[Jewelry making - Article 00414] - Re: [Orchid] CAD/CAM - What works for you?

[Dtstudio]

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    every day, all day i work on jewelCAD for a traditional jewelry
    manufacturer. i got really comfortable with the program after the
    second year. now we do so many special orders that are very similar
    but vary the wt, qty or shape of stone and finger size. these styles
    are our bread and butter and far faster to build than a wax
    alteration with a far superior result. i can knock one of these out
    in about 15 minutes. then there are the custom layouts which might
    take longer, but nowhere near the time it would have taken to
    fabricate, even if i had the skill level to do that. if i
    miscalculate the shrinkage or stone fit it is minutes to correct it
    and re-run the file. the only jobs i do by hand wax are weds to
    match an existing unusual engagement ring with a side contour that
    defies estimation... and those are rare. on the side i freelance cad
    and achieve incredibly organic forms, more like art jewelry. the main
    benefit, aside from the speed is the precision, especially for things
    like matching earrings. i love this program, its like playing a
    puzzle every day. and i still have opportunity to complete a piece by
    hand, imparting a touch of soul. and at least once a day i discover
    something new that i can do. for the record, i find that over 95% of
    spec renderings result in an order. for freelance work i evaluate the
    project, give an estimate and then charge separately for changes. the
    best part is that there is no set up or clean up time. i turn the
    computer on and i turn it off. and i can work in my pajamas!
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