What are your strengths and unique selling points?
We pride ourselves on service, quality and communication; we strive to deliver these three things. It’s true that sometimes things can go wrong in a casting job, so we will always communicate with the customer to forewarn them that there might be delays. Our stringent quality control procedures ensure we only deliver a quality product.
How long have you operated in the casting industry?
Pure Casting is a relatively new company, having started in 2011, but we have very seasoned staff who have the experience and equipment to provide a quality product. As for our CAD services, we recently merged with Facet RP. I can lay claim to being the first person to introduce CAD/CAM to the Australian jewellery industry, which changed the industry forever. That experience has been invaluable for our business but in saying that we realise that this technology moves fast and you can’t live in the past.
Is all work cast in Australia, or is some partially done offshore?
I can say proudly that all of our work and products are made in Australia.
Can you cast all common alloys of silver, 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, platinum and palladium?
Yes, we cast all common alloys.
Do you offer Computer Aided Design (CAD) services?
Yes, Pure Casting offers a comprehensive CAD and 3D printing service incorporating design, printing, moulding and casting. We can guarantee a smooth surface finish using the latest resin print technology. Our CAD department staff are highly skilled with many years of experience. We can draw your custom-made designs from a sketch or photograph.
Do you automatically rectify CAD problems, or charge separately?
If we discover a small problem with a file we will automatically fix the problem. If the problem is more substantial we will call the client to discuss suitable solutions.
What is your copyright policy regarding customer supplied CAD files?
This is a very touchy issue with jewellery and we respect that. If we draw a design for a customer it is their design and won’t be used anywhere else. The same applies with CAD files that are sent to us for printing.
Do you offer moulding services?
Yes. We offer an extensive range of non-shrink cold moulds and if a customer provides a CAD-created design we offer reduced fees for re-prints.
If so, who owns the final moulds?
This has been a contentious issue over the years when casting houses traditionally said they own the moulds. In fact, a casting house owner once told me, “I own the hole in the rubber and they own the rubber”.
That statement really annoyed me and now we have a simple policy: the customer owns the mould.
What is the typical turnaround time for creations if:
Customer supplied wax: 24 hours if received by midday, but if a customer has an extremely urgent cast they need, we do offer a quick burn out service and if the wax is at our factory before 8.30am, it will be cast and ready to collect at 4.30pm the same day.
Customer CAD for print or cast: 2 days turnaround if the file is received by 2pm.
Customer sketch for CAD and cast: It usually takes around 3 days to complete the CAD drawing and if the go-ahead is given by 2pm, it will be printed that day then cast the following day.
Do you have a high success rate on casting volatile metals such as palladium?
In a word – yes. We have worked long and hard to master these high-end metals to provide the customer with a smooth and porosity-free surface.
What is your recast policy if items are porous or faulty upon receipt?
We obviously try to keep this to a minimum, but as we all know casting is a “black art” and if the customer queries the work we will recast as soon as possible free of charge.
If a customer provides wax, are there any materials not accepted for casting?
In this day and age the materials to be cast almost change daily as resin manufacturers strive to improve their resins, making them more suited for the casting process.
If we think we will have an issue our staff will communicate this to the customer. It is really looked on an individual or case-
by-case basis.
Are there any Polymer/ABS/SLA materials you do not accept for casting?
Pure Casting has invested in research and development on all resins and if the resin is designed to be cast we have no trouble, but in saying that, platinum and palladium are very difficult metals to cast and we would have to look at each material on its own merit and decide then.
If so, can you make that determination prior to it going onto a tree and the casting failing?
As I have explained, casting is often seen as a “black art” and the truth is that sometimes resins you think will cast don’t. The crystal ball can be a bit unreliable some days but we will work with the customer along the way to achieve the desired results.
Do you offer RTV for ‘suspect’ waxes/polymers to protect against failures?
Yes we do. Sometimes this is the only way to deal with some resins and the RTV mould is an excellent way to get around this issue.
Casting report