Aloha All, I would like to invite everybody to come visit us at the
JCK Vegas show. If you want to see the best in CAD/CAM, 3D Design,
Rapid Prototyping, CNC and other cutting edge technologies, please
drop by. We would be happy to answer all and any questions, to help
you make you business more profitable and successful. I am looking
forward to seeing and meeting many people that I have only had the
opportunity to converse with, by email or on the phone. Model Master
will be at Otto Frei and Borel, Rosenthal and M-2 Systems displays. I
will be with John Mastoloni at the M-2 Systems Booth. Please drop by
and say Hello. See you at the show.
Best Regards,
Christian Grunewald
Precision Modelmaking Technologies
Hawaii
(808) 622-9005
I have to admit that when I first saw the CAD CAM stuff I thought it
wasn’t “real” metalsmithing. Now, I’d love to try it. Are there
places where you can use the CAD CAM equipment on a pay-by-the-hour
basis. Sort of “rent” the machinery? I’d love to try it and am in the NY, NJ, PA area. Thanks!
Aloha Dawn, Actually there are many service bureaus to output your
designs. John Mastolonim who I am showing with, is one, Bathsheba
Grossman (an excellent sculptor) is another and the list goes on. The
first thing is to get to get the software to design your objects (and
if you are a student (of a granted program) or accredited school
there are some available on grant, for free). Let me know if I can
help.
Best Regards,
Christian Grunewald
Precision Modelmaking Technologies
Hawaii
(808) 622-9005 www.modelmaster.com
There are some service bureaus out there that will run your files,
but it would be difficult to find one that would rent you time to run
the equipment yourself. Model Master’s initial training for the ArtCAM
based system is two days- you draw and run files, and learn to operate
the mill, and as CNC systems go it is probably as user friendly as
they get. My guess that to qualify to run a CNC system you would need
some techincal college courses on CNC plus training in the modeling
software. You could go the route that I did, take the plunge and buy a
system. My article in AJM’s February issue sums up my initial
experiences. As far as it being “real” metalsmithing- where do you
draw the line at what tools can be used to achieve the results that
you want? Your fingers? A flat rock and a rounded one? Fire? CAD/CAM
is just another tool. It can be used or misused like any other. I use
it in conjunction with my fabrication and cast elements to produce
pieces that I couldn’t otherwise create in a reasonable amount of
time. And that is pretty much my definition of a tool, something that
reduces labor.
Rick Hamilton
Gold and Platinumsmithing
CAD/CAM
Jewelry Photography