Cliff and Mikie
This is my first jewelry project that make use of Rolland MDX-15 to engrave on wax to create the molds. The results was not as good as I have expected. I did not realise the taper effect create by the engraving knife until whole mold is finished craved. The rings surface had been thinned to a spoiled original Celtic design. Besides that wax substrates become sticky and stacks in between the small gaps of the design. I have done both side engraving and try to solve the taper effect but still can't get the exact engrave point when the mold was flip over. At last I decide to use a really sharp engrave knife and engrave maximum depth of 15mm. It gives a better results. As conclusion, I prefer to use modeling board to run on such patterns mold.
Thanks to Cliff and Mikie, to let me have these photos posted. It is great to see some old jobs, just like seeing old friends.
Thanks to Cliff and Mikie, to let me have these photos posted. It is great to see some old jobs, just like seeing old friends.
916 Gold Goat Head Ring
This is an order direct from factory. The work I have done is just the surface of the ring i.e. goat head plus frame. Than the wax sifu will choose a suitable ring base for the plate to attach on. The customer give a rough sketch drawing on the goat head design. I do some research on the net and found a goat clip art that suit the design most. I use rail to do all the relief and make some adjustment on the control vertical point to have this effect. Now the same customer is asking for a sculpture goat head ring and we are still looking for a suitable sculpture in the market for scanning.
Corporate Gift - 916 Pendant Project
This is a repeat order . I am satisfy with this project cause with more experience and new techniques, we manage to provide better quality with lower price products. The first batch does not meet my expectation cause I have used modeling wax the as a mold and the outcome was not as good as I am now using i.e. modeling board. The benefit of utilizing modeling boards is short cut the rubber mold part which I could actually inject direct into the modeling board to create as much copies as I wish. The thickness and surface of the pendents are more consistent. Besides, I do not have to worry about the casting failure which I have to crave the wax all over again. We have chosen the color of the packaging from red to black which also match gold the most. Products description: Average 916 gold weight 1.76g, with butterfly pin, black color jewelry box and a certificate notes. Cost per box: RM 240.00
What so great about JewelCad?
Why JewelCad? I have meet a few local Jewelry Designers who use JewelCad as their designing tools and most of them give positive respond. Initially, I disagree with them. The JewelCad user interface display present complicated lines and wires frame which make me really headache. However, once I have get use to it then miracle of the software starts to review. JewelCad works as intuitive as pen in my hand. I really admire its UP Mapping and Project Mapping function which I can do wonders with them. They also works very well on applying patterns and textures on designs. Not to forget its control point(CV) editing function which is a powerful tool for inorganic or abstract structure. Infact, JewelCad is exclusively design to serves jewelry designer in order to minimise communication break down with customers. I have the experience of drafting a snake sculpture pendant which took me a month to communicate with client via email and phone. We will never make into conclusion without JewelCad photo rendering function. If I am not mistaken, I have submmit at least five copies of drawing before he agree. You never know how its feel when he finally nod his head. Should I said like the baby head coming out during delivery...
To know more about JewelCad....
Understanding MOI
I take up MOI (Moment of Inspiration)as a starting point towards the world of CAD 3 years ago. The clean and simple user interface of MOI (pronounce "moo-eye" sounds like mother's love in Chinese) short-cut my CAD learning path. I really enjoy creating something 3D in just a few simple steps. I manage do simple name or pattern engraving which sent direct to .stl file for machining. It was a fun experience because directing a machine to work according to your way with excellent precision and 100% perfect outcome is just like a dream come true. The picture on the left is MOI unique logo. I really admire Michael Gibson the founder/programmer of the software who actually spend 4 years to program MOI all on his own cost and he did an excellent job. I gained a lot form his forum especially the knowledge of CAD. He is the CAD expert that teach in a simple way. I think this is the main criteria to become a good teacher/tutor/coach. He is also the programmer of Rhinoceros CAD which is the top selling NURBS CAD. I really admire his passion on CAD.
Recent Project : Enameling Rings
I have tried to make full use of Roland MDX-15 CNC machine to produce pendant or any flat(2 and a half) surface jewelry. My experiment on ring the outcome was good with simple name engraving ring but when it come to continuous pattern we have problem on how to combine the gap. It does take some effort to solve the problem. However, I find when applying enamel on ring was an excellent experience especially when you can play with colors and ideas just attach from everywhere. I mean quality and with great variety color of glass fuse on metal. The touching sensation of the glass surface is totally different from the plastic coloring rings that sell in Malaysia market. There are some technical problem we need to solve before the design can be commercialize such as surface tension cause cracking, over fire that fade/change the color etc. Anyhow, failure is just an another experiment gained....
18K Yellow Gold Tous Inspired Engagement Rings
This is another project custom made to a cheerful couple from Sabah and Sarawak. They have spend time to go around malls and jewelry outlet to look for their "very precious" but with zero results. At last, they manage to contact me via web. We meet at my home office, and the discussion was an easy one because they have brought some rings as sample. We manage to deliver within two weeks time just few days before they they fly back to East Malaysia. They also brought same design rings with different material i.e. pure silver. The silver rings was delivered to them the night before their flight. That was such pleasant experience as we have meet another new friends.
Custom Made Jewelry
For about two years doing research on Computer Aided Design Software (CAD), I am glad to make use of such "high tech" tools e.g. JewelCad software and Roland MDX-15 to starts my customized jewelry workshop. I starts to market my works on internet since October 2008 and manage to serve some local customers.
This unique design 925 blackening silver band rings takes two meeting to complete. In the first meeting the couple provide a photo of basic idea design then we discuss a bit on the rings surface texture. In the second meeting, my husband-Chin actually sit and hammer the rings according to their instruction. The process was interesting especially when customer give positive respond on the outcome.
