FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention is related to the field of jewelry manufacturing. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of stone setting in the jewelry manufacturing process.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

[002] Jewelry is made using precious metal such as gold and platinum among others. To make jewelry more ornamental, stones are studded into the metal. Traditionally, manufacturing of jewelry with stone studding consists of two stages. The first stage is an upstream stage and the second stage is a downstream stage. The upstream stage involves the steps of designing, master making, mould cutting, waxing, investing and casting. The downstream stage involves the steps of bench working, stone setting, and polishing. In the designing stage, the jewelry designs are made using tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) and later a resin master is made using Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). Subsequently, a prototype is generally made of Silver. The prototype has the exact shape of the jewelry to be manufactured, except that stone that needs to be studded will be missing in the prototype. Later after the prototype is ready, a rubber mould is cut using the prototype. The rubber mould is later used to make a wax mould by injecting wax into the mould using a wax injector. Multiple wax moulds are made using the rubber mould. Later the wax mould is used to make a master piece using investment casting process. The master piece may be used to cut rubber moulds. The rubber moulds are used to make wax moulds. These multiple wax moulds are soldered together to make a wax tree. Subsequently, a tree comprising the jewelry is formed using the investment casting process. Later, the tree is accordingly cut to get individual jewelry. From here the downstream of the manufacturing process starts. The bench working step involves finishing, soldering, linking, and lock making. The stones setting process involves drilling holes in the jewelry so that stones can be inserted. This step requires highly skilled labor since there is a possibility that the stone might fall down if it is not set properly. Once the stone is set, the jewelry is polished. The stone setting step is the most complex step in the jewelry manufacturing process. The upstream processes are mostly done using machines, while the three downstream processes namely Bench Working, Stone setting and Polishing are manual operations. The complexity of stone setting is higher than the other two operations and hence, is the bottleneck operation in jewelry manufacturing. Normally, developing this skill needs high level of training and hands-on-experience. The capacity of the plant is restricted by the capacity of stone setting.
[003] In light of the ongoing discussion, there is a need for a method to deskill the stone setting step in the jewelry manufacturing process. Further the method should eliminate the bottleneck in the jewelry manufacturing process caused by conventional stone setting process. Additionally, the method should ensure that the stones are secured in the jewelry in the desired manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[004] An object of the present invention is to provide a method to deskill the stone setting step in the jewelry manufacturing process.
[005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method that eliminates bottleneck in the jewelry manufacturing process caused by conventional stone setting process.
[006] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method that ensures that the stones are secured in the jewelry in the desired manner.
[007] In one aspect of the present invention, a method for deskilling stone setting step while manufacturing jewelry is provided. The jewelry comprises a alloy portion and at least one stone portion. The method includes designing the jewelry using a computer aided tool. Later a master is made using the design. The master is made using Computer Aided Manufacturing. The master is used to make a silver prototype. The prototype comprises a first portion characterizing the metal portion and a second portion characterizing the at least one stone portion. A rubber mould is made by manually cutting a cavity in rubber using the prototype. The cavity comprises a first cavity where wax will be filled and a second cavity where stones will be placed. Subsequently, a wax mould is made by injecting wax in the rubber mould. The wax mould is used to make a master mould by investment casting method. The master mould will have the stones studded in the desired positions. Later, rubber moulds are made by manually cutting a cavity in rubber using the master mould. The cavity comprises a first cavity where wax will be filled and a second cavity where stones will be placed. The rubber moulds are used to make wax moulds by injecting wax in the rubber moulds The wax moulds are soldered to farm a wax tree. Later, jewelry is casted by investment casting method using the wax tree, wherein the jewelry will have the stones studded in the desired positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[008] The above aspects of the invention are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, where:
[009] FIG 1 is a schematic drawing of a master 100 of jewelry, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;
[0010] FIG 2 is a schematic drawing of a rubber mould, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; and
[0011] FIG 3 is a schematic drawing of a wax mould 300 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] FIG 1 is a schematic drawing of a prototype 100 of jewelry, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. A design of the jewelry that has to be manufactured is made using computer aided tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD). The design illustrates the shape of the metal in the jewelry. Additionally, the design also illustrates the stones that need to be set on the jewelry. Subsequently, a resin master is made using Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). The master has a surface 102 that illustrates the shape of the metal of the jewelry that has to be manufactured. Additionally, the master has bulged surfaces 104 that represent the stones that would be set in the actual jewelry. Additionally, the master has a stem part 106 which facilitates in making wax tree.
[0013] FIG 2 is a schematic drawing of a rubber mould, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. The rubber mould comprises of two halves 202 and 204. The two halves 202 and 204 are cut to its depth manually (kindly specify the instrument that is used to cut the rubber mould) to give it the shape of the master. The rubber mould is cut using the master 100. Subsequently, stones 210 are placed in the desired space in the second half 204. Later, the two halves 202 and 204 are joined together by placing the protrusions 208 in the first half 204 into their respective holes 206 in the second half 202. After joining the two halves the rubber mould is kept in a wax injection instrument and molten wax is injected into the rubber mould. Later, the rubber mould is removed from the wax injection instrument and kept in open air to allow the wax to solidify. After the wax is solidified, the two halves of the rubber mould 202 and 204 are opened and the solidified wax is taken out of the rubber mould to obtain the wax mould 300.
[0014] FIG 3 is a schematic drawing of a wax mould 300 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. When the wax mould is taken out of the rubber mould, the wax mould will have stones 210 embedded in it. This wax mould is used to make a mater mould.
[0015] The wax mould is kept in a box and the box is placed in an investment paste pouring machine. Investment paste is poured into the box and the paste is allowed to solidify. After the paste gets solidified, the box is kept in a furnace and is heated at temperature. The maximum temperature of heating is 7200 Celsius. In an embodiment of the present invention, the box is heated for 12 hours. The wax gets melted leaving a hollow space in the investment mould. The hollow space takes the shape of the wax mould 300. However, the stones that were embedded in the wax mould 300 now get embedded in the investment mould. Later, the investment mould is kept in casting machine and Gold alloy is poured into it. Later, the gold alloy is allowed to cool down. The master mould is obtained by washing the investment paste from the gold alloy by quenching the gold alloy in a water blaster machine. The master mould will have the shape of the wax mould 300 with stones 210 embedded in it.
[0016] The master mould is used to make rubber moulds. The master mould is used to cut the rubber mould 200 instead of using the resin master to cut the rubber moulds. These rubber moulds 200 are used to make plurality of wax moulds 300 as described earlier. These wax moulds 300 are soldered together to form a wax tree. The wax tree is kept in a box and the box is placed in an investment paste pouring machine. Investment paste is poured into the box and the paste is allowed to solidify. After the paste gets solidified the box is kept in a furnace and is heated at temperature not exceeding 6000 Celsius for 14hrs. The wax gets melted leaving a hollow space in the investment mould. The hollow space takes the shape of the wax tree. However, the stones that were embedded in the wax tree now get embedded in the investment mould. Later, the investment mould is kept in Casting Machine and Gold alloy is poured into it. The Gold alloy is allowed to cool down. A metal tree is obtained by washing the investment paste from the metal tree by quenching it in a water blaster machine. The metal will have the shape of the wax tree with stones 210 embedded in it. The wax tree is cut accordingly to obtain individual jewelry pieces.
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method for deskilling stone setting step while making a master mould for manufacturing jewelry, the master mould being a replica of a jewelry including a metal portion and at least one stone portion, the method comprising the steps of:
a. designing the jewelry using a computer aided tool;
b. making a master using the design, the master comprising a first portion characterizing the metal portion and a second portion characterizing the at least one stone portion;
c. making a rubber mould by cutting a cavity in rubber using the master, wherein the cavity comprises a first cavity where wax will be filled and a second cavity where stones will be placed;
d. making a wax mould by injecting wax in the rubber mould; and
e. making a master mould by investment casting method using the wax mould, wherein the master mould will have the stones studded in the desired positions.
2. A method for deskilling stone setting step while manufacturing jewelry, the jewelry including a metal portion and at least one stone portion, the method comprising the steps of:
a. designing the jewelry using a computer aided tool;
b. making a master using the design, the master comprising a first portion characterizing the metal portion and a second portion characterizing the at least one stone portion;
c. making a rubber mould by cutting a cavity in rubber using the master, wherein the cavity comprises a first cavity where wax will be filled and a second cavity where stones will be placed;
d. making a wax mould by injecting wax in the rubber mould;
e. making a master mould by investment casting method using the wax mould, wherein the master mould will have the stones studded in the desired positions;
f. making rubber moulds by cutting a cavity in rubber using the master mould, wherein the cavity comprises a first cavity where wax will be filled and a second cavity where stones will be placed;
g. making a wax mould by injecting wax in the rubber mould; and
h. casting the jewelry by investment casting method using the wax mould, wherein the jewelry will have the stones studded in the desired positions.
3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising making plurality of wax moulds using the rubber moulds for manufacturing plurality of jewelry.
4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising making a wax tree using the plurality of wax moulds.