Hello all of you interested in 3D Printing:
I just got my May/June issue of Lapidary Journal and there was a
lead article on 3D Printing. Let me preface what I will say by
identifying myself as a dentist not a jeweler. However I am married
to a gold/silversmith.Computers are powerful tools in the right
hands. There are steep learning curves on CAD/CAM software (I have
taken courses at the local junior college and used a number of
software programs and Haas vertical machining centers as well as
owning a New Hermes CNC engraving machine). At the local JC I set up
a Replicator 2 machine that we received 4 months ago. I have used
their software to slice and print the objects. The machine uses PLA
plastic and is basically a hot melt glue gun delivery system on a
CNC platform. We also have a Stratasys commercial system that is
about 8 years old. I can print on both machines with either a file I
have created or one that I downloaded. At their highest resolution
you can run your fingernail across the build layers and feel the
ridges of each layer. Not bad, but still there. I have spent my
adult life casting mostly gold crowns and I know that the castings
from these printers will not be bad, but they will require more than
simple polish compound and rouge. Something like a Dedeco white
wheel(this is a fine silicone rubber abrasive wheel) to eliminate
the ridges.
My friend the jeweler here in Ventura blew me away with 3D Prints
from a 20K$ desktop system(Envisiontech Micro) that gives 26 micron
layers. No ridge feel with the the nail and under a loupe a really
nice smooth surface that would shine up with only rouge! If you are
in this to make money and not waste time to overcome the limitations
of your tools, the choice is clear.
But you do not need to buy the machine. There are service shops out
there that will create the print for you and even do the casting.
You will waste a lot of time and money if you try this on your own.
By buying an inexpensive machine and experimenting you can learn
about the important variables. You can even do the castings in
silver and evaluate them. You will still have the learning curve of
the software. And to do custom work for your clients, there is no
substitute for the learning curve. The amount of detail that you can
incorporate into a multi piece creation that links together and can
flex is amazing. And the software can sprue everything.
I saw the prints for a multi piece interlocking necklace that was
tightly sprued and had detail that I could not believe would really
cast, but I was told that it would cast nicely.
Sorry for the long rant, but I was kind of upset that the article
did not really give an accurate assessment of the technology. And I
had also promised to evaluate the quality of the Replicator 2
prints.
Charles Friedman DDS
Ventura, CA