Mastercam & Jewelry

[cm-horses]

Hello,

Does anyone else on the forum use Mastercam to design and make Jewery?

[Salahuddin]

yes CM, I made several dies for Jewelry parts.

I don't have Mastercam Art.

[Quickmike]

I don't but my sister-in-law designs and makes jewlery. She does it by drawing a picture then carving a wax representing the picture. I'm not sure of the next step but I think she then makes a mold for casting with the wax. I might be missing a step or two. I'll check next time I see her. She has a bachelors in jewlery design. I think I've heard her say some jewlery manufactures use cad/cam. I'll ask her about it.

[cm-horses]

Thanks and hope to hear from more that do make jewelry with it.

 

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Quickmike, I use to and sometimes still carve waxes by hand. MC & Art makes way cool jewelry with fineness and precision.

[cm-horses]

Salah, I would like to know more about dies and how to use them. I am sure dies would make some of the repetitive items. Are they or can they be used for making coins too?

[htm01]

this what you have in mind?

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/...unterfeit+coins

[cm-horses]

LOL...... No, I have some ideas for some horse coins I would like to make. The quality of die-struck coins is superior to cast. The finish too is quite different.

 

Too I like freedom way more than trying the caught counterfiters path to riches..... Maybe I'd get caught..... HUMMMM.. Maybe I wouldn't

[tabarak]

yes CM

coins can be done the same way too, but as you said maybe you will be got caught

or maybe not

Salah

[Müřlıń®]

I use Mcam for jewelry, although it has been of the back burner for a while...

 

We have a vulcanizer, vacume investment mixer, vacume casting machine that will handle a 9" flask.

 

We also have all the finishing equipment.

 

I use .005" dia strait flute carbide cutters for engraving 4th-axis stuff in wax rings...

 

Then we make a mold and cast a one on, or use the one on and vulcanizer to make multiple copies .

 

WE can cast about 50 rings at a time, on the same sprue with the large flask...

 

Was going to make some barb-wire rings here a few months ago but alas not enough hours in the day for the hobbies...too many irons in the fire....

[cm-horses]

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I use .005" dia strait flute carbide cutters for engraving 4th-axis stuff in wax rings...

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Thank You Merlin,

 

I do jewelry primarily and mostly one of a kind for my customers but I am familiar with casting. I have a casting studio in my basement with all of the above equipment. I can hand carve my image pieces but when it comes to precision things like rings and pave' it takes something that is precise like Cad/Cam.

 

I am one and a half years into Mastercam. And finding I need to learn lots more than I thought I could knew.... My thought was "Since I could do DXF drawings with AutoCad this would be somewhat easier" Not!

 

Do you use solids or art to create your rings? The reason I ask is that I need to learn how to do solids for rings as mine are not always simple enough to use Art. I can use solids for flat items with no problem (I think)

 

If you dont mind me asking -- Where do you get the .005" bits? I have 1/32 straight flute ball end & Straight ends also Tapers but I have searched for something smaller and finer that was not a taper but with no luck.

 

Do you do any casting for others? My caster cannot handle a 9" flask. I have quite a few belt buckle designs I would like to produce but just have not known anyone that could tackle it.

 

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[BernieT]

My jeweler friend uses Matrix - a CAD jewelery program based on Rhino3D.

 

Rhino3D is quite reasonably priced, don't know about Matrix.

 

Here is some info:

 

Matrix - Rhino

 

He went thru Artcam, Jewelcad, Surfcam, and Cimitron before he settled on Matrix.

 

 

I have cut quite a few coining dies for him for award medals, commemorative coins, etc.

 

Here is an example.

 

 

HTH

[cm-horses]

Thanks Bernie,

I researched a lot of them too. I am considering adding Matrix too. I think they are easier for creating rings and what I call generic jewelry.

 

I create a lot of equestrian and other specialized images and use those items for jewelry in gold, plat., & a little in Silver. I also have a line of equestrian furniture that is done by CNC/Plasma, which is manufactured for me. The Art in Mastercam allows so much depth in the area of creating images, cutting molds for other appllications, etc., that I felt I could learn the solids to do the rings. I just about have it figured out with a ring that I am working on. I just have one surface that I do not understand how to make the angled part work out.(My free download of Rhino helped me understand how to get as far as I have.

 

Matrix uses STL files which I too can create with MC. At the time I purchased my system I was under the beleif that Matrix was cost prohibitive to me. I now know it was only several thousands more than what I purchased so I did not call on it. I am one of those that goes to buy a 1/2 ton Ford F150 and end up buying a King Ranch F-350 Dually. So I was afraid it would be way out of my range and I would get it anyway.....

 

When & if I add Matrix I should be able to make anything under the sun.... I do think that MC is the broader base software program of the two.

 

I also have a husband that does not understand about my kind of toys..... Only his.

 

After all life is a lot about Tuition paid as you go through......

 

I will want to talk more about making dies. What is needed and how it works. Thanks again.

[BernieT]

CM

 

This page may be helpful to you -

 

Engraving forum

 

 

I know the woman mentioned in the second post - Colleen - she is a great hand cut coin die maker. She is having some personal probs these days so I don't know her work situation, but she is GOOD. I think she cut most of the dies for these products:

 

Lynn's National Charity League charms - look at the PDF catalog

 

HTH

[cm-horses]

Thanks agin Bernie, I will check out the engraving forum.

[DG]

Hello,Cm I am in the jewelry business and I use Rhino for design work, MC for producing programing for graphites, molds, models, stl protos and dies. Rhino is a good modeler for jewerlery as it is nurbs based and you can easily edit models. I usually IGES import into MC

[cm-horses]

Thanks DG, I have done all of the wax carving by hand for almost 20 and now cad/cam has put exitement back into creating. I am an artist by education and have learned what I know about jewelry by carving/casting/molding etc. I do not stone set or solder as I have never had the time to stop to learn how. I have someone do casting and assembly for me now. I find that I have lots more designs than I have money to make the items.....

 

Thanks for the info. I do think that creating on rhino is pretty easy but how do you do things like pave' in just having the free download and no manual I am not sure as to what all it can do.

 

Do you have a secret to how to do pave' patterns? Do you export from Rhino the IGES? What are graphites? And can you tell me what white metal modeling is?

 

Thanks

[BernieT]

quote:

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and now cad/cam has put exitement back into creating.

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My jeweler friend has the same feelings! In fact over the last year he has closed his retail store and opened his 'Design Studio'. He bought a 4 axis Revo mill to cut his waxes. Now he makes special order jewelery and enjoys it more.

 

 

I like your website!!!

 

 

I have no idea how they do pave', I think Matrix would have the tools for that.

 

To export from Rhino to Mastercam use IGES. During the export you will find a Mastercam setting to 'flavor' the translation to MC.

 

Good luck!!!

[cm-horses]

Thanks Bernie,

The jewelry that is on the site is all hand carved. That is why I am enjoying the cad/cam so much. I can do the horse images by hand no prob. It is things like the bracelet. The next ones will be even and correct from here on out. I am to much a perfectionist to want an amateur look.

I do like what I do....

[Jack Neelands™]

I made a bracelete for my wife about 3 yrs ago ...cut and engraved Roos and Cockatoos and the Southern Star on Both ends of it ...had to get the gold made for me @ 3mm thick by 10mm wide for about 120 dollars...the had to get a jeweler to bend it and then polish it for me as well

[cm-horses]

Jack, It sounds beautiful. Did you do the engraving on the gold or on wax and then cast?

[Müřlıń®]

Sorry CM, I lost this post...

 

Hey when I said strait flute I meant sharp corner and not ball mills.

 

But we order the endmills @$50 a pop from our local supply.

 

Some are Rob Jack and I cannot remember the name of the other.

 

I think Stickles are the way to go though.

 

You can get alot of use out of them and they don't break so easy.

 

I was thinking of just using stickles exclusively from now on, they are just hard to measure without a microscope.

 

And the 3-sided ones are tuff to make the same size over and over with a flat tip.

 

I like to not get much bigger than .005 dia at the tip. It makes really detailed engraving.

 

I don't have Art. But probably will be getting it in the near future. Don't even use solids, project onto surfs....but that may change.

 

 

Right now we are just engraving on the outside and inside of wedding band style rings.

 

We machine the wax and then vacume cast it...

 

We have just upgraded to a closed loop system for our table top and have made an boring bar attachment for making the entire ring on the 4th axis.

[cm-horses]

Thanks Merlin,

Does Stickles have a web site?

 

I have never had any luck with vacume casting. All of mine has been centrifugally cast.

 

Within art there is a section that is called "create a ring portion." The create a ring portion has ring sizes in it which makes it pretty simple to do a ring. You can do letters that are raised and recessed. The geom. is created flat then rounded. As long as the rings are pretty simple it works great.

 

Thanks again

[cm-horses]

PS Merlin,

 

I love your quote at the bottom.

[Müřlıń®]

quote:

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Does Stickles have a web site?

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I dunno.... I just grind mine up out of HSS blank....

 

We have a machine similiar to this for our casting.

 

 

 

It is an awesum tool...

 

 

quote:

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PS Merlin,

 

I love your quote at the bottom.

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Ya... Uncle Albert had alot of good ones.....

 

That's one of my favorites

[cm-horses]

Wow What a big machine. I am impressed. Just how much jewelry do you make? Do you have a catalog?

 

I think I misunderstood about the bits. A stickle is a bit type? Not a company that sells them...... I have some of those. I am looking for straight flute with a long cutting surface.

 

Oh! Well, that is one thing I learned today. I now have a name for that sharp pointy bit that will cut the stuffin out of ya.