Blogging for jewelers and metalsmiths made easy! (and for those interested in jewelry and gemstones)

Last October Scott Kay introduced his new line of SK-Cobalt with much fanfare comparing the virtues of his BioBlu27 alloy to popular Tungsten Carbide. The assertion made was that Tungsten-Carbide will fracture on hard impact and that Carpenter Technologies BioBlu27, a Cobalt/Chrome alloy, would likely last a lifetime. Both are true and accurate statements. In fact Cobalt / Chrome alloys in the ASTM class of F75 like BioBlu27 have been used for many years by the medical industry and by other jewelry designers but, with the clear understanding that they are very difficult to cut or drill with conventional tools.

On hearing about the introduction of SK-Cobalt, I made what I would consider now a “knee jerk” reaction to the use of a Cobalt Chrome alloy for bridal goods without adequate means to remove a ring in an emergency. The blog post garnered quite a bit of attention including accusations of bias and ulterior motives and with of the comments from Mr. Dan Scott the Chief Marketing Officer at Scott Kay. Mr. Scott assured me that a tool was being developed and that my concerns would be addressed. Thus to avoid potential damage to Scott Kay’s reputation, I took an unprecedented action to remove the blog post pending a solution.

Today, I am happy to say that I will be eating crow for dinner as Scott Kay has indeed demonstrated a rather simple and innovative method for removing a BioBlu27 ring. The device is an adaptation of existing inexpensive tools available from most jewelry supply and hardware stores. As well the entire process seems relatively quick and easy. I am truly happy for Scott Kay BioBlu27 fans and wish for them great success. I should also point out that this new tool will open up an acceptance of traditional F75 alloys joining the growing group of alternative jewelry metals. Kudos to Scott Kay and his staff for sharing with us this new development.

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The much awaited release of the Italian made Digital Wax Systems 3D Printer will be held in Tucson at the Rio Grande Catalog In Motion on February 5- 8th. The CAM systems being introduced are compatible with all CAD software and provide wax patterns with a superior surface finish designed for investment casting.

I recently visited Rio Grande and met with the owner of DWS who invented and manufactures the laser based printers in Vicenza, Italy. The technology is mature and has been used in Europe and the far-east for several years where it is marketed exclusively to the jewelry industry. Rio Grande is now the North American distributor who will provide all training and full technical support.

DWS manufactures three models of 3D printing machines based on laser solidification of UV photopolymers. The system design is a hybrid of both the familiar Envisiontec and the 3D Systems SLA technologies.

Patterns are developed from a shallow optical glass tray which contains a minimum amount of polymer. Each solidified layer of the process is peeled from the tray by an elevator platform after solidification by a laser plotting from beneath the tray. Peel is also assisted by an elastic membrane layer within the material tray. This membrane is a distinct advantage over other technologies as it requires fewer and smaller supporting structures for the build process.

All three machines can build models in a layer thickness ranging from 0.01 - 0.05 mm in the Z axis depending on resin type. These materials however seem to be optimized by the manufacturer for 0.03 mm layers. Support generation is expected to be performed primarily in the native CAD software.

The DWS 008 model is an entry level machine with a 65 x 65 mm envelope which can produce on average 4 - 6 models per day. The curing process is performed by a diode laser affixed to a carriage on a gantry beneath the tray.

The plotting of the carriage is performed by rotary encoders driven by belts and pulleys. The gantry system allows for the laser curing spot to remain very constant in shape although it does increase build time significantly over the other two DWS models. The plotting style is drawn in a single line raster with user defined hatching based on the design geometry in a range from 0.02 - 0.06 mm. There is, unfortunately, no plotting of the design perimeter to optimize surface quality and no Z compensation preparation software included. Users must supply a SLC file type with supports generated by a third party program or native CAD software.

The DWS028 model also has a 65mm x 65 mm envelope which can produce 30-40 models per day. The curing is performed by a fixed laser diode which uses a movable mirror array to plot the curing process. The plotting style is raster like the DWS008 but also includes a final vector plot of the model perimeter on each layer which improves surface quality. The raster hatch range is also greater from 0.01 - 0.09 mm. The DWS028 comes with a software suite which can provide for Z compensation and thus a slightly more accurate result. Users can supply either an SLC from a third party / native CAD or an STL file which can be converted to SLC after Z compensation is performed. This software suite seems to be much more robust and provides repair and Boolean Union of created primitive STL supports. The diode laser used on DWS0028 is less powerful than the other two DWS models and thus users are constrained to the DWS400 polymer material for investment casting. Look for a new resin that we tested last month to be l released in Q1 of 2010 with a remarkable surface finish

The DWS029 model is similar in construction to the DWS028 with a few exceptions. The build envelope is 130 mm x 130 mm and thus the throughput is significantly higher in excess of 100 designs per day. The laser is also a higher output than the DWS028 so the DWS500 resin can be used. This resin seems to cast somewhat easier than the DWS400 used on the DWS028 machine. All software and firmware supplied on the DWS028 is also provided for the DWS029.

Given the apparent quality of these products and the reliability of experienced customer service from Rio Grande, this system is well worth your time and interest in Tucson or other trade shows this year. We are currently testing the castability of these new resins here at Techform and I will report our results here on the Orchid blog next month.

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Jewelers have seen some remarkable advances in CAD software tailored for jewelry over the past few years. In particular are the shortcuts, scripts, and builders found in the Rhinoceros 3D jewelry plug-in programs. These script features shorten programming time and make it much easier for novice designers to deliver new jewelry concepts for manufacturers and retailers. In many cases this new breed of designer/model maker is asked to create a photorealistic rendering that can be shown to management and consumers long before the first sample is produced.
The problem with the foregoing scenario is that a design used for rendering a presentation often falls short of what is needed for manufacturing. In recent years at my company we’ve started calling these oversights “CAD/CAM Follies,” wherein the software allows a CAD designer to do things that simply cannot be manufactured, or, if attempted, produce a substandard product.
The “folly” presented here is part of a series to be shared at the upcoming Santa Fe Symposium in May (for details, visit santafesymposium.org).
This example is a simple solitaire to be cast in platinum, in which the crown prongs were to be set with small accent diamonds.

The CAD designer created the ring with center stone prongs that were 1.7 mm by 1.7 mm, proportional to the primary diamond (1 carat/7 mm) and shank (2.5 mm wide at finger rest). He then used a cutter script or builder to create channels with shared prongs for accent diamonds. While this method worked perfectly for a rendering (1), illustrating how the ring will look set with diamonds, it created a nightmare for the platinum caster and bench jeweler. When misused, these cutter scripts and builders can reveal very thin walls that will often fail in casting and/or setting. In this case, the prongs were left with cross sections of 0.051 mm (2), which would not be strong enough to hold the center diamond securely. The entire job needed to be started over again.
The solution to this CAD/CAM folly is simple, although time consuming. Since the CAD designer had not saved prior versions of this ring, we had to design it again, this time offsetting the stones from the surface, leaving only a hint of the culet as a cutter to indicate the setting layout. We also eliminated the channel and shared prong cutter, electing instead to bead set the stones in the crown after casting. The advantage of our revised design was that we maintained the structural integrity of the prongs in casting and provided a better metallurgical condition for setting both the center and accent diamonds.

The lesson in this folly is that business owners and managers would be better served in understanding and communicating a fitness for purpose when relying on CAD/CAM. As we move into the new age of online custom jewelry manufacturing, it will be even more important to design for manufacturability the first time. Ultimately, your reputation and profitability may rely on that ability. This article was also published in the MJSA Journal along with many other technical articles leading up to the Santa Fe Symposium in May.

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Like many other technology products for the savvy techno-jeweler, the winner of this year’s MJSA “Thinking Ahead” Award was developed as a cross-over product with the input and guidance of experts in our industry.

The Dazor SpecFINDER HD is a digital microscope with a built in CPU and LCD screen that is perfectly suited for documentation of gemstones and fine jewelry. The range of magnification from 1X to 90X and adjustable lighting allow the user to save high resolution images ( 1280 x 1024 ) from nearly every angle of view. The new device makes documentation of appraisals a mere click of button. No more pencil plotting of what an inclusion might look like, with this technology you KNOW and better yet so does your customer. The SpecFINDER HD also has an ingenious vacuum assisted stone holder that does not impair the full quality of the image. It can be connected to VGA monitors and networked to computers ( USB or Ethernet ) throughout your lab.The SpecFINDER HD can also serve other areas of our industry with high resolution digital images of precious metal defects, CAD/CAM patterns, even documenting repair jobs as they come into your store. Here at my lab, we have several digital cameras and microscopes that I bought as state of the art over the years. I am thinking now they are all bound for E-Bay so I can get just one simple HD device…. Maybe Santa will bring me a SpecFINDER HD….

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This is one of those stories that makes you feel good about small business here in America. It begins in a small Alabama jewelry store with a simple need. A bench jeweler who had been using his laser welder every day put his effort into making that job a little easier……… This is Glenn Manning’s Speedwire story.

So many of us are using laser welders and I would venture to say that they all have the same problem…. Glenn’s problem……. It seemed that he kept finding wire in his laser welder left behind that he was not sure what karat or metal type it was. There were bits and pieces of all sorts that just wound up in the scrap. For Glenn this problem was to be the source of inspiration and now with the MJSA award, perhaps a degree of fame.

What Glenn engineered, developed, and patented is a dispensing tool which delivers wire precisely where it is needed for laser welding. It is an ergonomic device that contains a coil of wire securely and isolated from dust and dirt. The delivery is provided by a friction wheel similar to a BIC lighter which rolls out wire advanced by your finger tip. The device is simple, well thought out, and provides what I think is an excellent way of keeping track of precious metal wire while reducing waste.

In the preliminary tests that we performed at TechForm here in Oregon we used the device for several weeks for both platinum and 316L stainless with great results. We hope to get a few more Speedwire dispensers in the weeks to come for each gauge and type of wire we use. While it remains to be seen whether Glenn will market this device with or without wire, it is obvious to me that everyone who uses a laser welder will want a collection of Speedwires in their own workshop. For more information click SPEEDJEWELER and see for yourself

Congratulations Glenn on your well deserved MJSA 2009 Thinking Ahead Award.

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Beginning this week, owners of Solidscape 3D Printers now have a place to discuss and learn best practices using this popular CAD/CAM technology. A small group of dedicated users have established the Solidscape User Group with an electronic forum at solidscapeusergroup.com and hope to elect officers in early 2010. An interest has also been expressed in a monthly E-Newsletter featuring notable jewelers using CAD/CAM along with a formal meeting to coincide with the JCK Las Vegas show in June of 2010.

The founding members wish to express their thanks to the management at Solidscape for their cooperation and support in establishing this independent organization.

Concurrent to the launch of the Solidscape User Group, I am pleased to announce the release of MagicsBijoux, a new software product designed for Solidscape Users. The program was developed by Materialise who specialize in 3D data preparation for many popular Additive Fabrication ( AF ) devices and 3D printers. This new software increases efficiency of jewelry designers who use Matrix and other Rhinoceros 3D software, saving many hours of valuable design time. Designers simply do their work and then let MagicsBijoux stitch everything together and send it on to the Solidscape process. For more information go to  www.solidscapeusergroup.com or contact your regional Solidscape Reseller.

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On a recent project I was asked to provide a consult for a client working on a tedious project. A New York jeweler was trying to polish a very intricate palladium casting and finding subsurface porosity in tight areas. There was considerable detail in this sculptural piece which required a smooth and clean surface and he had tried all sorts of polishing papers and compounds.

Bench jewelers who work with platinum and palladium on a regular basis will tell you that PGMs (Platinum Group Metals) need to be work hardened in order to get a good polished surface.

What I found for him was an excellent tool fit for the job from Gesswein. The ultrasonic hand tool available from Gesswein called Sonocraft can burnish metal harder and at the same time collapse any surface porosity that may be found in the casting. It comes with several tungston carbide tips and you can of course create your own special shapes. If you are trying to make quality platinum or palladium jewelry and perhaps working with less than perfect castings, this tool is your ticket to a happy-happy, joy-joy project.

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