Stacking Rings

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by stacked, Feb 18, 2017.

  1. stacked
    stacked Member
    Thought id say hi to all the designers and makers here and start adding some ones ive been doing!

    Just added my first 3 versions of my hex 3 stacking ring series.
    It started out as i wanted different colour combinations for outfits and to sit properly on the fingers without falling off to one side.

    Ive done 24 size variants to give people choice and a load of colours....the edit page really was slow when adding them all!
    hope to add more designs soon :)

    https://www.shapeways.com/shops/catlogix

    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Ontogenie
    Ontogenie Well-Known Member
    These are very cool! Can I ask what percentage larger you made the stainless steel vs. the cast metals to allow for shrinkage? I've made a couple of rings in stainless steel and I never seem to get the size right.
     
  3. stacked
    stacked Member
    Great question!
    So i took some time to put this answer together
    Steel tolerance is +/-5%. whoa!! Yep alot. So i decided to print some and see.

    The version i sent in was sized to my wedding band, size S, 19.1mm internal diameter
    with a +/-5% toln this meant the range for the internal diameter could be 18.14mm-20.05mm.
    A whopping range from ring sizes Q to W.

    Surely it cant be that bad? Shapeways say "Shrinkage is more prevalent" so lets find out!

    I printed 2 of the same steel versions to see if it altered from one to the next. Yeh go control group. A gold version to see if the plating had a major effect. Doubt it but you know what they say about assumptions. Then a FAT versions ( this is 6mm high instead of 4.5mm) and a matt black FAT version(they dont mind being called FAT they carry it with confidence).

    Then the measuring with a vernier, good enough for this.
    Nominally the measurements are:

    slim version
    4.5mm height, 19.1mm internal, 22.6mm outer dia

    but the 2 identical prints sizes measured
    4.4, 18.81, 22.47
    4.3, 18.74, 22.4

    gold version
    4.3, 18.72, 22.45

    Whats the outcome? Well theyre smaller, booooo. By up to 0.4mm internal, that's about a whole ring size! Which would matter!

    What about the FAT version?
    Nominal
    6mm height, 19.1mm internal, 22.6mm outer dia

    measured
    5.7, 18.77, 22.38
    Matt black FAT version
    5.95, 18.74, 22.65

    About the same dimensionally. Interestingly the Matt is larger, expected due to black iron oxide, but not smaller internally...ummmmm.

    And what about plated versions? Well i only had 1 slim version done, rose gold, looks amazing and it measured
    4.1, 19.14, 22.15
    more accurate as expected. Apart from the height. My guess this was the polishing of the protruding hex.


    Its a valid point about printing in steel, and there are 2 solutions i can see:
    1. On the edit page link a size ring to a slightly larger model version for steel
    2. Keep the models the same and try to tell the person buying about the variance.

    I thought if i started to alter model sizes and try to adjust it would all turn out quite muddy. Esp if i sized them wrong.
    I decided to put a note on the page explaining about steel and then at least if someone buys a size 7 and its slightly too small, they can return it and buy the next size up in confidence i hadnt mucked about with the scale.

    To go on more thoroughly the next step would be to order some smaller and larger, for more range, and see if smaller rings shrink less and larger ones shrink more? Would be interesting to do, repeat it a few times, then graph that mother so its predictable.

    What does this mean in real world? Well all i printed sit comfortably on my ring finger and stack well together, i wouldn't have noticed the difference but i think best make ppl aware.

    Hope this helps anyone in future

    image for reference:
    [​IMG]
     
    EvieL and Ontogenie like this.
  4. LoveAndShapes
    LoveAndShapes Well-Known Member
    Ussualy i don't see the point of stacking rings, but for yours i make an exception with pleasure ;-)
    Wow these are great.....

    Regards, Robert
     
    stacked likes this.
  5. Ontogenie
    Ontogenie Well-Known Member
    Thank you for your very detailed reply! I guess someday I'll have to work up the courage to wade into stainless steel ring design again. This is the thing I made, I like it but I need to play around with the sizing. It was supposed to fit my ring finger, but only fits my pinkie!
    steel ring 5.jpg
     
    stacked likes this.
  6. tinyrightbrain
    tinyrightbrain Well-Known Member
    Cute rings! I need to save all that info about sizing and steel and everything else. I've never tried designing a ring, just because of all the size issues
     
    stacked likes this.
  7. boowii82
    boowii82 Member
    I love those rings....might have to get a set of those for me!!!!