I fall into the Jewelcad/3D printer camp, I’ve been using Jewelcad
for a number of years and I’m astonished at what can be done with it
- at first glance, with it’s ready made libraries, etc, it may seem
a little simplistic, but it is a very powerful program indeed. I
hardly ever lift up a pencil or a wax tool anymore - and I find the
process to be just as fulfilling as carving a wax. When my design is
done it not only looks like a finished piece of jewelry on the
screen, but it’s also a solid model ready for our Modelmaker 3D
printer to make. I end up with an intricate, complete wax ready for
casting - the layering effect is negligible if you use a fine enough
build - 0.0127mm per layer if you want to. How does a 4-axis milling
machine hollow out the center of a ring? Surely that kind of system
is restricted to where the cutter can get to? I can control every
aspect of my jewelry with no restrictions. I’ll be trying out the
4-axis for myself - we just got one. It’s quite a piece of work but
I’m still cynical. Hopefully I’ll be able to use Jewelcad with both
machines. Technology rules!
Stephen Mulligan
Design Manager