Hong Kong - Cooksongold, together with additive manufacturing design solutions provider EOS, has launched the PRECIOUS M 080 direct-metal laser sintering (DMLS) system at the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair 2014.
Dr. Adrian Keppler, chief marketing officer at EOS, states, "This additive manufacturing (AM) process introduces an innovative and paradigm-shifting technology to the luxury goods industry. With Cooksongold, we found the perfect partner for the extension of our technology into this industry. Additive manufacturing paves the way for a completely new approach towards design and manufacturing, enabling the design-driven manufacturing the industry has long been searching for."
With additive manufacturing, Cooksongold will support the most demanding jewelry brands in the creation of entirely new product lines that meet their high-quality standards. David Fletcher, European product manager at Cooksongold, explains that "Utilizing the power of 3D CAD design, DMLS technology will challenge a designer's imagination and enable the creation of jewelry and watch components that previously would have been impossible to successfully manufacture. Additive manufacturing will change the economics of producing watch and jewelry products by offering a streamlined manufacturing process that dramatically reduces the time required from design conception to final part realization. DMLS will also enable the production of design-driven pieces that are not limited by the restrictions of conventional production techniques such as lost wax casting, eliminating many process steps and costs that we normally encounter."
Richard Hoptroff, based in London, is more accustomed than most at adopting new technology. He is the first watch maker to produce an atomic watch and is convinced that the DMLS technology offers him the best production solution available. "Critically for our enterprise, industrial 3D printing keeps batch sizes down," he says. "You can change the design quickly and create complicated shapes that would be otherwise impossible."
When Johannes von Stumm, puzzle rings designer, first approached Cooksongold, he explained why he wanted his designs 3D-printed in gold rather than using traditional lost wax casting. "I create many different iterations of the same design and the ability to change and immediately print a piece offers me great flexibility. With DMLS I send over my latest design, which is simply printed and ready to polish. I am even able to send multiple files and have them printed together to save cost."