INNOVATION 创新科技 JNA September/October 2023 | 21 Producing all the precious metal powders internally, Progold prints in 18-karat yellow, red and white gold, 950 platinum and titanium, Dal Sasso added. Design-led progress A reason for current success is that design thinking has moved beyond conventional - think, cast - designs and best results seem to be achieved when there is good cooperation between designers and manufacturers. German designer Tom Rucker is a pioneer in using printed platinum components as building blocks for his complex award-winning jewels. He has components printed by a German metals specialist using their proprietary atomised platinum alloy powders. “AM delivers the quality and precision I require for my custom pieces,” he explained. Rucker combines printed components with his laserwelding technique. For his turquoise ring, the shank was printed directly in platinum 950 from a CAD file and later filled in with a micro laser-welded structure. The turquoise was welded into the printed setting and finished with pink sapphires. “Such an accurate and polished edge will be impossible with traditional stone techniques,” he noted. In Vienna, Austria, an architect-turned-jeweller propelled a classic 1964 jewellery brand, Boltenstern, into the future with direct metal 3D printed jewels. The revolution happened when the daughter of the founder, Marie Boltenstern, moved to the helm of the company in 2015. Her architecture education and practice had focused on emerging technologies: Computational design and digital fabrication techniques such as 3D printing, robots and CNC machines. “My passion for complex geometry and coding of shapes became a foundation for our designs. They are based on complex mathematical codes and cannot be crafted by hand or conventional techniques,” said Marie, who is the brand's managing director and head of design. Build chamber of a Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine at Progold Internal Projects Progold 自家项目的激光束粉末床融合 (PBF-LB) 机器腔体 MetalPixel printed bracelet by Nuovi Nuovi 的 MetalPixel 打印手链 From left: Bangles printed in silver and gold with pink and green bioresin by Frillz 左起：Frillz的打印银手镯缀以粉色 生物树脂、和打印金手镯缀以绿色生 物树脂 jewellery and thus offers the advantage of creating large, statement pieces without affecting wearability. A pioneer in the field of precious metal AM is Progold SpA in Trissino, Italy that has been printing jewels for more than a decade using the process of SLM. Luca Dal Sasso, sales manager of Progold said, “The best news is that brands we work with now more and more understand the process and its possibilities, providing us tailored 3D files specifically made to exploit the features of the SLM process." The current trend is moving from medium and small producers to big international brands, Dal Sasso observed. The process has three main steps. “First, we analyse and support the customer’s 3D CAD file, then we proceed to prototype development and finally, we move on to production of the jewellery pieces. The customer receives the completed piece in rough form, ready for finishing and stone setting,” he explained.
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