludiva]

I am lucky to now have a jeweler in the family now which has allowed me to play around with some of the new technology available for printing and design. These are not my everyday rings so I know they may not be considered as sturdy as some cast or hand forged but I was interested more so in the process & technology itself. I bought a few rings through some of the vendors in the Fabulous Fashion Jewelry thread but the platinum was softer than I liked. I had an antique cushion moissanite that I really liked but the tapered baguettes were rather flat & ‘plasticky’ looking so I bought a matched diamond pair from Ivy & Rose that are .40 tcw. I think they ended up matching the center moissanite really well. That ring is getting hand engraving and miligrain added to it right now. The 2nd ring was an antique diamond 5 stone that I bought off ebay that was in a really ugly 14K white gold setting. I decided to get it remade in PT950/RU in a very low tapered setting. The last ring is a solitaire that I managed to deform pretty easily because the platinum was so soft. This was made a little thicker and also in PT950/RU with a 10mm moissanite.

Here is a short time lapse video:

These are just some fun rings for me but I find the process very interesting. They are also using a program called Sketchfab so you get a CAD drawing but also a 3D model which allows you to see the ring from every angle. I think this really helps visualize the setting and makes it easier to fix things without guessing. Here is an example:

https://skfb.ly/6KO9E

awesome!!!

 

[GeliL]

I actually have done some 3D modelling (not CAD, but something similar), and sketchfab is mostly used for online 3D artists. But I always thought it would be a cool platform to exhibit some of the jeweler works!

I am a web developer/new media specialist so I strongly believe in digitalizing everything!

 

[swaye2010]

I actually have done some 3D modelling (not CAD, but something similar), and sketchfab is mostly used for online 3D artists. But I always thought it would be a cool platform to exhibit some of the jeweler works!

I am a web developer/new media specialist so I strongly believe in digitalizing everything!

I still received a traditional CAD. I think the Sketchfab helps for the client though to really see a piece of jewelry and to be able to visualize what it will look like when it is complete. I think when you make a lot of jewelry, It is a lot easier to imagine. If you are completely new to the process though, this really helps so much.

I see so many people being disappointed because they don’t have enough design experience to truly understand what they are looking at on a CAD. I find the technology side very interesting too. I don’t know how these rings will hold up compared to some of my more traditionally made rings but it will be interesting to put them to the test.

I agree that this would be a great way to showcase a jewelers work. Even if it was added to their websites for stock settings. It is a little more sophisticated than just the James Allen 360 rotating view.

 

[GeliL]

I still received a traditional CAD. I think the Sketchfab helps for the client though to really see a piece of jewelry and to be able to visualize what it will look like when it is complete. I think when you make a lot of jewelry, It is a lot easier to imagine. If you are completely new to the process though, this really helps so much.

I see so many people being disappointed because they don’t have enough design experience to truly understand what they are looking at on a CAD. I find the technology side very interesting too. I don’t know how these rings will hold up compared to some of my more traditionally made rings but it will be interesting to put them to the test.

I agree that this would be a great way to showcase a jewelers work. Even if it was added to their websites for stock settings. It is a little more sophisticated than just the James Allen 360 rotating view.

Yeah, the jewelry world is kind of behind on these things, so implementing these would be a cool feature. I think you can embed the 3D view in Sketchfab, and I have also added various annotations certain parts of the model before, so those are all useful tools to highlight the details of the CAD. There are a lot more 3D modelling softwares now for game development that can do highly realistic texture rendering, but sometimes it's too costly.

I think there is also an AR app that lets you virtually try on rings by pointing your phone at your hand. It's great what technology can do these days. Utilizing these would really be beneficial for consumers, but like most non-tech businesses, maintaining these kinds of technology is out of their budget and they are unwilling to make budget for it.

 

[swaye2010]

Yeah, the jewelry world is kind of behind on these things, so implementing these would be a cool feature. I think you can embed the 3D view in Sketchfab, and I have also added various annotations certain parts of the model before, so those are all useful tools to highlight the details of the CAD. There are a lot more 3D modelling softwares now for game development that can do highly realistic texture rendering, but sometimes it's too costly.

I think there is also an AR app that lets you virtually try on rings by pointing your phone at your hand. It's great what technology can do these days. Utilizing these would really be beneficial for consumers, but like most non-tech businesses, maintaining these kinds of technology is out of their budget and they are unwilling to make budget for it.

I find it all fascinating and I wish I understood it better myself. My stepson is young and energetic and lives in a country (Sweden) that really embraces technology. I think if you are starting out and this is your business model, it is probably a lot easier to do. I am not saying it as a way to replace jewelry made by high skilled tradesmen using traditional method’s but maybe as a way for intricate, lighter or even mass produced jewelry. I mean it might not be far off that we could be printing jewelry or many other things from home one day. This is the printing system he is using:

https://www.eos.info/press/customer_case_studies/glittering_prospects

 

[scarsmum]

My ring is 3D printed by my husband. It was fun to watch and receive it. It will however go for setting with a jeweler soon because it might not be insurable in the current setting. I have had zero problems with it however!

 

[swaye2010]

My ring is 3D printed by my husband. It was fun to watch and receive it. It will however go for setting with a jeweler soon because it might not be insurable in the current setting. I have had zero problems with it however!

This is great to see another ring! I can’t wait to receive mine so I can see how they hold up against my other platinum rings.

 

[GeliL]

I find it all fascinating and I wish I understood it better myself. My stepson is young and energetic and lives in a country (Sweden) that really embraces technology. I think if you are starting out and this is your business model, it is probably a lot easier to do. I am not saying it as a way to replace jewelry made by high skilled tradesmen using traditional method’s but maybe as a way for intricate, lighter or even mass produced jewelry. I mean it might not be far off that we could be printing jewelry or many other things from home one day. This is the printing system he is using:

https://www.eos.info/press/customer_case_studies/glittering_prospects

That's really cool!

I think the beauty of digitization is that you can "reverse" the process too. Hand forged pieces can be digitized, scanned as a 3D model and remade that way, or simply preserved as a part of the database. You can compare it to the CADs and that's another form of appreciation for jewelry.

3D printing jewelry sounds cool, but without someone with some solid 3D modelling experience I think it would be too complicated for some. For the more simple designs it's easier, but you need to get the geometry just right within the program, it needs to be very exact to be 3D printable, which is why people hire CAD designers.

Completely geeking out here, hope it's not too overwhelming! I appreciate the hand forged craftsmanship, and I think keeping it digitally would add another layer to appreciating the piece!

 

[swaye2010]

That's really cool!

I think the beauty of digitization is that you can "reverse" the process too. Hand forged pieces can be digitized, scanned as a 3D model and remade that way, or simply preserved as a part of the database. You can compare it to the CADs and that's another form of appreciation for jewelry.

3D printing jewelry sounds cool, but without someone with some solid 3D modelling experience I think it would be too complicated for some. For the more simple designs it's easier, but you need to get the geometry just right within the program, it needs to be very exact to be 3D printable, which is why people hire CAD designers.

Completely geeking out here, hope it's not too overwhelming! I appreciate the hand forged craftsmanship, and I think keeping it digitally would add another layer to appreciating the piece!

I love geeking out on this stuff! That is a great point about reversing the process and even creating digital catalogues. I would think it would even streamline the process because you could work off of existing pieces rather than starting from scratch each time. The design process can be time consuming and labor intensive and it is not really a part of the process where the person crafting the jewelry is making their money. I get charged around $300 in the US every time I make a CAD and sometimes it can go on for more than a month if there are a lot of changes.

The other thing they are doing in Sweden is adding the NFC chips to the 3D printed pieces. Most of Sweden has stopped accepting cash so they use contactless payment for their transactions and you can have these NFC chips embedded in a watch, rings, other pieces of jewelry etc. They are also used for getting into the gym, taking the bus or even to open your front door.

 

[OoohShiny]

I knew they were doing things like printing some vehicle parts in metal, but I didn't know precious metals were an option!

It sounds like an ideal way to make some more complicated designs that would be really expensive if they were hand forged.

 

[swaye2010]

I knew they were doing things like printing some vehicle parts in metal, but I didn't know precious metals were an option!

It sounds like an ideal way to make some more complicated designs that would be really expensive if they were hand forged.

I agree. The 3D printing allows for much more intricate designs. I saw a baby’s hand print turned into a necklace...

Since you mention the auto industry, they have also been testing a new platinum gold combination that was mostly used by BMW but there is a market for it in jewelry as well. It is called platin/gold and is PT950, Gold -15, Ruthenium 10, Misc - 25 (which I will assume is other platinum group metals). I have mentioned it one time before because I was interested if anyone had a ring made with this before. A lot of things that have been used in the auto industry are now spilling over into the jewelry world. I have a gemstone that I am going to get set so I might try it in this new platinum combination. I am curious what the hallmark with be or maybe it only has to be defined at PT950?



Here is some info on it about the new platinum combo. They have it subtitled for English. The interesting part is how white will the metal stay and will it patina like traditional platinum/durability....?

https://www.c-hafner.de/en/technologies-materials/technologies/alloy-and-materials-technologies.html

 

[Stone Hunter]

Very interesting. Great potential for saving antique styles with the reverse method you discussed. TFS!

 

[LightBright]

Thank you for sharing this. Like Stone Hunter says, there is so much potential to save a record and heritage of antique jewelry. I wonder if it can outside of antique diamonds and colored stones to preserve an account of the faceting pattern... cool discussion!!

 

[princessandthepear]

A university hospital in our area had a jeweler use his 3D printer to model organs for study by students. This was when the technology was still relatively uncommon.