3D Printing for Jewellery: A Game Changer?

Photopolymers have revolutionised manufacturing, not only when it comes to 3D printing in healthcare, but also 3D printed jewellery. Photopolymers are special materials that can change from a liquid to a solid state when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light.

Nowadays, photopolymer 3D resins are used to make jewellery as well as investment castings for metal pieces.

This leads to more creativity and brings a lot of benefits, such as low investment costs, finer minimum feature details, higher strength pieces that won't break while making the moulds, clean burnout with no residue as well as a faster turnaround time. All game-changing benefits and applications of photopolymerisation and 3D printing for jewellery can be found in the following article.

The Benefits of 3D Printing for Jewellery

3D printed jewellery speeds up the manufacturing process and offers highly precise details, while it decreases overall costs.

Low Investment Costs

SLA 3D printers for the jewellery industry don’t take up much space and are usually more cost-efficient than larger industrial solutions. Traditional jewellery casting or laser welding machines are cost-intensive devices that require huge investments and material costs that are difficult to finance for startups and SMEs. 3D printers and raw materials for 3D printing only take a fraction of the costs and are able to produce high-quality results.

Lower Labour Costs

Low upfront-costs in combination with lower labour costs make SLA printers a lucrative investment that quickly pays off. Even though companies still need skilled labour such as designers to fulfil different tasks, compared to the traditional manufacturing process, 3D printing is mainly automated, which means that complex pieces can even be produced in batches.

Highly Precise Details

Modern printing methods can turn photopolymers into highly accurate, custom-made and precise objects without manual labour. Even better: 3D printers are able to create more complex geometries than hand-carved designs. Further, the new process allows companies to make custom designs according to customer preferences.

Strong Materials

Photopolymers create strong materials that can be used during the prototyping phase: Heat-resistant, rigid plastics for master patterns as well as high-contrast material for functional prototyping. Besides, jewellery resins also contain tensile strength and impact resistance.

Fast Turnaround

Depending on the process, 3D printing can produce thousands of products per month. Companies can even fulfil mass orders within just a few days, which is another big advantage of 3D printed jewellery.

Clean Burnout with no Residue

When creating the mould, wax or investment powder can leave residue or ash, which can affect the quality of the final product. 3D printing for jewellery is a highly-efficient process, which creates immaculate results without imperfections caused by leftover residue.

Applications of 3D Printing for Jewellery

Design freedom, customization and streamlined processes – photopolymers provide full flexibility and a wide range of applications.

Individuals Styles

As 3D printing for jewellery can even produce more intricate designs and geometries than manual labour, 3D printed jewellery can be made of any style, from Middle Eastern, Pavé to Western. 3D printing has the potential to copy every style on a granular level.

All workflow parts

The new manufacturing technique covers critical steps of the traditional production process, from prototyping until moulding, and automates and streamlines production, without customisation restrictions. Therefore, companies can benefit from various stages of the production process.

Unlimited Design Freedom

Photopolymers offer creative freedom for designers as well as reliable processes. Dissolvable and meltable supports enable limitless geometries with no impact to surface finish. Therefore, 3D printing for jewellery is much more adaptable than traditional processes.

Conclusion: 3D Printing for Jewellery - A Game-Changing Technology

Photopolymers and 3D printing for jewellery streamline production and reduce manufacturing risks. Explore RAHN’s products and their various applications for high-quality jewellery and profit from custom chemicals with good flexibility, high abrasion, high reactivity, low yellowing, and other qualities necessary for high-performance results.

Contact us and we will be glad to assist you.