How are custom pieces designed, prototyped and produced?
Our pieces are completely design and made by us using small tools and lost wax casting techniques.
Here are our production and design processes - incredibly labor intensive - no mass manufacturing here!
DESIGN
There are various ways to design pieces that are production-worthy:
Manually
- Sketch the prototype by hand
- Carve the prototype to scale using hard carving wax and hand-carving tools
Digitally
- Create our own 2D artwork digitally on a computer using assorted industry professional software and human skills
- Expand the artwork into a 3D software module using assorted industry professional software and human know-how
- Digitally create an original model in wax, plastic, or metal through use of a 3D printer or precision milling machine
- Perfect every detail by hand - there is no replacement for artisan hands - regardless of the process
Ad Hoc
- Using Combinations of the above techniques.
Wax Making and Cooling Center
Carving and Milling tools - we skilfully operate these machines:
3D Printer and 3D Wax Carver
Prototype/Model Making
- Prepare the model for casting (if wax or plastic)
- Set up the pieces by hand into a tree using specialty equipment
- Invest the tree flask using a vacuum investor manually, hand controlling every step
- Allow the investment to harden
- Steam the wax out of the invested flask using a production steamer
- Heat the Flask to a carefully pre-calculated temperature in an industrial kiln
- Melt the metal to a carefully predetermined temperature in an electronically controlled crucible
- Vacuum cast the melted metal into the heated flask - done by a skilled employee
- Control-cool the Flask
- Blast the investment from the tree using a water stream and wearing protective gloves
- Clip the piece from the tree by hand and finish it to model-perfection by hand
- Create rubber molds using a vulcanizer or other equipment (each one is hand cut)
Vacuum Casting Equipment Industrial Kiln
Electronic Alloy Melter Crucible Coolers
Production
- Production wax the pieces from the molds by hand, a piece at a time - using an injection waxing machine and cooling belt
- Proof and set up the pieces into a tree by hand - requires skill and experience
- Invest the tree flask using a vacuum investor - a totally hand controlled an human supervised process
- Allow the investment to harden
- Steam the wax out of the invested flask using a production steamer - keeps the whole process cleaner
- Heat the Flask to a carefully pre-determined temperature in an industrial kiln
- Melt the metal to a carefully predetermined temperature in an electronically controlled crucible
- Vacuum cast the melted metal into the heated flask - each flask done manually - flask by flask
- Control-cool the Flask
- Blast the investment from the tree using a production devestor - in protective gloves
- Clip the pieces from the tree and clean and finish them by hand using a series of small tools
Finishing Tools