As I’ve said before, you don’t have to be a 3D modeling wiz to create impressive 3D printed jewelry. More power to you if you know how to create mind-bending organic models with advanced surface modeling techniques, but I’m here to show you a basic workflow involving Rhino and Meshmixer that you can apply to any simple jewelry design to add some interesting details.
In this example, I will create the skeleton of a simple, trendy U-shaped ring in Rhino and add improvised details in Meshmixer. Feel free to follow along or just refer to these tips to save yourself some gray hair on your next project.
Let’s get started by establishing the framework of the ring. Begin by creating a circle in Rhino with the diameter equal to your preferred ring size; a size 7 ring should have a 17.3 mm diameter.
Then use the Point command to mark the circle where the top of the U will open. I find it easiest to create one point and then use the Mirror command to duplicate it precisely on the other side.
From there, use the Split command to divide the circle using the points as cutting objects.
Now sketch the contour of the U. Points and Lines are great ways to structure curves and build in relation to your objects in Rhino. Use the Line command to draw a straight segment between the two points. Make sure that Midpoint is selected in your object snap settings, then use the Point command to mark the middle of your line segment.
Next, navigate to the Top viewport and move your midpoint marker forward along the green Y-axis roughly 8-10 mm to form the dip of the U. If you want to be precise, you can enable the Gumball widget as shown in the image below, select the Point, and click on the green Y-axis arrow to move it forward a specific amount.
Now you can use the CurveThroughPt command to connect your three points. Rhino will draw the path of the curve in the order that you select the points, so make sure you begin on one end, not in the center. The settings for my curve are 3 for Degree and Interpolated for Curve Type, but I recommend tweaking these until you’re satisfied.
This curve is a good foundation for the U, but it’s still a bit too spiky for my liking. To further edit the curve, select it and use the EditPtOn command. Select and drag the two outer edit points to modify the contour. I moved mine upward and outward.
Now that the framework is in place, it’s time to create the surfaces of the ring. It’s important to build outward from the base curves in order to maintain the size of the ring. With this in mind, create two closed semicircles to sweep along both of the foundation curves. I created the semicircles below by drawing a 2-mm-long line segment perpendicular from the U of the ring, connecting the two end points with the Arc command, and joining the line segment and the arc to form a closed semicircle with the Join command. Repeat this process to draw the same shape perpendicular to the curve for the base of the ring.
If you’re following along, your curves should look something like this:
Activate the Sweep1 command and select the U of the ring as the Rail and the semicircle perpendicular to it as the Cross Section Curve to create the surface.
Next, close the surface you just created by selecting it and using the Cap command.
Now we’ll repeat this process to create the surface of the ring base by using the Sweep1 command on the remaining two curves.
Use the Cap command again to close the surface you just made for the band of the ring.
Next I’ll add some decorative orbs to stabilize the corners where the U meets the band of the ring, and to create some extra volume on the U shape for sculpting later on. Make sure that none of your decorative shapes poke through the surface to the underside of the ring.
Select all of your objects by using the SelSrf command and then the SelPolysrf command. Then join them together with the BooleanUnion command.
Now you can generate a high-quality mesh from the 3D model. Select the ring model and activate the Mesh command. For a tightly knit, high-resolution mesh, I recommend the settings below:
Now export the mesh as an .stl and open Meshmixer.
On the landing screen of Meshmixer, click Import and select your .stl file.
Our model needs to be completely solid before we start sculpting, so navigate to the Edit menu to find the Make Solid command. Toggle the default settings to make the solid conversion as accurate and smooth as possible. Solid Type should be Accurate, and Solid Accuracy should read 512. Click Update and, when your model renders, click Accept.
The time has come to freestyle some sculpted details using the Sculpt menu. I want a crater effect on the orbs, so I select the Drag brush and check off Symmetry in the main Sculpt menu to mirror my sculpting on the left and right side of the ring. When Symmetry is selected you will see a white line superimposed on your 3d model indicating the mirroring axis.
With the Drag brush selected, I made this crater effect by clicking and pulling the surface of the model and experimenting with different directions and speeds. Try selecting Flow in the Brush settings, which lets the duration of a mouse click control the intensity and strength of the sculpting brush.
To smooth out the craters and add some contrast to the irregular surface, I held down Shift and toggled back and forth to the secondary brush, which was set to BubbleSmooth.
When you’re satisfied with your design details you can export, but keep in mind that those details add a lot to the file size. So you need to bring your newly sculpted model back into Rhino to reduce the bring the mesh under 64 MB so it can be successfully uploaded to Shapeways.
Select the newly sculpted mesh and activate the ReduceMesh command to reduce the mesh by 10%.
Then you upload the final ring mesh to Shapeways and double-check that all sculpted details fit within Shapeways material guidelines for the material you want to print the ring in.
My digitally sculpted ring, which I named the Moon Rock Ring, passed thin wall analyses for almost every material, so I went ahead and ordered it in my personal favorite, Raw Brass. The hardest part of creating this simple ring is waiting a week to meet the brass version in person.
Coming soon: the official unboxing of the Moon Rock Ring.
In the meantime, tell me what you’ve been making in the comments!