Jewelry Technology Talk
Commentary on Jewelry Industry Technology Trends.
Portland Jewelry Symposium
Next Monday November 9th, retail and manufacturing jewelers in the Northwest will gather for a full day of education by some of the leading jewelry experts in their field. The second annual PJS will feature Jurgen Maerz, the technical director of the Platinum Guild on new developments for working with Platinum alloys along with Dr. Mark Danks from Johnson Matthey who will discuss the supply and de ...... Read More
Comments (0)Ultrasonic Burnishing of Platinum and Palladium Castings
On a recent project I was asked to provide a consult for a client working on a tedious project. A New York jeweler was trying to polish a very intricate palladium casting and finding subsurface porosity in tight areas. There was considerable detail in this sculptural piece which required a smooth and clean surface and he had tried all sorts of polishing papers and compounds. Bench jewelers who wo ...... Read More
Comments (0)Growing Pains Casting Study Now Available
With the support of the Santa Fe Symposium and MJSA Journal, another is a series of studies on the casting of 3D Printing materials and CNC milling wax has been published. The 2005 white paper “Getting Up to Speed” found that hygroscopic expansion was one of the reasons that light curing materials (photopolymers) were so problematic for investment casting. That study fell short howe ...... Read More
Comments (0)Aureus 3D Printer from EnvisionTec
. JCK 09 will mark the arrival of still another new system from EnvisionTec. This year the buzz is about the Aureus printer that will nearly double the capacity of the EnvisionTec desktop machine. According to company president Al Siblani, the new system boasts Intelligent peeling with different peeling and leveling speeds within same cycle as well as better gray scale control to increase depth of ...... Read More
Comments (1)Technical Training and Conferences
Over next few weeks there are a number of exciting conferences for jewelry professionals who want to get ahead of the curve. I plan on attending and/or presenting at all of these events so here is rundown on what you can expect to find. Beginning today in Schaumburg, Illinois we attend the annual conference, RAPID, where scientists and experts from around the world will present papers and e ...... Read More
Comments (4)Amorphous Metal Plans
We had a group of students from Thammasat University visit with us this week. They were presenting a business plan in a competition called the New Venture Championship sponsored by Intel, Tektronix, and Columbia Sports among others. The focus of their proposal was the development of new amorphous precious metal alloys that have very unique properties. . . Commercially known as Liquidmetals, o ...... Read More
Comments (0)Next for CAD/CAM - E-Beam Direct Metal Creation
Everyone has been asking me what the future will bring for CAD/CAM ……so here is a peak at what we will be doing. An industry professional once asked me for a machine that he could insert a cocktail napkin jewelry sketch and have a finished gold ring come out the back. While that may not be possible right now, we may not be to far off . . . For the most part, the jewelry industry ...... Read More
Comments (0)MJSA New York Review
The word from NYC this week was upbeat and busy at the show. Everyone I spoke with who either exhibited or attended told me that they were having a good show. In most cases…. to their own surprise given what we hear every day about the economy. . . The last of the three MJSA Innovation Award winners, V-Ray for Gemvision Matrix was one of my picks as well for jewelry technology of the ...... Read More
Comments (1)XPMs For the Millenials
In spite of all the doom and gloom, there really is something new under the sun. It looks like traditional Mokume Gane but, this innovative manufacturing process holds the promise of much lower price-points and a variety of new combinations never before possible. . . Traditional Mokume Gane requires quite a bit of talent and training to create billets that work at the bench. In most cases, ...... Read More
Comments (0)Innovation Awards This Week
For nearly 40 years I have traveled to NYC in March to search for better ways to produce jewelry at theMJSA Expo New York. Unlike the other major jewelry trade shows, MJSA has always been focused on manufacturing technology and not so much on finished jewelry. In the 60’s when I traveled by train from Baltimore with my father, that meant finding casting, stamping, and all sorts of cool hand ...... Read More
Comments (0)CT Scanning for Jewelry Manufacturers
. When the dust settles from this economic mess, the jewelers left standing will no doubt have employed technology to survive. One of my recent technology explorations for CAD/CAM has been to research new methods to scan the complex geometries we use in fine jewelry. While laser scanning has become more accessible in both price and ease of use, laser technology often falls short when designs ...... Read More
Comments (0)MJSA Technology Sourcebook 2008
. Each year the November issue of the MJSA Journal provides “one stop” shopping for those curious about what is new in jewelry technology. This year, MJSA Journal has a wealth of new products and services just in time for those looking for ways to improve their business in uncertain times. Technology serves us best when it provides new efficiencies in our day to day operations ...... Read More
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