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Back to BeeFab Project

After the 5th week's issues, trying to 3d print honey comb for the BeeFab Project I choose to afford the same subject with the molding and casting technique.

From Wax to Wax

Process and materials

After comparing different molding and casting materials I choose to make a previews positive mold milled in wax, make a oomoo25 silicon rubber negative mold from it,and then try to cast with bees wax.

Simplifying the design around the tool

I simplified the design into a flat pattern to bent in a second face. To optimize material, milling time and make it adaptable to different shapes. I scaled the pattern, to obtain a maximum cell's deep of 3 mm, according with the ending part of the smallest tool I will use. Than I add 2 traversal pipe having a central funnel one to fill and one to leave the air comes out.

Molding

Positive Mill

To create the positive mold in wax I used the Roland SRM-20 Monofab. Due to internet connection issues in Green Fab Lab, I could not use on line fab modules, and the version downloaded don't have SRM-20 driver. I used the Roland V-cam software.

The rough...

Not at the first time

The first milling failed due to a wrong collet. The 1/8 flat 4fl milling bit was not well centered and spindling gave an error of more than one millimeter that made disappear the 2 mm sides walls.

...and the finishing

in 2 times

I divided the finishing milling procedure in 2 steps in order to take the milling bit into a safe distance from the frame's walls limiting the mold, that are the only vertical element dipper than 3 mm. In the same time I saved time passing from 4 hours estimated for the all internal surface to 2 steps of 60 min.