I’m looking for any not overly expensive options for possible printing of wax designs. I have seen some printers online and some of the reviews are scary. Would love to digitally create a design & print it. Any suggestions, feel free to leave them.
hi,
have you learned to use CAD software?
julie
2 Likes
No I have not, I have read on it - just trying to not pay 10k for a wax printer
Inexpensive 3D printers work by filament deposition. Even the thinnest filaments leave a distinct striated texture which needs to be smoothed. The time saved by printing in resin, which needs much less finishing, more than makes up for the extra cost of the machine.
That said, you should first get your feet wet by learning 3D CAD and jobbing out the printing.
If you’re not certain if CAD is for you, I suggest learning 3D using blender, a free open source 3D animation program. While blender is designed for 3D animation, it is used by many to prepare static models for printing. It is an entirely open program, so there aren’t any of the trade specific shortcuts and objects that the jewelry programs have. But if you can learn to model in blender, and you like it enough to go the CAD route, then moving to one of the commercial products will be simple.
3 Likes
hi,
so, my personal thought process, back in the day…
i researched various printers…price ranges…resolution/ print quality…and talked to vendors and service bureaus…
i decided, that for my personal needs, it would be more cost effective to send out the files to be printed (and molded, and cast) by a service bureau…and let them invest and upgrade the machinery and technology…
my conclusion was that certain printers can be better for certain things…and each high resolution printer for jewelry can be very expensive…and technology seems to improve rapidly…and the proprietary consumables/ resins often vary by machines, have their own idiosyncracies…(some are more durable for customer handling…some burn out better)…and can be costly…
so…i decided to focus on mastering CAD, which can have a somewhat steep learning curve, and pay for someone else to master printing, which i learned also has its own learning curve to get great print results, maintain the equipment, and keep up with the technology…
i recall that many jewelers on the old gemvision forum used B9 printers…and i forget the other names…there are forums specifically for printing too…they might provide insight…
(p.s. gemvision has finally launched a new user forum, after being offline for a few years…i hope the community gets back together…(i hope its ok to mention this here…)
just my musings…
julie
1 Like