By Olivia Cahoon
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is fairly common in the jewelry industry, with the ability to create unique pieces in a variety of materials. However, in this market 3D printing is most often used for customized one-offs or prototyping master models that are later mass produced by traditional techniques. Here, we look at a jewelry manufacturer that puts its 3D printing technology at the heart of production.
3D Jewelry Innovation
Founded in September 2014, Vowsmith is a jewelry store exclusively for the wedding market that utilizes 3D printing technology based in Lévis, QC, Canada. The company’s goal is to counter mass production and instead promote mass customization—offering clients access to an online 3D custom design platform for wedding rings.
Vowsmith started with a vision to build a mass customization business around 3D printing. Charles-Olivier Roy, owner, Vowsmith, founded the company without knowing what type of product he wanted to offer. However, he hoped to provide a premium product that taps into a higher realm of emotion.
“I knew nothing about jewelry, but I quickly understood it would be a perfect playground for me,” says Roy. “Most jewelry is bought to express emotion, which brings with it a higher price. And if there is a place ready for a revolution, it’s the jewelry workshop. Lost-wax casting—one of the oldest technologies in metallurgy—hasn’t changed much since ancient Egypt.”
Roy successfully built Vowsmith into a digitally driven business that enables couples to purchase wedding rings directly from an ecommerce website and customize them with fingerprints.
However, the key to making Vowsmith scalable is the 3D Systems ProJet MJP 3500 CPXMax printer. According to Roy, it provides the highest level of detail and yield available in real paraffin wax, which is ideal for optimal ring casting.
Custom Jewelry Production
The Vowsmith production process starts with an online customizer that allows customers to choose their ring according to size, shape, metal type, an optional diamond, and engraving.
Once completed, a starter kit is sent to the customer to capture the couple’s fingerprints in ink. The customer then takes a picture of the ink prints and uploads it to the Vowsmith website. Fingerprints are digitized and imported along with the customized ring and its designated design features into a proprietary 3D modeling program. A high-resolution STL file is then created and sent to the 3D Systems ProJet MJP 3500 CPXMax for printing.
“We provide our customers with total control so they can dictate the design, choose the metal and diamond, and create something unique that fits their budget,” explains Roy. “The whole 3D modeling is automated since it’s the customer choices made online that generate the high-resolution STL file for production. The printer is loaded more or less automatically as well.”
The 3D Systems ProJet MJP 3500 CPXMax offers a large build volume of 298x185x203 millimeters in high-definition mode. Coupled with an ultra-high-resolution output of 694x750x1500 dpi, the 3D printer efficiently complements Vowsmith’s business model.
“The ProJet MJP 3500 CPXMax has a massive build volume, delivers extremely high-resolution prints throughout the build bed at a high speed,” says Roy. “We compete with mass production where every second counts, so we rely on the ProJet to deliver extremely high-detailed models with consistency at an unmatched yield.”
The 3D printer acts as the keystone of Vowsmith’s manufacturing process. Because it is a real wax printer, Roy says there is no possibility of casting faults due to ashes or a cracked shell from thermal expansion. “Real wax burns out completely at low temperatures and in less time than resin-based systems, so we save on energy and improve yield.
3D Systems VisiJet M3 ProWax is used to produce high-definition parts with crisp details and a smooth surface finish. The support material is easy to remove in post-processing and it preserves the ring’s delicate features.
Designing support structures for the 3D printed rings is eliminated. This allows the manufacturer to avoid losing productivity due to an unprinted part caused by badly supported areas. “We don’t lose time repairing broken support surfaces,” adds Roy.
It takes Vowsmith one week to turnaround a typical order, although Roy believes he can cut that time considerably. “It’s totally doable with today’s technology to receive a ring order in the morning, get it on the printer in the afternoon, cast it the next day, and ship for delivery the following day—72 hours from order to delivery,” he explains.
Roy has additional ambitious goals for high-volume production. He expects Vowsmith to sell between 4,000 to 5,000 rings over the next year. The company is already capable of producing 35 to 40 rings per print run and three to four batches each day—delivering an annual capacity of nearly 50,000 rings.
There is also work completed by hand that could be automated. Eventually, Roy believes the company could print the casting tree completely, integrate mass finishing machines, and even a CNC diamond and stone setter. “And one promising technology for the future is direct metal printing (DMP). We’ve done some prototyping with DMP and achieved very good results.”
Expanding Possibilities
With Vowsmith creating customized 3D printing jewelry, Roy believes his methodologies based on 3D printing can be transferred to other personalized products in fairly large quantities.
“We could upload any 3D model with any level of possible customization and be able to manage production without errors,” he explains. “We think our infrastructure will continue to increase in value because it’s not based on physical inventory.”
Fast Track to Success
Vowsmith bases its mass personalization ring business on the advanced capabilities of the 3D Systems ProJet MJP 3500 CPXMax. With its 3D printer and an eye for innovation, the jewelry manufacturer continues to research new and advanced technologies.
Sep2020, Industrial Print Magazine