[Jewelry making - Article 00052] - Re: [Orchid] CAD/CAM Oversupply?

[Rick Hamilton]

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>     I'm very curious as to whether or not either of these assumptions
>     are valid. Will a crafts person save a fortune (having started out
>     spending one) in machining their own models? Is it that easy now?
>     Do the learning curves, production activities, and maintenance
>     routines, require a negligible amount of time? 

    I have had a CNC milling machine for over 7 years. 

    I've been making models since the early 70's, and CAD/CAM has
    greatly broadened my range of model designs. I still fabricate and
    hand carve waxes in addition to milling waxes. The addition is another
    tool, though a very powerful one, that allows me greater latitude in
    my model problem solving. Machining raised or intaglio fonts, rows of
    precisely sized settings or shapes, reproduction of scanned drawings,
    and the ability to re-size and reverse images and models speeds up my
    model production. Depending upon the design and artwork, the finished
    model can have a very loose, hand-carved, or machined look. 

    The maintenance on my mill has been minimal, the learning curve was
    not daunting for ArtCAM, though training is recommended, as it gets
    you designing and cutting models much faster.

    CAD/CAM probably saves a good deal of time and money, I can often
    produce a complete wax model in less than an hour- I've been working
    with one designer for the past two months developing a line of
    jewelry, and the models that we produced would have cost 3-5 times as
    much if they had been hand carved. Errors can be corrected, and
    design changes are easily modified for re-cutting much more easily in
    CAD than re-carving by hand in wax. The mill and software began paying
    for itself the first month that I purchased it. 

Rick Hamilton

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