Design

  • This week’s assignment was to design a 3D mold, machine it, and cast parts from it. Starting with an brainstorm about what I could make and implement into my final project. I decided to make an extension off sorts for the buttons we use on our boards. I used Fusion360 to make the shape I wanted which was pretty basic.

  • I then moven on to tinkercad, split the object into two, and made it so I could pour silicone into it and cast from that.

Creating the cast

  • I imported the model into Vcarve and picked out the tooth I was going to use. I had an small block of vax I was going to cut into.

  • I made an roughing toolpath first

  • then I made the finishing one

  • I had it go way more detailed than the roughing one and it was way slower.

  • The cutting took about 40min or 2x longer than Vcarve said it would take.

  • With the mold ready I made the silicone and poured it, the proportions were 50/50 and it should have taken about 16 hours to harden, but for some reason I did not harden.

  • This mold wasn't a success for the silicone didn't harden, however in my final project I did molding and casting and it did work.