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Sintering and Additive Manufacturing: The New Paradigm for the Jewelry Manufacturer

Research is reported into the adaption to jewellery manufacturing of direct metal laser melting technologies, sometimes incorrectly known as sintering and increasingly referred to as Additive Manufacturing (AM). An investigation was conducted into non-precious metal AM capabilities for its suitability in jewellery manufacturing. This was coupled with a review of the ‘current state of the art’ and the assessment of the other research in the field of the AM of precious metals.

There is now a single body of reference work that introduces the principles and possibilities of the AM of precious metals for the jewellery manufacturing and design community. No comparable body of such work is currently available.

This research was presented to the Santa Fe Symposium (which has been running for twenty-six years) and is the premier, and only global conference focusing on jewellery manufacturing technology.

This paper has attracted considerable attention from the jewellery industry, 3D designers and the press (e.g. interviewed for, and quoted in the article ‘Technology steps In to aid an old world craft’, New York Times, September, 2012) resulting in further invitations to conferences, seminars, exhibitions and related events, some of which are listed below.

Thirteenth Conference on Rapid Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing, Lancaster University UK, 22nd June, 2012. www.rpnationalconference.co.uk

Additive Manufacturing & 3D Printing International Conference, organised by the University of Nottingham and held at The Nottingham Belfry, 10th - 12th July, 2012. www.am-conference.com

Rapid Product Development Association of South Africa, Additive Manufacturing In Industry Conference held in Kwa Maritane, Pilansburg National Park, South Africa, 31st October - 2nd November, 2012. www.rapdasa.org

14th Annual International Wholers Conference, Advances in Metal Additive Manufacturing held at EuroMold, Frankfurt, Germany on 29th November, 2012

Attendance at the primary event reported here and all the others listed above have been funded through external industry sponsorship.