Recent technological research and advances in laser application have turned the art of fine-cutting and micro detail into a reputable and highly successful procedure for the jewelry industry.

This precision equipment has been specifically designed for micro-machining metals in jewelry production applications. Platinum, gold, silver and titanium alloys – up to 3mm thick – can be cut to the finest detail.

Transition from Medical Technology to Jewelry Manufacturing
Pinpoint accuracy is necessary in creating the microsized components used in today's modern medical technology. Rofin recognizes that the same technology benefits the jewelry industry. The unique laser CAD software employed in the laser allows perfect replicas to be produced from a photograph or hand.  The YAG laser employed cutting system is optimal for fine cutting in metals, replicating intricate detail with precision and ease.

Test Case: Platinum Dragonfly Wings
The project chosen to determine whether the tool would be appropriate for jewelry application was a recreation of a set of dragonfly wings in 2mm-thick, 99.5% platinum sheet. The process began with a printed black-and-white hand drawing of the dragonfly wing. The hand drawing was scanned into a bitmap image. To create a motion control program for automated cutting, the picture was then converted from the bitmap raster format to a vector format. Next, using post-processing software, the vector drawing was converted to a machine code program to be used in driving the automated servo axis of the cutting table. The laser cutting workstation is designed so that the laser cutting head remains stationary during the cutting process; the cut geometry is achieved by motorized X and Y axis motion control of the cutting table. With the simple push of a button, the workstation then takes control to complete the precision cut.

The Cut took approximately 24 minutes. Upon completion of the cut, the work pieces required little cleanup to be ready as finished product. This same work may have originally taken a jeweler more than two weeks to prepare, hand-cut and finish.

The cutting laser makes simple work out of complex geometries, allowing the jeweler to manufacture a wide range of quality products including highly detailed pendants, charms and rings.

Fine Cutting with Lasers
Laser processing is often the best production technology for components made from small-diameter tube or flat sheet foils.

Reasons for choosing a laser
The continuing miniaturization of medical devices means that there is a fast-growing need for new production equipment capable of producing subminiature finished parts by cutting, drilling, ablation or etching.  The laser is an ideal tool for many micro-sized components.  Today's designer can specify manufacturing by laser whether the material is hard or soft, and the non-contact nature of laser cutting allows the finest possible foils to be processed.

Fine processing of polymers is achieved using lasers of a different wavelength. Using a laser with a short pulse width can minimize the degree of heat affected zone (HAZ), which in turn reduces the amount of cleaning and polishing required after cutting.  Because the laser is suited to automation, it is easily integrated into turnkey systems and can offer a high degree of automatic operation, thus gaining maximum throughput of finished parts with minimum manual intervention.

In short, the laser is capable of finer precision than plasma or water jet, which have their own benefits in thicker materials, and the high aspect ratio and speed offer distinct advantages compared with photochemical etching. Laser cutting is typically faster than wire erosion and can also be used in a wider range of materials.

The capabilities of YAG laser
YAG lasers are used in cutting medical parts such as stents and other vascular implants manufactured from small-diameter tube. Small components can be made from flat sheet and if a five-axis machine is used, complex three-dimensional shapes can be cut in hemispherical or irregular-shaped parts. The YAG laser is used for drilling fine-holes in the manufacture of filters and surgical instruments and it can cut virtually all metals including those most commonly used in medical devices (stainless steel, platinum, gold and titanium).

New technology in the pipeline
Laser technology is continuously moving forward and currently much development is taking place in lasers for manufacturing.

V11N6

Micro Laser Cutting in Jewelry Applications:
A High-Tech Approach to Fine Detail

Advances in Jewelry Manufacturing Technology for Precision Cutting in Precious Metals

by Jay McCais, Product Manager • ROFIN-BAASEL, INC.
with information from Paul Kochan • MICRO DIVISION, ROFIN-SINAR, INC.

This is an abbreviated version of the original work. For full technical details, please consult the original paper.