[Jewelry making - Article 00030] - Re: [Orchid] CAD/CAM - 3Design vs ArtCam JewelSmith

[Andrew Werby]

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Myron

    While I'm not an expert on either JewelCAM or 3Design, they aren't
    the only specialized versions of more generic programs offered to the
    jewelry industry. A couple more you could look at are JewelCAD from
    Caligari (makers of TurboCAD) and Matrix (from GemVision) which is
    based on Rhino. My feeling about them in general is that while they
    make it easier to do common tasks, like building a prong setting, or
    constructing a generic ring, I worry that this inhibits creativity in
    favor of a systematized approach. I've talked with people who loved
    these programs, and felt they were worth every penny and hour spent,
    but also with some who thought that, perhaps with a little more time,
    they could do everything needful in the base program, and didn't
    really need the jewelry-specific version. 

    Another system you really owe it to yourself to check out is the
    Omni/Concept product from Sensable Technologies Inc. This is
    something I've been working with lately, and it's given a big boost
    to my productivity. While it's not specifically tailored to jewelry
    design, it works beautifully for this as well as for other modeling
    tasks. This hardware-software system allows one to actually "touch"
    3d virtual models, by moving an articulated stylus - when you bring
    the point of your tool to the model surface, the action stiffens up;
    so the effect is like running a pencil over the surface of a real
    object. When you press the button, you feel yourself digging into the
    piece, or pulling the surface out towards you. Being able to contact
    the part in this way doesn't sound so important, but in practice, it
    makes a huge difference in ones ability to make subtle changes. 
    Since ones movements in 3d-space are directly related to the form,
    it's much like using a real tool on an actual part. Also, since it is
    so much like real sculpting, mastering it is much simpler than with
    most CAD programs. There aren't very many commands to learn, and the
    tools it has are quite intuitive. You can find out more about this
    system at www.sensable.com or on my site, but unlike a software-only
    solution, you won't really understand its advantages until you
    physically try it for yourself. 

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

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