[Jewelry making - Article 00055] - Re: [Orchid] CNC cutting

[Jesse]

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>     I  have been using Dow Corning Silastic Silicones since 1977. The
>     molds do not wear out. I don't make thousands of a number, but in
>     the hundreds range you can't beat them. I compare all silicones to
>     the Dow Corning Silicones. There are three different harnesses
>     available. All with excellent working properties. Somewhat had to
>     find though. 

    Todd, there are some nice rings on your website. Obviously, you have
    a lot of experience with mold making. 

    I'd like to know more about the differences between silicone and
    metal molds, as well as the limitations and benefits of.each method. 

    When you are doing rings in a quantity range of 100's, with your
    system's reliance on silicone molds, do you find that jewelry with
    the small highly raised lettering typical of class rings and logo
    jewelry, waxes up and casts with as much accuracy and success as
    rings with small recessed lettering?  I ask this because I recently
    made a medallion with a lot of small raised lettering. It was about
    the size of a half-dollar, cut in wax and silicone molded. The
    customer also wanted a version 30% smaller... it was determined that
    it would be better to cut a metal mold so that the small raised
    lettering would be sure to cast up properly. 

    What's your take on how metal molds compare with silicone in terms
    of fineness of detail and repeatable successful casting of signet,
    logo and medallion styles?  Accordingly, when designing these styles
    intended for silicone molding, does one have to compromise a bit on
    small raised features in general?  Besides high production runs, in
    what other circumstances would it be favorable to use a metal mold? 

>     I am learning Matrix this year and hope to add even more options
>     to my teaching and model making skills. 

    I'm assuming from the work on your website that you now  use Rhino
    and ArtCAM and/or Cimigrafi, You've already got some sophisticated
    modeling abilities, so it will be interesting to see how it enhances
    your work. 

    Rhino's workspace is very customizable. I made a custom rendering
    toolbar with an assortment of tools and automated scripts gathered
    from some very talented people on the Rhino newsgroup. It makes the
    rendering process flow much easier. I can email it, if you'd like to
    try it out.. Also with the help of  the NG,  I've created  jewelry
    specific materials and textures, and learned some simple rendering
    techniques in Rhino/Flamingo that seem to work reasonably well.  I
    made a few tutorials of my  program settings with step-by-step
    screenshots that I'd be happy to share with anyone interested. 

>     I'd love to see some finished jewelry photos. Any available? 

    The image of the pendant on a chain with an oval diamond and pave
    work around it,  is a photo. It was a collaborative project created
    with a jeweler during a training session. I think it was his very
    first piece designed with CAD. 

    I also have a photo of a platinum ring, courtesy of Aron Suley of
    Jewel Genie Inc., a colleague who also uses the Model Master CNC
    system. http://www.jdkjewelry.com/products/fixtures-ring.html 

    I'm planning to post  photos of my work an illustration of the step
    by step process from CAD-to wax-to finished piece. So many projects,
    so little time! 

Best regards,
Jesse Kaufman



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