CAD/CAM Services

What Services do we Offer?

We can create high quality one-off models and unusual projects to cast direct to gold, platinum and silver.
We can create master models for moulding and production casting.
Models can be created from customers' sketches, drawings, technical drawings, images and sample models. (See ' How to start ')
Help customers with design input if needed re production problems and practical aesthetics.
Create wax models from customers own supplied CAD 3D files.
Scan one-off stones or items to input into the CAD model and build around.
Mirror and scale models created with CAD or from scans.
Offer confidential model making services, as we don't produce our own product range for sale and therefore your designs will remain, exactly that, your designs.

For CAD/CAM Enquiries contact: jonny@heanstudio.com

Also see our Advice for CAD Designers pdf below to help you avoid the most common pitfalls.

Advice for CAD designers

Types of Projects

Typical jewellery items produced created with CADCAM can range from simple logo pins, settings, earrings, all types of rings (wedding bands, engagement rings, ETs, one-off settings around fancy stones and accurate multi part rings), cufflinks, brooches, bangles and pendants, up to large complex multi-part necklace projects.

Costs

Typical CADCAM design & model making costs range from £60 for a simple pin/cufflink model, rings can be £100 (simple) to £350 (complex) through to many pounds for large and complicated projects.

All jobs are individually estimated from customers’ supplied files and info.

Timescales

Simple jobs can be turned around usually in a couple of days or so, depending on the casting times available. More complex projects might take several weeks to complete.

Non-jewellery based work.

Our CADCAM services have also been involved with high-tech, specialist industries:

We have made models for scientific/specialist instrument components, the marine and aeronautical industries, automotive badges and precious metal fittings, cutlery makers, unusual Objets d’art items, belt buckles, cast metal boxes and custom made watches.

Starting point.

If we are creating a model for you from your 2D drawings or sketches, we generally would like to have as much info as you can supply, including as many dimensions as possible and if necessary any sketches of particular cross-sections that might be relevant etc.

We work from rough sketches, through to CAD produced 2D engineering drawings. Clients also send in images and actual physical samples for us to measure and work from. We can start from a scanned object too, for example a handed earring or cufflink which might have been lost, to make a mirrored model.

Many projects start by taking a scan of your one-off stone so we can build a model around that particular stone.

You can view images of the CAD model for approval, before we commit it to either wax machining or ready for Rapid Prototyping.

More people are now designing using their own CAD software, which they send the files to us to make into wax models. We can quote a price to produce the model once we have seen the CAD file and from its volume we can accurately estimate its weight in the relevant metal needed.

Important note to remember: We do need to know at the start of the project whether the model is to be cast as a one off direct to metal or if it is for reproduction via rubber moulding, as this makes a big difference to the starting dimensions of the CAD model to allow for shrinkages.

Basically, just tell us what you need and we’ll work closely with you to achieve the desired result.

Waxes, resins and other RP models

Physical 3D models can be created in many ways including CNC milling from solid wax (similar to hand carving wax and burns out really well before casting)

There is now an ever growing selection of RP resin materials available to the designer these days. We are continually keeping an eye on the various problems that some of these resins throw at us as a lot of them don’t seem to burn out properly as advertised. We think the importance of the correct curing and drying procedures cannot be over emphasized.