Profits Triple in Under a Year with Unprecedented Wax Model Precision, Symmetry, and Speed

Bill Degroot is a jewelry designer with more than 30 years of experience. In 1983, he launched JANKO – a jewelry shop that specializes in custom designs for everything from diamond rings to pendants and earrings.

Nine months ago, Degroot went digital. He purchased a Roland JWX-10 model maker and has not carved a wax model by hand since. Today, Degroot produces jewelry with more speed, precision and symmetry than ever before. The result – business has tripled in less than one year.

“It used to take me three to four weeks to do a custom piece,” said Degroot. “Now my customers get a finished product in 10 days; and the results are far improved. You just can’t achieve this level of detail by hand.”

“The JWX-10 driven by ProtoWizard makes a fantastic jewelry solution. “The software and fixture bundle make it easy to cut both sides of rings and produce even the most complex designs. I can generate tool paths and mill a custom piece in about an hour.”

Degroot typically pencils a rough rendering of the design on paper to capture a customer’s vision. Next, he creates a virtual model using 3DESIGN CAD software right in front of the customer, who can usually approve the design right on the spot. Degroot then uses Protowizard software to convert the STL file model into CNC code that drives the JWX-10 through a Windows printer.

“The JWX-10 driven by ProtoWizard makes a fantastic jewelry solution,” said Degroot. “The software and fixture bundle make it easy to cut both sides of rings and produce even the most complex designs. I can generate tool paths and mill a custom piece in about an hour.”

The ease-of-use of the Roland CAM solution gives Degroot more time to focus on the creative side of jewelry design. Plus, with precision cuts and detailed resolutions up to 0.002mm/step, the 4-axis model maker captures every subtle nuance of his designs.

“Use CAD/CAM technology today, or your competition will lure your customers away tomorrow,” said Degroot. “People don’t want something that is almost symmetrical and almost perfect. They will go somewhere else and get it exactly the way they want it.”

“I have a great CAD/CAM setup,” added Degroot. “I enjoy it. It’s fun.”