GANESH DIOMOND PENDEN

CAM stands for Computer-Aided Manufacturing. In jewellery, it refers to converting a CAD design file into a physical pattern using a 3D printer — usually a resin or wax pattern — which is then used in lost-wax investment casting to produce the finished metal piece.

On Jeweltix, select Print to Reality on any purchased design and choose your city. The platform lists registered CAM vendors in or nearest to that city, showing their available machine types, rate per gram, and an approximate cost estimate where the design's weight is available.

Two main technology families are used. Wax-jet or MultiJet printers such as the 3D Systems ProJet MJP, Flashforge WaxJet series, and Solidscape print true castable wax and are common in larger manufacturing units. Resin printers using SLA, DLP, or MSLA technology — including Formlabs, Asiga, Phrozen, and Elegoo machines — are widely used in smaller studios with castable resins.

Each CAM vendor sets their own rate per gram, which is shown when browsing vendors. Where a design's weight is listed, an approximate estimate is shown. After receiving the job, the vendor reviews the file and enters the actual printing cost, which the buyer can accept or decline before any payment is taken.

CAM vendors receive only the STL file for a job. Editable 3DM files are never sent to vendors, which protects the original designer's source file. Vendor access to the file expires once the job is completed.

A 3DM file is Rhino's native format and stores editable NURBS geometry, meaning the design can be modified — resized, reshaped, or adjusted — in CAD software. An STL file stores a fixed polygon mesh that cannot be meaningfully edited but is ready to send directly to a 3D printer. On Jeweltix, every listing is clearly labelled as either Editable (3DM) or Non-Editable (STL). Read the full 3DM vs STL comparison.

STL is the format used for 3D printing. Slicing software such as Lychee Slicer or Chitubox reads STL files and prepares them for SLA, DLP, MSLA, or wax-jet printers. If you only need to print a design as-is, an STL file is sufficient.

STL files store fixed mesh geometry and cannot be properly edited the way a 3DM file can. Minor mesh repairs are possible, but changes like resizing a shank, adjusting a stone seat, or altering the design shape require an editable format such as 3DM. If you need to modify a design, buy the 3DM version.

Jeweltix requires designers to upload a matching STL file with every 3DM upload. This ensures buyers always receive a print-ready version alongside the editable file, and allows designs to be sent directly to CAM vendors for printing without conversion.