8. Moulding and casting¶

group assignment¶

This week we worked on molding and casting. First we did the group assignment to experment with diffrent material see the link

Research¶

Molding is a process that involves shaping a heated material around a mold. The material is then allowed to cool and harden, taking on the shape of the mold. Common materials that are used in molding include plastics, glass, and metals. Casting, on the other hand, involves pouring a molten material into a mold.

The milling machine we are using is called Roland SRM-20 we will use it to carve a plastic/wax material for the mold so it is like a temporary mold for creating a mold.

Safety¶

Soap: Soap bases start to melt around 50 to 60 C. Use heat-safe tools and handle with care – melted soap can hurt if dripped or splashed on skin.

Sillicon Keep the container closed when not in use. Store it in a cool place. Keep it away from heat and flame. keep it out of reach of children.

Making the mold¶

First I made my design in fusion360.

Then I expoted the design as stl format.

Designs¶

and this the fusion360 file

after that we compined all designs in one file like this using online 3d modeling software called tinkercad.

Then the file where downloaded and placed on milling machine software called “SRP player”.

We set the size of the material to cut.

we selected the settings and the program returned the best milling bit for that which is as shown int the photo.Also, it shows the end product with the settings we set.

we sticked a double sided tape into the wax/plastic thing and placed it in the milling machine.

After that we marked the center of it by scratching a line from the oppisite corners.

we pluged the bit into the chuck and positioned it into the origin using the jog tool in the software. we turned on the spindle while adjusting the z axis to make sure the drill bit doesnt break.

after 4 hours it was ready to poar the silicon for making the mold. we mixed the sillicon in 1 to 1 ratio the way we detemined the wight is to poar water first and then wight it. Not that the water has less dinsity than sillicon so it should be lighter. We mixed it until its color become less clear and poured it into the carved wax/plastic .

after the sillicon mold was ready I melted some soupin the microwave for 8 seconds and I almost burned it, After that I poared it into the mold and waited for it to cool.

note that this wont work with reqular soap. it has to be melt and poar soap.