Thanks so much for all the helpful comments so far which are giving
me some leads to start off.
Lots of people seem to be suggesting I should look more into Rhino
which I am doing. I have another question about this…It strikes me
that building up things like rex or crown collets, standard stone cuts
to illustrate standard shanks and cluster settings etc etc
will take a long time to draw. However when I have a library of these
parts this could be really time saving. Does anybody know of any
Rhino Libraries of common jewellery parts available for such things?
If not does anybody fancy starting one?! I would willingly pay for
such a library as I would feel this might be just what I need to start
me off on Rhino in a more time-effective way right from the start.
Harriett- The only way to begin to develop a library of parts in Rhino
is to begin developing on for yourself. Our individual needs will vary
according to the design. What I suggest to is to begin by measuring &
observing your existing models. Take a pair of calipers & begin to
model. By measuring & laying out the model yourself the process will
give you a good understanding of how objects are constructed in the
virtual world. Going through this process will make you a much more
productive CADsmith. I hate to say there is not an easy answer…think
out it as starting at ground zero.
I feel Rhino is a great place to start. Please keep me up to date
with your progress.
In relation to cad/cam programs, we bought a number of them and had
serious problems with some programs not being able to comunicate with
our 4 axis mill. I happened to go to a computer show a month ago and
bought Corel 8 , Which is similar to adobe which I am familiar
with.We found that corel has all the capabilities to import and
export DXF files and many other files that the expensive programs
use. It also can convert to wire frame and solids, so we are very
happy with the program … specially since it only cost $ 30 at the
show.
I am by no means an expert in this field and have only had the
machine/ software for 3 months so I am finding that there is a huge
learning curve, no matter what software is out there.Being a model
maker , has been a tremendous help in determining what to do on the
machine and what is better left to be done by hand.
What I have found is td hat there are tons of jobs that are much
faster done by hand Some models only require a few hours by hand and
the time to design the item into a computer so that it can be cut is
far more than it would take to make it by hand. There are some jobs
that I have found can be done far better on a cad/cam machine than
can be done by hand.Specifically Items such as school rings . I’m sure
that as my experience with the machine grows, my time factor on the
initial design and set up of the machine will diminish. Just my 2
cents
Harriet , I have been working on a library of comon findings , and
have had some discussions about combining them with tutorials on
building same . If you could have access to this material what do you
think a fair number of objects would be and what would it be worth ?
There is one company I have just heard of who is modifying Rhino for
the jewelry trade and including libraries but they are charging
almost ten times the basic Rhino price for this version so I think it
will only be of interest to large companies.
I too am looking for libraries of 3d stone and setting models in any
CAD format. Is anyone out there know of any?
Jim
James Binnion Metal Arts
4701 San Leandro St #18
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone (510) 533-5108
Toll Free (877) 408 7287
Fax (510) 533-5439
@James_Binnion
Member of the Better Business Bureau