Date of Award
January 2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Political Science & Public Administration
First Advisor
David Yearwood
Abstract
The purpose of this research study was to explore perceptions of university faculty and jewelry industry professionals regarding the teaching of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) in a visual arts classroom. At the time of this study, there were mixed opinions about the teaching of CAD/CAM in the production of jewelry products, and there was limited literature available on this topic. With the use of CAD/CAM technologies, a jeweler emerges as potentially an artist and a design engineer who can apply creative and innovative principles to industrial design and manufacturing processes. Considering the impact of CAD/CAM on disciplines such as Engineering, Medicine, Industrial Designing, and Architecture, and the potential effect that CAD/CAM may have on visual arts, particularly on the production of jewelry, it is surprising how little research has been directed towards this area.
This study examined how fine arts professors have been using CAD/CAM technology and traditional methods of design and fabrication of jewelry as a teaching aid in the pedagogy of jewelry training. The research findings showed a gap between art and design educational institutions and businesses in the jewelry design and manufacturing industry. CAD/CAM technology is a tool to aid jewelers and one of a number of means to an end. CAD/CAM has added an enhanced creative dimension to jewelry design and manufacturing and this inventive technology has allowed jewelry design and manufacturing to push beyond creative and innovative boundaries. This study shows that faculty members with knowledge in CAD/CAM are prepared to use the technology to teach jewelry design and manufacturing, but very few educational institutions had incorporated CAD/CAM into their teaching curricula at the time of this study. The jewelry design and manufacturing industry, on the other hand, has already been taking advantage of CAD/CAM technologies and has used these technologies to be competitive and also to maximize profit.
Recommended Citation
Awotwe, Patrick, "Demand And Supply: College Faculty’s Perceptions Of Computer Aided Design (cad) And Computer Aided Manufacture (cam) In Jewelry Design And Production" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 1987.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/1987