6. Moulding and casting¶
In this week we started by learning about materials that are available for molding and casting, like for example : soap , sillicon , resin and grot, to have an idea about the ratio needed to make a solid/soft shape.
Group project¶
You can find all the materials available in the lab with the steps in my partner site Mahdi Al’Basri HERE
Individual project :¶
We where required to create a shape that follow the provided parameters : X , Y = 60mm , Z: 8 mm , and wholes that are larger than 1,6mm in diameter, with the provided information we are required to create a shape that is a “2.5D” so the machine can cut and carve from the top to the bottom.
To begin with, i took a ready picture from the internet to extrude it and use it in my project from HERE
After choosing a picture that you like, i added the picture in fusion360 to start the work:
After adding the the image we stared by drawing the shape that we want to extrude “Referring to the parameters” used for the machine, You can referring to week 01 instructions and adding fillet on the edges, to get a clean shape that we can remove after creating the silicon caste :
After finishing the design we export it in the form of .stl
you can see MY final product HERE
After sending the file to the computer that is connected to the machine we can use TiNKRCAD to adjust the size before adding it to the machine software.
We add the .stl file of the design that we combined in TINKERCAD to the machine software Cool Borwo-Wluff-SRP Player
We flip the the design to match the width of the board inside the machine (The wax cube) by flipping the X, Y coordinates.
We choose the settings we want for the milling and the type of curves
Adjust the Z then press on create a tool path
The total time is shown
We choose the roughing for both the shapes to create a boarder between them so we can remove each caste individually
repeat the same step but for the other best and most gorgeous shape that the best artist made
change the setting from all to partial
How the wax block will look like :
This setting allow us to use a different type of head to get better details
we can choose different settings for multiple steps like fr example changing the needle type for the ruffing part to get better results.
Choosing the needle type, different needle size can make a big difference, in smoothness and details
Start the cutting!
Using the controller software foe the milling machine {SRM-20} from monofab
adjusting the X and the Y after measuring the wax board and changing the z slowly to make the needle touch the surface
The last step is to make the needle spin to make sure that it is directly on the surface
After finishing and choosing thee Z value we start printing
Practical steps:
Choosing the needle, some needles with the same size can be deferent like being flat or pointing
The needle adjusting the surface to make it straight so the machine can carve perfectly on the material
Videos related:
Adjusting the Z to the origin point using the controller.
After that the machine will start digging to provide the shape we want, but because the RIFLE is more detailed it will be a 2 step work, we will change the needle and start the machine.
Thi final shape that we will pure our caste in the mould by using silicon.
Following the steps we did in the group assignment using a silicon with 1:1 ratio , we pour some water in the mould to know the weight then mixing the materials with each other and pour it in the mould, it will need 6 - 24 Hrs to harden.
You can see the mould is dried and ready, which we will put our caste in, using resin material tha we used in the group project, the ratio is 10:6 A:B where A is the resin and B is the hardener.
After we pour the resin
An extra step but can make the difference is using a wooden stick to pop the air bubbles to get a smooth shape
