WEEK 9 | Molding & Casting
How to make wax blocks
- Don't stir in order to avoid having bubbles,
- Pour the wax into the mold,
- Wait for few hours before using it.
First Mold - 3D Modeling with Rhino
I used cylinders for my first plugging system but some of them where to close to the edges to be cut by a 1/8'' square endmill.
Download the .stl file here.
Milling the first mold with the Roland MDX-40 machine
- Draw an X in the middle of the wax block,
- Glue the wax block on the bed,
- Move the endmill until the X-Axis and the Y-Axis are correct and select= "Set X-Y origin",
- Select "Set Z-Axis using a sensor", check if the sensor is clean, put it on the cross and press "Detect".
1. Model Size & Dimensions
X: 120 mm | Y: 110 mm | Z: 21mm
2. Type of Milling
Better surface finish | Model with many curved surfaces | Block workpiece: Cut top only
3. Create ToolPath
Roughing & Finishing: Set up Partial (Cut Area) in order to have the correct cut area
Select the right endmill: 1/8'' Square
Create ToolPath
4. Preview result
Check your mold how you want it to be
5. Perform cutting
Start Cutting!
Second Mold - Silicone casting
Mix ratio: (100:10) by weight
Hardness: Shore 40 A
Viscosity: 10 000 mPa.s
Work time: 150 min
Cure time: 6 hours
Casting - Polyurethane Elastomers
Mix ratio: (100:100) by volume | Hardness: Shore D 65 | Work time: 2 min | Cure time: 10 min
Flexicast
Mix ratio: (100:100) by weight | Hardness: Shore A 65 | Work time: 25 min | Cure time: 16-24 hours
For the second test, we melted the Easycast product with the Flexicast product (with pigment). We though it would extend our work time. Finally the work time was much shorter and we didn't have the time to mix everything well. Thats why the result broke.