BELT BUCKLES
Stage 1 - ART
Your photograph is enlarged and the artist hand traces parts of the image to be placed on the belt buckle.
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• Only high-resolution digital photos (2-3MB quality) can be used for this work.
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• Small, low-resolution photos, or files taken from websites are not suitable; they become blurred and unusable.
Stage 2 - MASTER PATTERN
After you have given your written approval to the final artwork the manufacture of your custom belt buckle begins at the factory here in Australia.
The master pattern is prepared based on the designer’s drawings. Master patterns are painstakingly hand sculpted by skilled tradesman.
It is an ancient art and amazingly the basic principles of foundry technology have changed little in thousands of years, but of course some of the materials used have changed.
Stage 3 - SILICON MOULD
The production of the silicon mould is a critical stage.
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1. First a number of master patterns are produced.
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2. These are then placed between two silicon forms and sealed with heat and pressure.
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3. On completion the silicon forms are separated and then dressed to become the mould for your belt buckles.
Stage 4 - CASTING
The metals are melted down in a furnace.
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• The mould is seated in a centrifugal casting machine.
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• In a dressed mould a channel is cut into the surface of the mould. When molten pewter or any other metal is poured into the casting machine this channel allows the molten pewter to be forced out into the belt buckle cavity through the centrifugal motion.
Stage 5 - POLISHING THE FINISHED BUCKLE
The raw casting is taken out of the mould.
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• Sections left over from the casting channels are individually removed and the belt buckle cleaned.
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• Finally they are polished in a machine that rumbles them in high quality ceramic media designed to produce the perfect finish we require for masterpiece belt buckles.
Stage 6 - PAINTING
Some orders require enamel paint fill. This must be done delicately by hand and creates striking results.
Stage 7 - PACKING
After this amount of care and effort you’d expect the finished product to be protected from damage from the moment it leaves our factory to be shipped across the continent or overseas, till the day you proudly present it to your people.
And you’d be right!
Each quality custom belt buckle is lovingly hand packed and beautifully displayed in our smart presentation tins designed and made specifically for Pacific Merchandising belt buckles.
