Lost wax casting

 While working at Phil Bear Jewellers I was given the job of doing all of the lost wax castings. We cast a lot at the shop because we have a large range of signet rings and charms that customers can choose from. I also cast for other jewellers that don't have the machinery to cast. Thus I end up casting at least once a week. 

Bowes, K.,(2021). Collection of wax trees.

Bear, L., (2021). Charm collection.

Mass Production

Mass production is the process whereby jewellery pieces or elements are, "produced in large volumes [...]  creat[ing] identical pieces,"(Anon. 2020). Mass production can be useful because, "in the making of one piece, a number of ideas may be generated that progress and lead to another piece being conceived,"(Olver. 2002:144). Having many identical copies of a piece/element means I can manipulate them and use them in multiple different designs. 

The methods of mass production I have explored for manufacturing are lost wax casting and the use of jigs. In my design work, I use a digital program called Art Flow on my tablet to mass-produce drawings. One of the reasons I have focused mostly on lost wax casting is because I work part-time at Phil Bear Jewellers where I cast at least once a week so it is a technique I am very familiar with. 

Sunflower moulds

Whilst I made the mould of my chain links I also made mould of my sunflower elements.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Flower in mould.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Half flower in mould.

Chain

All my links have been cast so now I can play with color and placement. I think I cast enough links to possibly make two chains. 

Bowes, K.,(2021). Cast links.

Casting links

The wax injecting took a while for the links as I had issues with the pressure but I managed to make three trees and cast them in brass, copper, and silver.

The wax and the casting both looked like flowers which reiterate my point that I used these shapes as they are the basic shapes of most petals.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Wax tree of links.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Silver links.

Mass production Reflections

I feel that the different types of mass production are appropriate for different projects. For example, my wire earrings are made of wire that is too thin to cast which is why I made the jig. Whereas my sunflowers need to be cast because there is no way of making it up on a jig. 

So far I am mostly going to be using lost wax casting for my mass production. I plan on making moulds of all my sunflower elements and the links for my organic chains. Each element individually can be used to make spin-off pieces for the market which will probably take the form of a website.

Bowes, K., (2021). Broken wax pieces.

Mass production Summary

There are many ways to mass-produce when making jewellery. I practised three different forms of mass production:

1. ArtFlow is an app I used on my tablet to mass-produce designs.
2. I made a jig for the wire earrings I make for the I heart market that sell really well but take time to make individually.
3. The process I used the most was making moulds and lost wax casting.

Lost wax casting became second nature to me as I have been working part-time at Phil Bear Jewellers where I cast at least once a week. I was allowed to do the casting for my own designs with the casting for the business meaning that working part-time didn't interfere with my manufacturing time.

Bowes, K., (2021). Wax trees at Phil Bear Jewellers.

Bowes, K., (2021). Wax and mould.

Flower elements

I made a mould of my large and medium flowers and started injecting wax into them. Not all the flowers came out as a full flower but that is normal with a new mould. Instead of wasting the large flower that can't be used in my original design, I started to see the flower as an element that can be broken into smaller elements instead of used as a whole. 

Bowes, K., (2021). Mould making

 

Bowes, K.,(2021). Sunflower element.

Mass Designing

 Using my customized Art Flow brush I mass-produced designs by changing the settings and adding different elements. 

Organic Chain

I have been preparing to cast links for a chain at Phil Bear Jewellers and I have contemplated making my own organic chain. Drawing each link can be tiring but my Art Flow app upgraded and I am able to make my own 'brushes' so drawing the chain is so much easier. It means I can draw multiple designs in a short amount of time.

Bowes, K., (2021). Wax tree of links.

Mass Production- Jig

 Mass production is very useful when it comes to making jewellery for markets or large orders but not everything can be cast. My best selling earrings at the I Heart Market are made with thin wire that can't be cast. Inspired by the pair of pliers in the video, Rod from Phil Bear Jewellers helped me make a jig on his lathe that will work for my wire earrings. I usually make my earrings by hand but they take time to get both earrings to match which is very frustrating but with the jig, it will be easier to make many more earrings in less time.

Bowes, K.,(2021). Wire earring jig