08 Molding and Casting

Jeff Putney
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 01:02:05 GMT

Molding

This week I wanted to design a cast a model that would work well for our pewter casting workshops we hold at Makerspace Urbana. I started with the Heartland Maker Fest logo and gave it a grayscale depth profilie in illustrator by using the Inner Glow style on the heart path. Here is the 2D Illustrator File and SVG version.
This was easy to import into the fab modules as a png file. And from there I could cut a master model out of machinable wax on the Roland Modela using the built in Fab Module setting for "wax rough cut" and "wax finish cut" cut with the 1/8 inch bit. The was used was from machinablewax.com Part# 18-0150307 - blue 1.5" x 3" x 7"
Once I had the master model I created soft negative mold using OOMOO 25 Silicone Rubber which has a nice and short 75 min demold time.
Once the Oomoo cured it was time to cast the positive model with Smooth Cast 300.
The Smooth Cast sets in just 10 min and gets quite hot in the process.
The final product looked perfect!

Design Files

Here is the 2D Illustrator File and SVG version.