Prototipagem rápida CNC para joias valiosas

CNC Rapid Prototyping for Valuable Jewelry

Image of CNC rapid prototyping feature

Jewelry making is one of the oldest industries in the world. However, it is still too early to say that everything that could be useful for making jewelry has already been invented. As progress continues, jewelry CNC rapid prototyping can be improved through metal rapid prototyping services as well as laser and waterjet cutting. In this article you will learn how to do this.

The Conventional Jewelry Making Process

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Jewelry is traditionally made using the casting process. This is because precious metals have good casting properties and the mold can be made with very low surface finish. The casting process is fast and has good repeatability. However, a master template is required for this. The overall quality of the mold and casting largely depends on the quality of the master model. So how were they originally made?

Master models are traditionally made from wax. This usually meant they were carved from a piece of wax by the jeweler. The process was time-consuming and required a lot of skill from the manufacturer.

Once the master model is completed, it is encased in a special concrete-like substance. After the substance solidifies, it is heated and the wax evaporates from the concrete. Then you pour molten metal into it and break the concrete mold to remove the jewelry. Then you have to make the master model from scratch for each part. Modern industry and the consumer simply do not have enough time to commercially produce jewelry in this way. If you make each master model manually, you will not produce enough products in the required quantity and your competitors will overtake you. This is where CNC rapid prototyping comes into play.

How to Accelerate Your Jewelry Business with CNC Machining Services

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CNC machining services

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CNC Jewelry Master Models

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The first thing that comes to mind is CNC machining to make wax models. And this is indeed an efficient method implemented in many modern factories. However, you cannot use simple CNC machining equipment and cutting parameters because wax bends easily and melts at high temperatures. Because it is also very soft, you need extremely high spindle speeds (up to 70,000 rpm). Overall, you can make wax models at a tremendous speed. Furthermore, laser and waterjet cutting techniques are also very useful for this type of work. They generate little heat and can be further cooled with special refrigerants.

Manufacturing of metal molds

Another efficient way to create cast rings or bracelets is to create reusable molds through metalworking. This way you don't even need the master model. You can simply create a 3D model of the jewelry and make a cavity using certain Boolean operations that are present in all CAD systems. Then simply add the necessary elements to connect the mold halves and you are ready to start manufacturing. The result is a durable mold that will serve tens of thousands of pieces of jewelry. However, one thing is important: it is important that the mold halves fit together as closely as possible. Otherwise, you'll end up with a step overhang and have to do a lot of post-processing later.

CNC jewelry machining

Jewelry is usually quite small and its decorations and features are even smaller, but if your machine tool and cutter are small enough, you can always make jewelry directly on the CNC machine. Working with silver and gold is not uncommon, although they are quite soft, the jigs should have similar hardness and a larger contact area. Spindle speeds must also be very high, otherwise the metal will stick to the tool and be pushed instead of cut, causing undesirable deformations. Additionally, CNC machining has some limitations. Basically, you can't cut where there is no room for the tool. However, it can create complex patterns and provide a very good surface finish, drastically reducing polishing time.

Jewelry engraving with CNC machining

Even if you think new rapid prototyping methods for jewelry making are unnecessary and prefer to use conventional methods, they are also great because each piece of jewelry is made by hand. But even if you prefer the old-fashioned methods, you can use CNC rapid prototyping for jewelry. As? Well, many bracelets, pendants and rings are engraved with a complex pattern that is difficult to produce manually, and CNC machining centers can be equipped with engraving tools and create perfect patterns with a tolerance of less than 0.05 mm.

Diamond cutting with CNC

Last but not least, CNC metal prototype equipment with grinding tools is used to create beautiful multifaceted diamonds from rough, unpolished stones. As you know, rough diamonds are not the beautifully sparkling crystals seen in our rings. In fact, they are very simple. It is the masters who make them shine. They cut pieces and create facet by facet to enhance the beauty of the stones. This is an arduous and time-consuming task. However, using CNC grinding this can be done much more quickly. The grinding wheel is programmed to grind facet by facet with a precision that not even the best masters can achieve.

Conclusions

After analyzing the main uses of CNC rapid prototyping for jewelry, we can draw some conclusions. First, the use of rapid prototyping significantly reduces jewelry production costs, although the hourly cost of CNC prototyping is higher than that of handcrafted production. The time advantage is so great that the total price of jewelry made using CNC machining is lower than the price the master pays for his work, which he does for much longer. Secondly, the quality of modern CNC machine tools is so high that no master can achieve so much. Finally, CNC rapid prototyping can be used in almost every step of the jewelry making process.

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