Facilities/Jewelry Metal
Built in 2015 the Jewelry/Metals/Enameling (JME) facilities are well equipped, spacious and illuminated with natural light. The studios occupy approximately 4550 square feet with a large private graduate studio; a separate undergraduate senior studio and department resale facility where students have access to a wide variety of materials.
The studios are equipped with: small hand tools, an extensive selection of metalsmithing hammers, stakes and anvils, ventilated pitch area, acetylene and natural gas torches for soldering and welding, electric and manual rolling mills, a variety of shears, finger breaks, sheet metal rollers, 20-Ton hydraulic press, sand blaster, grinders, belt sanders, drum sander, flexible shafts, drill presses, polishing wheels, vulcanizer and wax injection systems, drum and magnetic finishers, 30 gallon copper electroplating tank, enameling kilns, casting machines, wire drawing bench, and 3D printers.
The JME studios are outfitted with comprehensive ventilation systems built specifically for chemical processes such as etching, patination, pitch, copper electroplating, powder coating and liquid enamel applications. The studios are configured for lost wax centrifugal and vacuum machine casting that includes rubber mold and wax injection units. CAD/CAM capabilities are available within The School of Art at the ARTech Studio and at a variety of digital fabrication labs on Kent State’s campus.
Among our facilities is a separate studio dedicated to enameling that houses a variety of Vcella and Paragon Kilns. In 2014 the department obtained an industrial enamel kiln for enameling large panels up to 4' x 6' in size. This is the largest kiln housed at an educational facility in the United States.