The American Midwest is notorious for its devastating tornadoes, possibly made even worse in recent years due to extreme weather arguably brought on by climate change. And, though we might associate disasters like the 2013 tornado that wreaked havoc on the town of Moore, Oklahoma with loss and suffering, the people of Moore have been slowly making a recovery. One local business, Lewis Jewelers, is managing to do so with the help of 3D printing.
After the Moore tornado wiped out the Lewis brothers’ jewellery business, 40 years of hard work collecting jewellery moulds went with it. Rather than seek to replace every one of their 30,000 master moulds and castw, as well as their machining instruments for finishing casts, completely, the brothers decided to reinvent their company and bring it into the 21st Century. Glenn, who also happens to be the mayor of Moore, and Tim Lewis had had experience with CAD software. In fact, before the tornado hit, they’d owned a 3D printer for experimentation with rapid prototyping. Unfortunately, Glenn and Tim Lewis were dissatisfied with their previous machine, which had a build plate of insufficient size and relied on a high temperature casting material that required a hammer to open.
And, because it would be too laborious to hand carve replacement wax moulds for later casting, Glenn explains that they looked into a new 3D printer manufacturer: “We knew there had to be something better…especially since we lost our molds. We needed a new way to process [our pieces] and we wanted to upgrade to a modern way of producing these models.” In turn, the brothers turned to EnvisionTEC, purchasing a Perfactory® Aureus last October. Unlike their previous machine, the Perfactory unit produces models that can be cast using standard gypsum investment, removed with water.
After just a month in use, the Lewis brothers claim that the machine has helped them increase their profits by a third. Their in-house CAD designer, Roger Kitchens, has allowed the company to produce up to 20 pieces a day, giving Lewis Jewelers the ability to fulfill orders and then some. Every day, the jewelers are able to create about five rings, usually custom engagement rings, and a surplus of inventory items. Glenn says, “We actually build the pieces and put them in the showcases because [we] have the [gemstone] stone inventory to do that. We want people to try it on and not just look at it.” With over 2,500 engagement rings in stock, the brothers are ready to grow, hinting that they may even purchase a second Aureus machine, “Our goal is to eventually get to 5,000 [engagement rings]… And to become the largest engagement ring [manufacturer] in the state… As we continue that, and more and more people tell each other about our products, then that’s more people that come into the store, and of course that means people buy.
The brothers seem to believe in the power of 3D printing to drive jewellery manufacturing and they aren’t the only ones. 3DPI has covered an increasing number of stories in which jewellers are turning to additive manufacturing to produce jewelry designs. And, in the UK, there’s a private-public endeavor to improve the ability to 3D print precious metals directly for such purposes. If these stories are any indication, 3D printing might change the way jewellery is made forever.
