A review on the current use of digital technology in design

Computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), and rapid prototyping (RP) oer great benefits to the jewellery design industry; from the design stage up to the manufacturing stage. When CAD and RP are used collaboratively, the production time is significantly shortened (Wannarumon & Bohez 2014). Siu and Dilnot, (2001) suggest that CAD, CAM and RP designers and production professionals to overcome their conventional boundaries with the following advantages: a) storage of product data, b) ease of modifications through ‘reversible /repeatabl’e process, c) high accuracy, d) time compretion in making master models, production moulds and tooling. Sass & Oxman (2006) suggest that beyond the design-related and material representation benefits within the design and fabrication process, there also appear to be significant pedagogical benefits deriving from the use of these technologies. Stephen Hoskins (2018) has set two interesting questions: a) is there a ‘craft’ of the digital? And b) how do we reconcile the craft persons tacit understanding of materials with a process that removes the union of hand and eye normally associated with the craftsman use of a tool? The author suggests that the adoption of new technology requires a new set of skills and materials knowledge inherent in all of the previous technologies, with the most innovative works being those created using the technology as a means to an end and not as a means to represent the technology. Thus, it is vital to have knowledge in the craft world in order to be able to design creatively and eectively with CAD (Shillito, 2013).