The Best 3D Printer for Jewelry

3D Printed Jewelry

3D printing has been used in the process of creating jewelry even before the time of high-quality wax resins. Makers have been utilizing printers and unique models to create stunning pieces. The various materials and associated characteristics allow makers to produce a variety of accessories on the same machine! The development of high-quality wax resin that won’t produce ash or residue during burnout has lead to widespread knowledge of investment casting. Investment casting jewelry has been increasingly adopted due to the preservation of traditional look and feel, in exponentially less time. 3D printed jewelry is starting to become mainstream. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at this new technological revolution.

FDM or SLA?

Choosing the right 3D printer is very important in producing quality 3D printed jewelry. For this, you have two routes to go – either get an FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) or (Stereolithography) SLA printer. For some designs, an FDM printer may be more appropriate. Abouve are various accessories made in metal and at the top is a group of flexible bracelets FDM machines. FDM printing allows for blended filaments which allows you to print jewelry pieces in various colors or transition filaments. FDM printers can use a mixture of plastic and metal to create unique accessories. FDM printing also allows you to print finished jewelry pieces right on your desktop.

An SLA 3D printer on the other hand allows you to create extremely fine details in your wax castings and can product at bulk vs one at a time as is done on an FDM machine. What used to take several hours if not days can now be accomplished in a fraction of the time. SLA 3D printers are the most commonly used machines in jewelry making because they allow for complex models, very detailed features and they can be printed with special materials. SLA printers handle special materials like wax, used in the metal casting process, much better than FDM printers.

Choosing the right 3D printer is very important in producing quality 3D printed jewelry. For this, you have two routes to go – either get an FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) or (Stereolithography) SLA printer. For some designs, an FDM printer may be more appropriate. At the top is a group of flexible bracelets and here a festive ring available on thingiverse for nearly a decade. FDM printing allows for blended filaments which allows you to print jewelry pieces in various colors or transition filaments. FDM printers can use a mixture of plastic and metal to create unique accessories. FDM printing also allows you to print finished jewelry pieces right on your desktop.

An SLA 3D printer on the other hand allows you to create extremely fine details in your wax castings and can product at bulk vs one at a time as is done on an FDM machine. What used to take several hours if not days can now be accomplished in a fraction of the time. SLA 3D printers are the most commonly used machines in jewelry making because they allow for complex models, very detailed features and they can be printed with special materials. SLA printers handle special materials like wax, used in the metal casting process, much better than FDM printers.

The Casting Process

The casting process usually starts with 3D printing your 3D model in wax using an SLA 3D Printer. The SLA 3D printer uses a wax-like resin as printing material and allows for much finer details than you can get with an FDM 3D Printer. Next, one or more wax sprues will be attached to your model. Then your model will be attached by the sprue to a wax ‘tree’, together with several other models. The tree is then placed in a flask and covered in a fine plaster. When the plaster solidifies, it forms the mold for casting the metal. The plaster mold is then put in an oven and heated for several hours to the point where the wax is completely burned out.

Here at U3DPS when we make 3D printed jewelry in our lab, we primarily use BlueCast or Resinworks 3D resin’s. We find it important to use high quality material to ensure we get amazing pieces, with no gas or ash from burnout, meaning there is barely any postproduction after.

Our Recommendations

Jewelers spend countless hours carving, casting, and finishing the beautiful and intricately detailed jewelry pieces they create. In an effort to make production quicker and easier, many jewelers have turned to 3D Printing technology. With a few clicks of the mouse and a push of a button, jewelers are now able to print out finely detailed wax castings in a fraction of the time.

Below we compare our picks for best resin 3D printer for jewelry. Starting with our pick for best overall, the Phrozen Sonic 4K 2022 is packed with helpful features and is a fantastic machine. If you are on a budget and have no need for the worthwhile added features the Phrozen Sonic 4K is a great option. Lastly a machine that we are very excited about is the FlashForge Hunter-S which is a DLP style resin printer, capable of being tuned to 12.5 micron resolution!