3D Systems Targets Booming Jewelry Market with New 3D Printer for Mass Production

For over ten years, 3D printing has been steadily impacting the jewelry industry, and according to the new “3D Printing Jewelry Markets 2023: Market Study and Forecast” report from SmarTech Analysis, this sector is expected to reach $989 million by 2031. The report takes a look at the trends impacting the consumer and technology sides of the 3D printed luxury jewelry space, such as using both metal and polymer to print molds and patterns, and profiles some of the major players, including 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD), which just announced the availability of its new ProJet MJP 2500W Plus for jewelry.

This new 3D printing solution, used to fabricate high-quality, complex, precise wax jewelry patterns for the lost wax casting process, was designed and engineered specifically to meet the requirements of the jewelry industry. With its high-resolution print mode and high speed, the new ProJet MJP 2500W Plus can print smooth, pure wax casting patterns in a matter of hours, which significantly improves productivity. Additionally, the patterns require less finishing to reduce the amount of precious metal waste, which helps achieve quick and cost-effective jewelry production of even complex geometries.

“Producing jewelry requires the ability to bring complex, creative designs to life The global jewelry additive manufacturing market is estimated at over $2 billion and is growing quickly due to the increased productivity, quality, flexibility, and design freedom enabled by this technology. Today, we’re excited to announce the ProJet MJP 2500W Plus, with increased resolution and productivity that is unmatched in the industry,” Scott Anderson, Vice President, Segment Leader, 3D Systems, said in a press release last week. “This innovation allows our customers to deliver exceptional design styles, while reducing pattern production time and operational costs, meeting the demands of a mass-customization environment. Coupled with the reliable and repeatable direct casting of our 100% wax solution, users will be able to achieve cost-effective, high-quality casting patterns with quick turnaround and high throughput.”

There are few consumer goods more luxurious than jewelry, and we’re seeing plenty of 3D printed pieces from designers like Jenny Wu and Ganit Goldstein. Lots of AM companies are getting in on this sector as well, including 3D Systems, HP, B9Creations, Formlabs, and more. However, profitability can be impacted, and not in a good way, by the major strain on resources that can be caused by the need for manually polishing the jewelry. 3D Systems says it’s found a way around this issue with its new ProJet MJP 2500W Plus, which features a ZHD print mode that’s said to offer up to two times improvement in the vertical resolution of 3D printed casting patterns, without increasing consumption of wax material. This mode results in pieces with a high-quality surface finish, which means less of a gold loss, and that the final parts don’t need to be polished as much. Plus, users can print more complex designs that won’t even need polishing.

The ProJet MJP 2500W Plus has a maximum build envelope capacity of 294 x 211 x 144 mm, which helps customers increase their throughput of 3D printed wax casting patterns by up to 25%. This increased productivity enables users to meet high demand and quality standards for customized jewelry, as well as enjoy more flexibility in planning out builds and, as 3D Systems explained, “the ability to deliver high-volume production batches.” Another time-saving feature is quick, easy post-processing with dissolvable supports, and 3D Connect enables cloud connectivity for fast, predictive service.

This new 3D printer, which uses the company’s MultiJet Printing (MJP) technology, prints with 100% VisiJet wax materials, which enables printing jewelry patterns with fine feature definition that are “true-to-CAD” with sharp details and edges. This material is durable for use in handling and casting fine features, and melts just like standard casting waxes—no ash content, which leads to castings with no defects. Plus, it comes in high contrast colors, so it’s easier to see those fine details. The ProJet MJP 2500W Plus, when paired with these materials and 3D Systems’ advanced 3D Sprint software for streamlined workflows, allows users to quickly print precise, high fidelity wax sacrificial casting patterns for producing jewelry.

3D Systems says that its new ProJet MJP 2500W Plus 3D printer has a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and is now available for purchase and immediate shipping.

Images courtesy of 3D Systems.