Manufacturing Jewelry

Throughout Time
By Mannie McGuirk

Manufacturing Methods Through Time

The first recording of jewelry was a patterned sea shell

necklace from the very early humans 110,000 years ago
before they spread from Africa to other countries around
the world. Over time there has been a change in the
manufacturing methods used to make jewelry and this has
impacted on the type of materials used to make jewelry.
From the bronze age 7000 years ago when Metals were
manipulated to form the sorts of jewelry we wear today,
too the arrival of gold 2000 to 3000 years ago. Along with
manufacturing advances that made creating the jewelry
quicker and more efficient.

Modern Jewelry Production

Jewelry and technology in general has come a long way in

eco and environmental improvements. We as humans
have realised that the world cannot survive without
sustainability. So a group of people invented the pinnacle
of eco friendliness the 3D Printer. The 3D Printer is the
latest in technology. It can create almost anything with
just one CAD [computer aided drawing] from tables too
houses. There are 4 types of methods of 3D printing the
one I will talk about today is the stereolithography [SL].
SL is one of the methods of 3D Printing, its the process by
which a uniquely designed 3D Printing machine, called a
stereolithography apparatus [SLA] converts liquid plastic
into 3D solid objects hence the name.

3D Printers
3D Printers are also very dangerous as they can be used
to make different weapons like Guns, knives, Machetes
and bombs. This has the authorities around the world
worried because they have no metal in them can be
smuggled through customs and other security
enforcement areas. 3D printers roughly cost about
$2000-$500
An SLA machine starts off with an excess amount of
liquid plastic which is cured or hardened to create the
desired object. The SLA has a UV [ultraviolent] laser
that is used during the process of 3D printing an object.

The Process
The process of 3D is a complicated one so I will do my best to
explain it. The CAD files are loaded into the printer and the
printer then reads the drawing and then separates it into layers
as thin as paper. Then the 3D printer is ready to start.
SLAs have four main parts: a tank that can be filled with liquid
plastic [photopolymer], a perforated platform that is lowered
into the tank, an UV laser and a computer controlling and
monitoring the laser.
In the initial step of the SLA process, a thin layer of liquid plastic
is exposed above the perforated platform, usually between 0.05
0.15 mm is exposed. The UV laser hits the perforated platform
painting the pattern of the object being printed.

The Process Part 2

The UV curable liquid instantly hardens when the UV laser
touches it, for the first layer of the object. The platform is then
lowered exposing a new layer of liquid plastic. The laser then
traces the shape again and the bottom layer is instantly
bonded to the top. It then continues this process until it is
finished the object! The platform is then raised to expose the
3D object. After being showered with a liquid solvent to free it
of any excess resin, it is places in a UV oven to further cure
the plastic.
The amount of time it spends making the object depends on
the size of the machine and the object for e.g. a big object
tends to be made in a bigger machine taking a longer time to
finish maybe days even days

Eco Friendly Advances

Imagine a world were the sun didnt shine and the grass didnt
grow and the stars did not spread there glittering images across
the skyline at night! This is what life wouldve been like 200-300
years ago in the industrial revolution in Britain. This was because
during the industrial revolution most of the fuel for fires and ovens
was coal and coal isn't good for the environment. Coal is what
people call a fossil fuel, it is a limited resource that harms the
environment with pollution, poisoning the atmosphere with
harmful gasses and when burnt creates flue-gas desulfurization
sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium and arsenic. Also
on the plus side with the machines they could now make jewelry
easier and cheaper. On the down side this made a higher demand
for products causing people to work longer and in worse
conditions, even children had to work long hours. But in 1833 they
passed a law called The Factory Act which shortened the
maximum time that some can work, the amount they get paid
and the working conditions.

Coal vs. 3D Printers

VS
Pros.
Coal is inexpensive when
compared to other fossil
fuels.
Electricity produced from
coal is reliable.
Cons.
It is extremely harmful to
the environment.
Its extremely toxic for
workers and affects their

Pros.
Its is sustainable and
extremely resource efficient.
It doesnt affect the users
Heath
Cons.
They are quite expensive.
They use a lot of electricity.
They are quite large.

The Winner Is!

3D Printing
Because it does not harm the
environment - it was an
obvious decision

Oil vs. Solar Panels

O il

vs

r
a
l
o
S
s
l
e
n
a
p

Old vs New

VS
Pros.
Environment Friendly
Sustainable and Eco Friendly
Cons.
Expensive
Uses lots of resources
Very large

OLD
Pros.
Cheap and efficient
Is reliable and easy
Cons.
Poisonous too all most
everything around it.
Produces toxic waste and
harms the atmosphere

THE WINNER IS

NEW
Even is something is expensive and
large it should always be chosen over
anything that harms and damages the
environment!

The End
Hope You Enjoyed And Learned
A Bit More About The Evolution
Of Jewelry And How The
Methods Have Changed The
Environment!