December 2000 Precious Metals/Metalsmithing Three-Stone Engagement Ring Follow the process of creating a setting through computer-aided design Computer-aided design is one more tool you can use to augment your businesses. In this project, CAD is used to create a variation of the classic three-stone engagement ring. The flexibility of designing with CAD allows you to work with customers to create personalized rings to commemorate this special event. This ring model was created in the CAD environment for direct production of wax models. – Steven Pollack 1. Create the Gallery Draw two shapes that will be the width of the gallery for the center setting. The space in between is the size of the gallery window. 2. Form the Solids Using the software, revolve the created shapes around the Y axis to form solids. These shapes create the gallery for the center setting. 3. Make the Prongs Extrude the prongs from the gallery shapes, angle them to match and overlap the gallery shapes by one-third. 4. Create the Bars Extrude two bars, with their widths matching the width of a tapered baguette. Space them the length of the baguette minus 10%. Connect them to the galleries. 5. Draw the Shank Create a line drawing of the shank, lay it out and extrude it. The thickness of the shank stays uniform around the bottom and through the midpoint before rising to match the height of the lower baguette bar. This ensures a comfortable fit. 6. Superimpose a Design Find a symbol font and extrude as a solid. Superimpose it on the model and then subtract it to leave an empty space. These symbols make interesting openings for letting light in beneath the baguettes and for easier cleaning.