Casting & Polishing Costs

[SWilsher]

Hi all,

I have designed a locket and have the STL files ready to be 3D printed and then cast and finished etc.

I am excited to see the piece come to life but have just received a quote for the casting and finishing/polishing and I was suprised at how expensive this is.
I have been quoted £44.66 + vat for the casting and metal costs which seems fair, and then £189.00 + vat for the polishing which I was suprised was so expensive. This would bring the total per locket, after set-up costs, to £233.66 + vat before I add the chain, gemnstones, and the mark-up. I am hoping to produce quite a few of these rather than a one-off so need to get the pricing and costs right.

I could consider doing the polishing myself instead but I was hoping that someone might be able to advise if this cost seems fair and if anyone knows of any casters or polishers that they could recommend.
I have been looking for other quotes but understandably it seems that a lot of companies aren't operating at the moment.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Sammy

[Dennis]

It's the cost of labour in the West Sammy. We have a minimum wage. If you want it done more cheaply, you will have to go East, or roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. Dennis.

[SWilsher]

Thanks for your reply Dennis, it’s appreciated.
I didn’t mean to question or devalue the work that jewellers do, I’m just getting to grips with the trade and am keen to learn.
Thanks, Sammy

[josef1]

£44 seems a very very good quote to have the model printed and cast including the metal ? The polishing does seem expensive but it depends what it is I suppose.

[Petal]

How can you design a piece of jewellery to be model printed and cast if you have never made it before yourself? How would a novice go about this, or would one need to know more about the process of making it, without casting, before then going onto the casting route?

[josef1]

My take on this is CAD will only do what you tell it. It doesn't know the rules if that makes sense, So if you have experience in making jewellery at the bench you have a massive head start. You just need to know how to work the cad program then you can build a ring like you would at the bench but in a virtual environment. The same physical rules apply, for example you wouldn't hand make a ring 0.5mm thick at the bench. You can easily make it .5 mm or even 0.1 in CAD, once you print it your stuck with a ring that's far to thin. It does give you freedom to design without the cost of hand making. that cost is transferred to the the software. I think You really need both sets of skills. I made lots of things that didn't work when I make them up and still do sometimes , with practice you start to learn what will work and what will not.