E-manufacturing Takes Jewelry Design and Development to the Next Level

In a small corner of the Internet a new manufacturing method has quietly been created, which could prove to be a major force in industry - e-manufacturing, a system for making custom jewelry via a website found at www.digitaljeweler.net.

Proprietary web-based configurator software has been created that operates over the Internet. By working with a software engineering firm to create rules-based - or knowledge-engineered - jewelry CAD models, users can log on, pull up a particular design and input several variables - including center and side stone dimensions. The server side software automatically re-creates the 3-D geometry using these new variables as well.

The rules are codified based on the background of a trained goldsmith, Steven Pollack, president of Digital Jeweler (Glencoe, IL), and are coded by a software engineering company into the CAD models themselves. These rules guide the geometry to ensure technically correct jewelry regardless of the inputs.

Manufacturing Flexibility

The jeweler - with no experience in CAD or model making and not having purchased or learned any software - creates perfect custom jewelry that can be viewed from various angles in photo realistic renderings of the 3-D geometry. A 3-D VRML model also is available for viewing in the round.

While this could be used to allow consumers to design their own jewelry, access has been limited to the trade by Digital Jeweler. According to Pollack, "This limited access is based on the current market conditions for venture financing - it is much less expensive to market within the trade than to procure the millions of dollars needed for consumer marketing."

Using traditional lost wax casting methods, the wax is turned into gold or platinum. The casting is polished and shipped to the jeweler in a week. This level of customization is unheard of in the jewelry industry outside of a master craftsman hand whittling a wax model. According to Pollack, "There aren't many craftspeople with this capability so the majority of jewelry is produced using batch production methods from molds in factory settings. The mold is made from a master model that is either hand carved or created using RP and traditional CAD software."

Typically, in order to add some flexibility to their design offering, manufacturers would create a series of master models and molds, so that the jeweler can offer that design to the consumer in a variety of stone sizes. Take for example a traditional three-stone engagement ring with a round center stone and round side stones. A manufacturer will create, in advance, a dozen different models with ascending size center stones while leaving the side stone as static.

With this new online custom jewelry system, between the center stone range of 4.1 mm and 14.1 mm (1/4 carat to 10 carat) there are 100 possible variations. Then you can multiply this by a token 20 side stones in 1/10 mm increments and you have 2,000 permutations available. Add the other visualization factors of metal choices, center and side stone gemstone types and you give the jeweler 128,000 possible images that he or she can configure on screen in a matter of a minute in front of his or her customer. And remember that this is for just a single design. Digital Jeweler is an automated system for the creation of master models that offers 100 different models from which to choose.

Time Compression

A parametric model developed by this system, by contrast, takes several weeks to create and test. Once it is made live it becomes immediately available to the customer base.

This system also includes real-time pricing based on the reconfigured model's volume, the specific gravity of the metal(s) chosen, current metal spot prices and manufacturing costs. This wholesale cost is then applied to the jeweler's markup to show a retail screen price. The value of self-serve, real-time design and cost information is invaluable in the retail setting.

The jeweler can be empowered because the manufacturing deliverables - in this case the .stl file format necessary for RP - is only available from an administrative screen. This is the true power of this Internet delivery method - empowering the customer while at the same time controlling the manufacturing and thus the profit. It also is the basis for Pollack's patent application related to jewelry manufacturing.

Applications

Not every application is created as a portal, but this method of design and manufacture is especially well suited for product lines that often require custom work on orders. The outputs include the core 3-D model, 2-D sales and engineering drawings, bills of material, stereolithography files and CNC toolpaths. They are all customized in real-time through the use of product knowledge engineering and have access controls by user group.

Some believe that in the future, RP will work with precious metals, thereby skipping the casting process altogether, which will create a completely new dynamic. Whereas the casting process requires a set of specialized skills that promote centralized manufacturing, direct metal fabrication will be decentralizing to the jewelry manufacturing process.

Imagine being in a mall, designing a custom engagement ring using this online custom jewelry system, going to lunch and having your unique ring complete in 18K and platinum by the time that you are finished. Now, that is time compression!