Premium Jewelry Manufacturer Puts EnvisionTEC Perfactory 3D Printers to Daily Test
Birmingham, UK-based jewelry manufacturer Weston Beamor has been at the forefront of casting precious metals since 1947.
Together with its sister company Domino, Weston Beamor supplies a complete service to premium jewelers and retailers. Its in-house facilities serve as a one-stop shop from design though high-resolution 3D printing, mold making, casting, finishing and even hallmarking (stamping Assay marks of the year, material and manufacturer).
Over the past 70 years, the company has invested in the highest quality people, materials and tools to serve its customers. As technology to support the jewelry industry has evolved, Weston Beamor has moved with the times, too, embracing new technologies that improve customer service and product quality.
Today, Weston Beamor provides a range of modern technology services including 3D scanning, bespoke CAD, and rapid prototyping, alongside its traditional casting services. At the same time, it has not forgotten its roots, staying focused on how to use new technologies to enhance its offerings and complement its traditional focus on hand-built quality.
A key element in its digital model building strategy has been to invest in the finest tools available — hence the purchase of two EnvisionTEC Perfactory 4 printing systems, which are known for exceptional resolution, reliability and speed.
Weston Beamor
Keeping ahead of the competition – The Problem.
As a pioneer and early adopter of early SLA 3D printing technology in the jewelry market in 2001, Weston Beamor quickly saw and embraced the benefits that 3D printing brings to its clients.
The ability to produce prototypes and castable patterns quickly, accurately and at low cost avoided the pitfalls of more traditional model making methods and brought real benefits to its clients.
But, technology moved on and the quality offered by its original machine was losing ground to newer, faster, more reliable and more accurate models.
Weston Beamor was aware of other manufacturers in the 3D printing space, but needed a printer which could consistently provide not just the quality of product the customer needed but reliably and at the right price point. Any drop in service to their customers was not an option and the team met with EnvisionTEC to look at the solutions available.
Following multiple meetings with the EnvisionTEC team and a number of demonstrations of the Perfactory series of printers, Weston Beamor knew that compared to others in the market, their range offered the most competitive offering.
Creating quality masters for molding, and fast dependable wax casting pieces – The Solution
The EnvisionTEC Perfactory series was the perfect solution, combining the quality, performance and a range of materials suitable for both silicone molding and direct casting applications.
Weston Beamor primarily uses two of EnvisionTEC‘s jewelry focused materials:
• RC90 – A tough resin which gives Weston Beamor the best resolution surface possible with no visible layer lines. These models are then silicone (cold)
molded. The quality of the print gives a very clean casting which saves a considerable amount of time at the finishing stage.
• EC3000 – Direct investment casting material. This resin allows Weston Beamor to produce fantastic build quality for direct casting. Ideal for one-off pieces.
EnvisionTEC’s machines were identified as a proven reliable option and this was a key selling point. With the printers used every single day, customers often rely on the business to produce high quality results at extremely short notice.
Weston Beamor was impressed with the advanced features, speed and quality available from the Perfactory series. And, with pressure mounting from competitors in the domestic market and emerging from abroad the decision was made to invest in one of EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory DLP printers using its patented technology to produce the highest resolution results every time.
After a period using the first Perfactory printer and seeing the improvements in print quality, customer service, and response times it was decided to add to the first investment and now Weston Beamor has two Perfactory 4 machines.
Improved speed, quality and customer service – The result.
Since the installation of the EnvisionTEC printers Weston Beamor has been able to increase both the quality of product provided to their customers and the speed at which jobs can be produced.
Custom designs can be either supplied by a client in CAD format or designed in house. Using software in house such as Gemvision’s Matrix, even the most innovative and complex designs that jewellery artists and engineers send through can be realised.
The ability to turn around these high resolution client jobs quickly has helped the business maintain its position as a market leader in the sector and even helped them to pick up new clients when other similar businesses can’t deliver.
“We need serious machines we can rely on, it’s not just our own work. It’s our customers. We have plenty of jobs where it has to work first time every time.”
– Ed Hole, Head of CAD Design & 3D Printing.
“For us it’s about shortening the delivery time for customers, while still maintaining the quality the customer requires. Compared to our old printer the quality can’t be beaten.”
– Ed Hole
“The reliability of the EnvisionTEC machines, gives us the confidence to make promises to our customers. Our ability to fulfil orders helps us to win customers.”
– Mark Thomas, Operations Director