Dental vs Jewelry Resin for 3D Printing

There’s that age old struggle between designer vs manufacturer, architect vs engineer, and jeweler vs caster. I’m a strong proponent of having the jewelry designer and caster collaborate on the design. If the designer is good, they’ll understand the limitations of casting and will work the design around that. But a lot of the time, it becomes the casters job to find ways to make the design work regardless.

And speaking on CAD designing, I’ve noticed when I’m working in CAD, that what you’re seeing on the computer screen looks like it should be adequate size in real life. It wasn’t until I would print things and see that “wow, this design or component in the design came out much smaller than I anticipated”. I began using the measuring tool much more to find the exact dimensions of what I’m designing. And if I’m questioning the size of a particular design element, I’ll pull out some calipers and see what the actual size would look like in real life. Even then, there are times when I print that I’ll need to go back into CAD and adjust or tweak things on the design to get the right proportions for casting.

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A way to get past that is to use sticky wax pellets (I got mine from Rio Grande) and I have a small wax pot where I dip my wax sprue into it. Guaranteed adhesion. Just shape it with your hot knife to get rid of the sharp edges and you are good.

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I’ve worked with that stuff before back when I worked in aircraft engine manufacturing. It definitely works, but I can’t stand the stuff…actually for exactly the reasons it’s so good. Sticks to everything, burns like a bugger when you get it on yourself, and is a devil to get out of clothing when you drip it on yourself. Smells good though! :smiley:

But, my personal gripes about it aside, it’s definitely a good idea for sprue attachment to these printed models.

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Scott, thank for the long response. How kind of you to spend the time.

the advice about sprueing is intriguing, I will definitely give that a try.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Best,
heather