rendered image

Send out the cad file to be prototyped.

It is then “grown” in a rapid prototyping machine.  There are various processes but for basic idea, check out this video.  It is a promotional video for a product from Rio Grande but it explains the process.

This is what the prototype model looks like.

After you have the prototype model, it can then be cast using the typical lost wax casting method.

Here is the master model cast in silver. Not very pretty yet.

After the master model is cast, it is sanded and polished to the desired surface finish.  It is then ready to make a mold.

The master model all polished up.

Once it is polished a mold can be made.  The silver master model is embedded in a special silicone putty and is then put into a vulcanizer that heats the mold and applies pressure.  This hardens the silicone and changes it from the consistency of putty to something more like rubber.  After the mold has be vulcanized, it must then be cut open and the original master model is removed, leaving a cavity that is the shape of the original.

This is the mold with a wax model in it.

The mold is then ready to be injected with wax.  This makes wax copies of the original which will then be cast.

From that mold, make many copies.

The copies are then covered in a plaster-like material called investment and put in an oven.  The wax melts out leaving a cavity in the shape of the rings.  Molten metal is poured into the cavities to create the rings.

Copies after they have been cast and polished.

Ta Da! Finished jewelry with stone set and ready to sell.