May 21, 2015 | By Alec
More and more 3D printed jewelry designers are popping up all over the place, but some companies have already been consistently 3D printed gorgeous jewelry for a few years now. One of those is the Delft-based Suuz.com, who have been enabling users to design their own stunning rings and other accessories through their website since 2012. While the results to their products have been overwhelming so far, they have recently introduced a 3D printed sample model service to make the investment in custom-designed jewelry a bit less daunting.
We first reported on SUUZ a few years ago, and the success formula behind their webstore has essentially stayed the same since then. The team behind Suuz consists of two product designers, two interaction designers and 2 programmers, and their web application is super easy and accessible. First select a basic a ring, bead, bracelet, earing or necklace design you like. Depending on the basic design, you can then choose your favorite color, material (silver, gold and sometimes even nylon) and even ask text or initials to personalize the accessory. All the while you’re trying this, you can see the effects in a 3D rendering of the piece. The results are subsequently 3D printed and perfected by a silversmith before being sent to your doorstep.
3D printed plastic test pieces.
The concept is simple yet effective, as you can try for yourself here. However, the guys from SUUZ have not been sitting around doing nothing over the last few years. Among their new innovations is the adoption of a new sample model service to enable people to try on the results before spending lots on the silver or gold final version. ‘Conveying size and proportions online with just pictures can be quite challenging. This is especially problematic for rings that have to fit perfectly. Recent developments in 3D‐printing technology provides a solution,’ they tell us. ‘Customers can order a test model of their designed jewelry piece that is shipped usually the same day. They can try it on; see if the size is correct and get a feel for the piece dimensions.’
While it costs €5, that’s a very small price to pay to ensure you’ll be happy with the final results. What’s more, this 3D printed version (3D printed in red plastic) of the piece of jewelry is sent to your doorstep within one or two days, meaning you waste very little time to find out if it’s perfect or not. And so far, the response has been excellent. ‘Customers really appreciate the fact that they can try out a design and a size before purchasing an expensive silver or gold jewel. Also this service offers the possibility to give a sample model as a gift, if you’re not quite sure what the size or taste is of the person you’re giving it to,’ they say.
To ensure optimal speed, these test pieces are 3D printed using a DLP 3D printer that can complete up to ten different pieces per hour. ‘Our ecommerce software automatically generated unique printable stl files once an order is placed. For the printer we developed our own slice-software that runs on a GPU for extreme fast slicing into bitmaps,’ they explain to us ‘Supporting of the printfile is the only thing that needs to be done manually at this time and takes around 1 minute per item.
But that isn’t all, as SUUZ is also working on expanding and updating their current collection of customizable jewelry. To do so, they intend to start heavily investing in their production line and delivery service. ‘Our goal is to be able to deliver a custom made silver or gold jewel in just a few working days,’ they tell us. It looks like SUUZ is aiming for the top, and they definitely have the product to get there. Would you like to check out their customizable 3D printed jewelry and 3D printed samples? Visit their design platform and webstore here.
Posted in 3D Printing Services
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