Ettore Maurizio Costabeber - DWS S.r.l, Italy
Ettore “Maurizio” Costabeber is a 20-year industry-leading expert and entrepreneur for 3D printing technology and design, and rapid prototyping. He pioneered and launched the first model of a 3D desktop printer in 1993, introduced the first 3D SLA desktop printer, E-DARTS, in 1998 and is the current chief technology officer at Digital Wax Systems (DWS) Srl in Thiene, Italy. Maurizio earned his M.B.A. at the CUOA Business School in Altavilla Vicentina, Italy and has authored more than 100 patents in the field of 3D printing. His DFAB 3D printer recently earned a Red Dot Award for Product Design (category Best of the Best) in 2018 and a Big See Product Design Award in Slovenia in 2019, while the XFAB 3D printer took home the Compasso d’Oro award (honorable mention) in 2018. This is his first presentation at the Santa Fe Symposium®.
Casting Cluster: A New Frontier in Digital Jewelry Manufacturing
Conventional casting processes adopt a classic tree geometry layout, which was conceived for manual wax welding and assembly. Although this method is universally recognized as the main mass-production technology for jewelry manufacturing, it has many limitations in terms of efficiency and costs. A new casting tree concept may provide relevant savings in terms of precious metal use and refining. Additionally, the adoption of new software algorithms and advanced 3D printing technologies provides a fully digital process workflow, giving the manufacturer the advantage of producing any product mix and quantity with maximum freedom. Through this new concept, the manufacturer produces the right products at the right time, eliminates stock and reduces tied-up capital, thus building a direct link from customers’ needs to the factory.