Digital fabrication allows for unique jewelry that would otherwise be impossible to create.
As stated in an article by sculpteo: Traditional technologies would struggle or even fail to produce complex geometries and great details on such a small scale.” And specifically referring to 3D printing “(it) gives you the freedom to design abstract shapes or interlocking structures.”
The main methods of dfab jewelry I researched are 3D printing and laser cutting.
Within 3D printing there are two main methods to create jewelry, direct and indirect. Direct printing means printing the piece of jewelry directly from the printer. Direct printing can either refer to using a plastic such as PLA or buying a metal 3D printer which can be extremely expensive. In general, direct printing with plastic creates a less stable and visually unique product, as supports and other technical issues can prevent more unique designs. There are examples of artists being able to create very beautiful looking pieces like the bracelet below created by Koneraad Van Daele. The bracelet was created in Alumide (which is a mix of metal and plastic).
Indirect printing refers to printing a piece, creating a mold, and then casting that mold. This is the much more commonly used method. Wax prints, which can be made with specific types of printers, then undergo the “lost wax casting method.”
The “lost wax casting method” relies on specific printers such as the printers created by The company solidscape The printers can print in wax and resin and have meltable supports, allowing for more intricate designs without the concerns about surface blemishes that supports can cause.
At the end of the video you can see examples of what prints can look like from this printer that have yet to be cast. Here is the next process they would undergo.
After the print has been created the next step is lost wax casting, a process where molten metal is poured into a mold that was created by a wax model.
The next method for creating jewelry using digital fabrication is laser cutting.
Laser cutting also has a direct and indirect method, however unlike 3D printing, the direct method is much more common. The direct method of using a laser cutter to create jewelry is simply having the laser cut directly into a material and then use that finished product as the jewelry or a charm within jewelry. The indirect method is laser cutting shapes, creating a mold and then casting that mold. The direct method is more common because laser cutters can cut materials that lend themselves well to jewelry creation such as acrylic sheets, wood, mirror, and depending on the machine, even metal sheets.
Laser cutters are very popular for creating jewelry because it allows jewelry makers to create highly repeatable pieces.
One example of a company on the forefront of Digital Fabricated Jewelry is Nervous System. Nervous System not only works with clients such as New Balance, Motorola, and Grimes, they also create software, clothing, sculptures, puzzles, lamps, jewelry and more.
Nervous System describes themselves as “a generative design studio that works at the intersection of science, art, and technology. Drawing inspiration from natural phenomena, we create computer simulations to generate designs and use digital fabrication to realize products.”