Fly-Pressing Platinum

 

Drawings of Fly-press Motif

I conducted a trial and error process to determine the exact shape I wanted to fly-press for my final Platinum earrings. The last two drawings depict the earrings as a whole, with one side pierced and the other fly-pressed. After careful consideration, I finalized that the very last drawing represents the desired shape and size for my earrings.

Platinum fly-pressed motif

I was initially scared to fly-press platinum, given the limited 20 grams provided. A mistake could end my competition chances. To ease compression, I rolled the plate to 0.4mm thickness, as platinum is harder than silver. I was honestly over the moon when I witnessed my fly-pressed platinum motif was a success the outlining of the shape to the depth of the motif was just what I wanted it to look like and it looked way better than the silver piece.  I had to just pierce around the outline of the shape as well as get the filing to be done very precisely to avoid losing the shape and the amazing depth it has for the final look.

Fy-press Process: Silver

The shape needed to be fly-pressed

The design is pasted on a brass plate and used as a mould. A matching shape is cut on a piece of wood for added depth. Both pieces are secured together with masking tape. Neat and precise cut-outs ensure a clean outcome.

 

Hydraullic Jack with the mould to be compressed

The process begins with a steel block placed on the hydraulic jack as the bottom layer, followed by a cut-out wood piece for added depth. Then, the fly-press design mould and rubber mould are stacked on top, with another steel block for increased pressure. The nearby steel rod functions as a lever, enabling up and down movements to move the jack upwards, compressing the sheet of metal into the mould.

The outcome look

This is the appearance of the piece after being removed from the hydraulic jack. The compression process gives it the final shape. The material used is a 0.5mm thick silver sheet, chosen for its malleability, allowing for easy compression into the mould.

Removed from the mould look

After removing the tape, the silver sheet is taken out from the mould, revealing the outline shape of the design to be pierced for a more defined look. However, upon closer inspection of this outcome, the overall shape and appearance were not pleasing and didn't convey the intended feeling of the final piece. 

Fly-pressing set-up

 

Steel block and rubber mould 

The fly-press process requires two essential pieces of equipment: the steel block and the rubber mould. The steel block serves as a platform for placing the design that needs to be fly-pressed. On the other hand, the rubber mould plays a crucial role in preventing the piece from acquiring a flat appearance when pressure is applied during the process. Additionally, it helps secure the metal, enabling it to flow seamlessly into the shape of the cut-out used for the fly-pressing.

Hydraulic-Jack

The Hydraulic jack is a crucial tool utilized to compress the sheet of metal into the cutout of the shape, creating a three-dimensional, domed effect.