Jewelry Designers

Shot 2 of 4:

Shot 3 of 4 (the edge):

Shot 4 of 4 (the problem):



So, as I hope you can see from this lovely pic, the blade is somewhat warped toward the end. In fact, it's about 1mm out from what should otherwise be a straight edge. (This is 2mm graph paper,)

This print was done in premium silver. To me, warp this looks like an issue that would have occurred during the wax casting process, rather than, say, the printing, polishing, or handling process. Just my surmising, but the blade is quite solid despite its thinness.

So, to summarise, the good about this model:

1. Premium silver is a gorgeous material
2. I'm happy with the length at 6cm
3. The loop at the top is the right size, and all the proportions seem to work (nothing too fragile, or odd-looking)

Problems:
1. The warping (as discussed above)
2. Some of the detail appears to have been lost in the polishing process (the crossguard had a bit of texture on it, pretty much all gone now, though I recognise it is quite small and may not have printed superbly anyway)
3. The blade is too sharp, particularly the point edge. This surprises me a little, as I took pains to fatten the blade out and make sure sure the edge, particularly the point, was not sharp. (At least, I thought I did!!)

Things I am thinking of doing to resolve the above problems:

1. Warping: Contact Shapeways for a refund or free reissue of the same model in polished silver (rather than premium - less polishing, it seems). The edge really needs to be straight as an arrow. I don't think this one is my fault, as the model passed the material guidelines 100%.
2: Detail: Offer all subsequent sword models with any kind of detail in polished silver rather than premium.
3: Sharpness: Thicken the blade again slightly, particularly towards the tip. Hopefully polished rather than premium silver will help with this one also.

Do please let me know if you think any of this sounds unreasonable, particularly requesting a refund. I'm happy to contemplate that I've done something wrong here, but I don't know what it would be at this stage. I would love some feedback on my process, or any advice based on your own experience in such matters!

Thanks all, you guys are great.

hal

Very nice!
I don't think it hurts to ask for a reprint if you feel it was warped, regardless of where in the process the warping occurred.
Best case scenario, you get an excellent reprint. Worst case, they say no.
Either way, SW needs to know when there is a weak link in the whole process.

You could try deepening the detail in the model or antiquing it a bit to bring out the detail.

The warping looks like a big problem from the photo mail direct at service@shapeways.com for that.

Regarding details or to sharp parts , you must think ahead when you design about metal flow (not in this particular case) , meaning to not get to sharp things you must not use measures under 1 mm thickness. The polishing process can land from 0.8 to 0.5 fast in some cases but that makes your tip very sharp due high polishing for premium silver.

Always use a caliper to test designs you do , and to have a real measures clue when you design anything. It is a very good tool to have when you check defects in any manufactured object.

NOTE: Before you do prints in Silver go first and print in White Strong & Flexible and to see smaller details Detailed Plastic is second option , but never go straight to METAL if you still learning the process. Engraved things must be at last 0.5 in deep and out , and be assured that when the detail it is engraved that the wall thickness under the engraved section is 0.8-1mm , if the details are engraved to much on a surface that is long on the design can give warping too. (it can be the case here too but I don`t know the measures on the detail part)

Thanks for the advice numarul7 and seriaforma,

Thankfully, SW gave me a store credit for the warping, and I have re-ordered the model in polished silver to check if that alleviates the detail problem.

Also very good advice, I appreciate it. I'm going to go ahead and order a detailed plastic or maybe frosted detail of each of my other models just to check everything. I also think I'll put some of them as temporarily not for sale, just to make sure they are all safe and so on. (It pains me to take a step backwards, but I was perhaps a little trigger happy when putting them up. I'll take the development process a little more carefully now.)

I don't mind that I have one coming in silver, but I'll start with plastic for the rest. And calipers is a wise idea too (thankfully very cheap to buy on eBay).

hal

'The Shogun' looks kickass,

Well, can't ask for more than that.

Thanks __88

And to return the compliment, your Halo blade looks about perfect.

hal

Thanks hal,
I hope your print turns out the way you imagined.
Perhaps you should consider the new high res frosted material on shapeways
Cheers

I did a tie clip as well. I did a polished version. Did you find that when sliding onto the tie that it was snagging the material? I had to file a little to smooth it out so it wouldn't snag the tie.

The material was a bit rough, but the tie didn't got damaged. Smoothing it is indeed wise to do.
Love your design, do you have a front/top picture?

Here is a front/top view. I think I will adjust it so it has a little more room for the tie thickness. Probably easier to pinch the tie clip close then to bend the metal out.

It looks great! I think it's hard to find the right wide, since not all ties have the same sort of fabric and thickness.

That looks fantastic Kearworks. Very nicely made.

Tell me, what's the weight like for wearing? Is there any chance of it slipping down the tie at all (with the frog dangling precariously as it is?) Or does the frog actually help keep it in place with more surface area?

Just curious, as one of my problems with wearing tie clips has always been that they tend to move around even if they have a spring lever in the back.

Your design is nevertheless pretty darn awesome. (I'm thinking of making some tie clips too now...)

hal

The frog is about 2" overall length,but I don't have a problem of it sliding down. Mostly because the tie clip isn't 100% smooth on the back so it kinda sticks to the tie. I wear it with a polyester tie, but I think it would be the same for silk ties. I think having a wide back part would help from it not sliding down. maybe something around 1/4".

I like to design womens jewelry:
I'm going to experiment with mens jewelry later as far as rings but I am going to incorporate the masculinity towards female jewelry as a final design meaning these new inspiring modern styles other members are doing

I like to do "neutral sex" designs and "neutral age" , that combo is the hardest to do and takes time in research and preparation in doing so , like my "taurean love" pendant that worn one way is "male" worn other way is "woman".

My advice is to all is to develop all ideas on paper and sketch them until gives you more of them.

Then think this type of things :

a) If I flip the design what forms give birth ?

b) Can I implement more into it ?

c) Can be worn different ways ?

Test and repeat.

There is no magic way of doing things , it is more practice and more more practice until looks the way it needs to be.

I`ll do some product design in future ... just for fun. Because I can do it!

Hey justinofjupiter,

That's an attractive design. I can see younger ladies in particular finding that ring delightful. I like it when there's a reality-based theme in a design that is also aesthetically pleasing. Nice work.

Only issue I can think of is that the wings might catch on various things, like clothing etc. (Particularly if worn on the pinkie, I'd think.) Have you done any extended wearing tests to check that kind of thing? Just curious.

Then again, I have family members who wear far more outlandish rings than that, so perhaps it's all good!

hal

Hello Jewelry Designers,

I'm new to the thread, there are lots of talented designers here and I wish it was appropriate to retroactively say "good job" to all of you. So here's a collective pat on the back for such a nice thread so far. *pat-pat*

I'd like to contribute this earring to the collection. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Surreal Lantern Earrings


Thanks every one! Keep up the good work.

They are in black steel ? If they are ... I can suspect they will be heavy on the ears.