Solidscape T66
When Vahan Muradyan and his partners, Hratch Gasparyan and Mike Muradyan, opened their Los Angeles-based model making service bureau, ProtoSpot, six months ago, they didn’t hesitate making a $40,000 equipment purchase. “We knew we had to invest in a rapid prototyping system from the beginning,” says Muradyan. “We needed a machine with no limitations. The customer e-mails us their CAD file, we prepare it for processing, the machine builds the model, and we ship it out—all in a 48-hour time span.”
The company decided on the Solid-scape T66 Benchtop system, which they purchased from ProQuest Solutions, a nearby distributor. According to Mur-adyan, a milling machine just wouldn’t cut it for his operation. “We can’t expect our customers to separate their files into different parts to be cut on a mill,” he says. “If we get a complicated file with undercuts and azures, we can’t produce that model quickly, easily, and accurately on a mill.” When choosing an RP system, the team at ProtoSpot weighed factors such as castability of model material and speed of production. The T66 uses the proprietary InduraCast material, which is specially formulated for lost-wax casting. “With many of the other RP systems, you need a special casting process to cast the models directly,” says Muradyan. “Many of our customers send their models to casting houses that use traditional lost-wax methods; many aren’t willing to process these RP materials with a separate process.”
There is the option of molding the RP models instead of directly casting them, but Muradyan says his customers were turned off by the fact that they had to make a model before casting. However, while the T66 offers a very castable model, it does so less efficiently than some of the other RP systems available, says Muradyan. “In terms of speed, the T66 is at a disadvantage,” he feels. “On average, we build about eight to 10 models in 24 hours with the T66. Some of the other RP systems can do double or three times the output.” (However, the newest version of the T66 offers 60 to 80 percent faster speeds than the previous model.)
But in this case, castability takes precedence over speed. “It’s more important for us to tell our customers that they can take the piece directly to traditional casting,” he concludes. Another service bureau owner, Carlos Zamora of Tech-Designs in New York City, used to be a full-time CNC mill user until he purchased the Solidscape T66. Now, his mill is used for only the most basic jobs. “We used to use CNC mills for all the designs we received, but there was a lot of work involved after the mill built the part,” he explains. “For more complex pieces with azures and galleries, we had to mill the piece in various parts, assemble the components, and finish the model by hand. It was time-consuming, and our customers weren’t willing to pay the high prices we needed to charge for all the labor.”
With the T66, Zamora spends more time at the computer preparing the model and less time at the bench. “After we finish producing the models on the T66, we only have to remove the support wax and the model is ready,” he says. “The resolution is very good, and since the material can be cast directly, you don’t have to worry about losing any crisp definition and detail in the models that can result from making a mold.” Zamora agrees with Muradyan that the Solidscape machine isn’t the fastest system available, but he’s okay with that. “My machine might be slow, but you get a model out and it’s ready to go,” he says. “You might have double or triple the production speed on another machine, but it also takes more time to make the mold [for material that is not castable by traditional methods]. It’s a tradeoff.”
There’s also the fact that the T66 can run on its own, whereas a mill requires some monitoring. “I can run it overnight and on the weekends,” he says. “It’s a real time saver.” Saving time and increasing profits are good arguments for justifying the purchase of this $40,000 system. And for some, such as retailer Greg Stopka of JewelSmiths in Pleasant Hill and San Ramos, California, the purchase of an RP machine can make or break a business. “If I didn’t have this machine, I couldn’t do the level of sales that I generate now,” he says. “I just couldn’t live without it.”
Stopka, who also owns a Revo540 mill, says these two systems are an integral part of his CAD/CAM-centric retail business. “We don’t sell jewelry in our stores,” he says. “We sit with customers in front of a computer monitor and design jewelry with them.” Clients bring Stopka stones for resetting, ideas for a wedding set, or their grandmother’s diamond for an engagement ring. He and his staff design a piece for the client, they approve it and make a deposit, and he sets the date for viewing the model.
This is where the T66 and Revo, which both run at least eight to 10 hours a day, come in. Stopka says he uses the Revo for basic designs, while the T66 is used for more complicated pieces. “In a fraction of the time it would take a craftsman to interpret the design, measure the stones, and carve the wax, we have a perfect model,” says Stopka. “And, more importantly, the technology enables the craftspeople to focus on what they do best—complete the de-signs, set the stones, and polish the pieces.” Stopka purchased the T66 two years ago. He says he chose this system over the others because of the castable wax model material and the unattended operation. “I can put four to eight pieces on the T66 on Saturday afternoon, set it, and forget it for the weekend,” he says. “With a mill, you have to baby-sit it more. Although the technology has improved, the cutters can jam or seize, and someone needs to be there to fix the problem.”
