Best 3D Printers for jewelry making

[bford903]

If you want to burn them out, it's critical to use a material that doesn't produce ash residues in your mold, which will show up as holes in your castings.

Check it out. Early castings from the Visijet FTX Green material from the Projet 1200 3D Printer before we figured out the proper procedure. This is what you don't want.

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The last picture is a 15mm sphere put into the oven by itself, no flask, no investment. No reaction until 800 degrees and then boom. The lower part is the sphere and the bubble on top is the heated resin from the inside. This is what happens during the casting process. The resin expands as it heats, cracks the investment, and leaves behind this coal-like crud inside which ruin your castings.

[tripster]

Hi bford903, thanks for sharing on your experience with Shapeways too! Am learning quite abit from this thread. Unfortunately, because I am not based in the US, Shapeways is quite expensive for my prototyping needs. Think I'll stick with sourcemake for now. Picking up from what you shared on the printers, it seems like I should pick from these makers then:

Projets
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=73
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=175

B9
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=148

Form1
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=4
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=40
http://www.sourcemake.com/maker.php?id=152

Being a jeweler and having experience with multiple printers, I'll tell you what I've found.

*Modern extrusion printers (ABS, PLA, etc.) - Not for jewelry use. Very low resolution (for jewelry). Not castable. For larger objects.

*Projet 1200 by 3D Systems - This is the printer I use. DLP, High resolution prints, fast build time (sub 2hrs), built-in UV curing chamber, however this printer uses only one kind of material and is only castable if you're set up for platinum casting. Platinum casting is expensive. I make rubber molds from the prints and cast in wax.

*B9 Creator/Form 1 - This is the printer I want. DLP, High resolution prints suitable for jewelry, can use different types of resin, cannot comment on castability but heard good things. Contacted multiple people on the B9 Creator forums requesting a sample print and received many replies but haven't received any prints to date. I put the B9 and the Form 1 together because they are both DLP printers that can use different types of resin. I think the B9 is more customizable than the Form 1 however.

*Metal Printers - Just put them out of your head for the time being. Very bad surface quality. You'll spend days cleaning it up and will be disappointed at all the detail lost.

*Solidscape - This printer is the standard for the jewelry industry IMO. This printer has the resolution and the castability required by the jewelry industry. But the cost is significant. 50K or higher. This machine will also make you tear your hair out. The machines are notoriously finicky, requires constant maintenance, replacement parts are crazy expensive, print times are slow, and the material is extremely brittle. But the quality and castability are there.


PMC does shrink. It shrinks by about 50%. Very significant. Usable for only certain projects like Davo said. Would like to see a PMC Printer though. Is there such a thing?

As far as printing services go, Shapeways has been very good to me. Wide array of materials including a castable wax (from the Projet 3500 CPX) I've tested myself. Prices show up instantly after uploading the CAD file. I like the ease of use. Sent in a signet ring and it cost me $27 to have it printed in castable wax. My friend with a Solidscape would charge me $50! 3D Systems has a similar program called "Quickparts" however be prepared to spend a lot of time on the phone. They don't reply to emails so you have to call and be pushy. This is what the head of Quickparts at 3D Systems told me when I met him recently. Call and be pushy. Cannot comment on the cost. Shapeways replied the same day I sent in my CAD file; 3D Systems took almost two weeks to get back to me so I went with Shapeways. I like not having to worry about it.

Hope this helps.

[bford903]

Depending on what you're printing, I think those will work just fine. The two Projet links are both full-color plastic printers. The B9 Creator is high resolution DLP with castable material, and the Form 1 also has high resolution DLP prints with multiple resins available including transparent. Pretty good selection.

[Amokk]

Check it out. Early castings from the Visijet FTX Green material from the Projet 1200 3D Printer before we figured out the proper procedure. This is what you don't want.

The last picture is a 15mm sphere put into the oven by itself, no flask, no investment. No reaction until 800 degrees and then boom. The lower part is the sphere and the bubble on top is the heated resin from the inside. This is what happens during the casting process. The resin expands as it heats, cracks the investment, and leaves behind this coal-like crud inside which ruin your castings.

Hello bford903,

I'm curious if you tried the new FTX casting wax/resin material from 3D Systems.

Cheers

[StridAst]

As an interesting note, there is a castable wax/plastic filament coming soon. While it won't change the logistics of poor resolution for jewelry use, it should be easier to cast with, and perhaps won't be too bad to smooth the surface and recarve detail lost prior to casting.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/201501...-filament.html

[bford903]

Hello bford903,

I'm curious if you tried the new FTX casting wax/resin material from 3D Systems.

Cheers

It's en route but I haven't received it yet. Very anxious to try it out. I've heard good things.

[Amokk]

Looking forward for your thoughts.
I want to buy a printer for high quality jewelry molds for casting.

Regards.

[TechAlley]

Hey, I'm brand new to the forum so HI everyone.

I have a store that does 3D printing and we have a Projet 1200 which we print for a client that does team rings, corporate rings etc. He had no success using the FTX green to cast for gold, silver or stainless rings luckily the FTX cast came out (I think from much complaining in the industry about FTX cast) and it seems to be working great for him.

However I now need to significantly ramp production and so was thinking of purchasing 5 more Projet 1200 to meet capacity and just read on here about the Form 1 which looks very interesting. Does anyone else have experience with the Form1+ and jewelry?

[bford903]

Hey, I'm brand new to the forum so HI everyone.

I have a store that does 3D printing and we have a Projet 1200 which we print for a client that does team rings, corporate rings etc. He had no success using the FTX green to cast for gold, silver or stainless rings luckily the FTX cast came out (I think from much complaining in the industry about FTX cast) and it seems to be working great for him.

However I now need to significantly ramp production and so was thinking of purchasing 5 more Projet 1200 to meet capacity and just read on here about the Form 1 which looks very interesting. Does anyone else have experience with the Form1+ and jewelry?

Form1 will send you a sample of their castable material if you give them a call. I have a sample they sent me, but haven't had time to test it. I would also look into the B9 Creator. I hear good things about the castability of their material and the resin is considerably cheaper than the competitors.

[TechAlley]

I've just ordered a sample of an actual clients ring so we'll see how it is next week! very hopefully as the cost of material and the build time is a fraction of the Projet 1200