CAD designing for jewellery

there have been some remarkable advancements in technology, in recent years, i am sure we can all think of at least 3 straight away, in any field…

one of the things that is emerging as a power in new jewellery manufacturers, is the use of CAD design systems. CAD stands for computer aided design. it does have some unique benefits, for you,

• not only does it enable me to give you a design in a short amount of time
• you get to see a fully rendered 3D image, which we can rotate and view from literally every single angle, of the jewellery you want to create
• we can make changes as we go through the design process, without having it cost anyone time and or money
• you can see the design in both 2D and 3D (3D is obviously better)
• you can even see what different coloured stones would look like in your piece

CAD was first used in aeroplane design and manufacture, but by the passage of time and advancement of user friendly PC interfaces, CAD is now used in almost every industry where the design process takes place. a lot of people associate CAD with architecture, but there are just so many applications for the software that it is becoming mainstream in a lot of these industries.

the CAD we use in jewellery, was developed from engineering software that was used to make machining components and also from software used to make tools for heavy machines. considering the fact that jewellery manufacture is an engineering, simply done on a miniature scale, in which we work with 1/100th’s of 1mm, it has become very handy software to use!

some of the best uses for CAD in jewellery is for pieces that are entirely symmetrical and that i might need to replicate certain components of the piece many times. i can simple draw 1 half of the design in the first instance and then press a button that will mirror copy the design for me, exactly as i have drawn it on the first half! or in the later example, i can take the drawn component, which i would only have to draw once, and then plot where i want the component to go and again press a button that will insert the component where i have marked!

this does speed up the process considerably and it also has advantages in the crafting process too. these components can have interlocking components pre-assembled into the design, so that when it comes time to produce the piece, everything lines up perfectly straight, AND it is locked in place!

i have recently made some lapel pins using CAD software, these were being used as a corporate gift, and another piece i have made was a 5 diamond ring, which had interlocking settings for the 5 diamonds that went across the ladies finger.

we can use CAD to design and make pretty much any piece of jewellery that you desire, if this is something that might be of use to you in a design idea that you have, and you are not quite sure of how it may go together, then let me know at Appointment@EskaeJeweller.com and we can arrange a time to get together and develop your piece of jewellery!