Jewelry manufacturers are increasingly integrating CAD/CAM into their production processes, having a wide variety of machines and materials from which to choose. There is a significant body of evidence, both anecdotal and documented, indicating that model materials used in CAM have varying degrees of success in investment casting. The root causes of related defects are not well understood, leaving the industry plagued with speculation and a variety of home-grown methods aimed at addressing these problems. At the 2005 Santa Fe Symposium, initial research on this topic was published. This new research is intended to take up where the 2005 research left off. Through the use of controlled studies, we will first explore the burnout behaviors of several mainstream materials, followed by an evaluation of dimensional movement experienced by these materials when subjected to firing. Casting defects will be tracked to their root causes through dimensional analyses and observations of defect morphology in cast product.

Author: Teresa Fry, Kevin Mueller, Kevin