12. Molding and Casting: Collin K and Evan P¶
Comparison between different mold types¶
Comparing our two 3D printed casts (SLA and PLA molds), the cast on our PLA mold came out significantly better due to support prolems on the SLA mold which ruined the finish. The PLA was also much faster to produce but the time it takes to create these molds can change depending on desired passes / finishes.
Comparing our 3D printed PLA mold casting to our machined mold casting, the machined cast was less ridgid on the rounded parts due to the increased passes we had on our machined mold and the finishing toolpath that had a large number of passes which also gave it a better finish. Due to this, our machined cast came out better than the PLA but the PLA molds can be produced much quicker.
The two different materials we used for our casting were Moldstar Task 8 and Moldstar 15 Slow. Moldstar Task 8 is a rigid, plastic type material that cures quickly (about 10 minutes) which means that you have to work fast with it. Moldstar 15 Slow is a flexible material that takes about 4-6 hours to cure. We got better quality with our Moldstar 15 Slow but because Task 8 is rigid, we were able to sand it down so that it looked better. Either material types could be used depending on the purpose of ones cast.
Material Data sheet¶
Moldstar 15
Task 8
Click here for 16 page data sheet :)