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Specific as to Sterolithography:
Because of the high cost of rapid prototyping equipment
and the high level of technical expertise required
to reliably produce perfect parts, the trend is
to use specialized third-party service bureaus.
We offer reduced time and cost for jewelry
designers and their clients with state-of-the-art
technology. Our machines build wax
models from computer files using thermoplastics
that are perfect components for investment casting.
See
some of the machinery here >>
Our systems reduce cost and time-to-market by translating
CAD Designs into an STL file
for furtherance into hard copy 3D models. These
models are so accurate that designers can go beyond
concept modeling to produce tooling grade patterns
ready for casting or mold-making.
Jointly CAD/CAM allows the design of jewelry using
a computer (CAD) and creates an exact hard copy
model of a jewelry piece using a computer controlled
manufacturing device (CAM). Our technicians utilize
all file types compatible with any CAM
device, which allows us to quickly generate a precise
wax model ready for casting.
STL is a file format native to the stereolithography
CAD software created by 3D Systems. STL files describe
only the surface geometry of a three dimensional
object without any representation of color, texture
or other common CAD model attributes. This file
format is supported by many other software packages;
it is widely used for rapid prototyping and computer-aided
manufacturing. The STL format specifies both ASCII
and binary representations. Binary files are more
common, since they are more compact.
An STL file describes
a raw unstructured triangulated surface by the unit
normal and vertices (ordered by the right-hand rule)
of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian
coordinate system.
Stereo lithography and these other hard model technologies
are the future of the jewelry industry. Leading
jewelers effectively use CAM "service bureaus"
that specialize in prototype output.
Previous means of producing a prototype typically
took man-hours, many tools, and skilled labor. For
example, after a new street light luminaire was
digitally designed, drawings were sent to skilled
craftsmen where the design on paper was painstakingly
followed and a three-dimensional prototype was produced
in wood by utilizing an entire shop full of expensive
wood working machinery and tools. This typically
was not a speedy process and costs of the skilled
labor were not cheap. Hence the need to develop
a faster and cheaper process to produce prototypes.
As an answer to this need, rapid prototyping was
born.
One variation of 3D printing consists of an inkjet
printing system. Layers of a fine powder (plaster,
corn starch, or resins) are selectively bonded by
"printing" an adhesive from the inkjet
print head in the shape of each cross-section as
determined by a CAD file. This technology is the
only one that allows for the printing of full color
prototypes. It is also recognized as the fastest
method.
Alternately, these machines feed liquids, such
as photopolymer, through an inkjet-type print head
to form each layer of the model. These Photo polymer
Phase machines use an ultraviolet (UV) flood lamp
mounted in the print head to cure each layer as
it is deposited.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM), a technology also
used in traditional rapid prototyping, uses a nozzle
to deposit molten polymer onto a support structure,
layer by layer.
Finally, ultra small features may be made by the
3D micro fabrication technique of 2-photon photo
polymerization. In this approach, the desired 3D
object is traced out in a block of gel by a focused
laser. The gel is cured to a solid only in the places
where the laser was focused, due to the nonlinear
nature of photo excitation, and then the remaining
gel is washed away. Feature sizes of under 100 nm
are easily produced, as well as complex structures
such as moving and interlocked parts.
Techniques available:
Our technicians have been in the jewelry business
since 1983, operating in various branches of the
industry. We are some of the finest jewelry manufacturers
and jewelers in the industry.
With our fist-hand knowledge and experience throughout
the jewelry manufacturing process from start to finish,
we deliver quality stl files. |