And after the 3rd coat, this is looking sweet!
I have done all the external edges and the resin has made the rounded parts smooth now fixing those small flat spots I had before.
This was done tonight, so tomorrow after it dries, I can tidy the slot and clean off any drips. This stuff reminds me of the Xenomorph saliva the way it flows and then hangs down in stands off the ends before breaking off.
UPDATE: Clear Sole pour 1 was a fail. It remained sticky due to not getting hot enough to set. Pour 2 was a success and hopefully pour 3 will also work out. Once I have these sheets cured, I will be looking at how I can attach the new clear soles to the shoes. Images to come soon.
After all said and done with the clear soles, I am now having 2nd thoughts about even using them
I am looking for another way to achieve the clear soles.
are they to soft for everyday use or to hard? and how much did it cost you .
Are you going to release the pepakura files of the heel cup and strap holder?
Mine have a shore hardness of OC80A. According to the info posted by Cloneprops, real runners use rubber with a shore hardness of OC60A and he was even thinking of using OC45A, so mine will be a bit harder. I wanted them to last and based on the samples I got to see, both OC45A and OC60A were a bit too soft IMO, so I made the decision to go with OC80A.Caloss said:
That 1.8KG kit I bought cost me just $200. I didn't really know what I was doing with the stuff and as a result, ended up with one useable sheet, so an expensive pair of soles and I'm not done yet or even sure if I will actually use this. If I had succeeded, the same kit could have made up to 8 pairs. $200 / 8 = $25 and so that is like $12.50 per shoe! But to do this properly, one needs a vacuum chamber [I sold mine in 2006] and a way to keep the stuff at somewhere between 25~30* C. As we are in winter here, average day temps are below 20*C and so the stuff needs to be heated and kept warm to set properly.
Sure. If you would like the ankle strap buckle, please email me [cavx01@hotmail.com] as I don't think I can attach it here. I have not completed the heel cup yet. I didn't get a 3D model or print made from the file as the thieves here want $350 for the one part.MitasTouch said:
wow . You nailed it right on the head whats next a book deal for how to make nike mags (right ) hey sorry about the loss on the sheet but trail an error is the only way that it comes out perfect good times man keep on pushing for the best i say ...cavx said:
Thanks Carlos. The last time I went all out, the project blew out to about $85K! It was a world first thoughCaloss said:
I won't be going that route again anytime soon. Just saying that when I get fixated on something, I don't give up easily
It is still raining here so given I could not do anymore Clear Sole work, decided to make more progress on the Ankle Buckle.
So after a bit more shaping and a light sand...
I am impressed with how this has turned out and think I will do the same for the Heel Cup.
I have a bit of tiding up of the slots for the Ankle Strap and I think this is ready for mass production
Originally I was thinking about casting these and offering them to anyone that wanted them, but I now looking into vac forming them instead. The part will be lighter and I think strong enough as well as offering a large hollow to store a power supply.
So the original idea was to mold this part and cast clones of. Apart from cost, there is also a weight issue with some cast parts, so for the last few days [actually weeks] I've researching as much as I can about vacuum forming and found heaps of DIY videos on You Tube.
Something that bothered me though was watching one video last night where the guy makes two smallish parts but wastes a massive sheet doing so. There was just so much waste and I thought to myself, surely you would have a small platform for a small part.
So today, I got myself a small piece of High Impact Poly-Styrene and using bits and pieces I had in my work shop [if you can call it that?], I made myself a 'small' rig at $0.00 outlay
To heat the HIP, I used a bench top cooker known as a "Turbo-Cooker" which heats the plastic really fast. In all the videos I watched, the heating units had to be brought upto temperature could take anywhere upto 20min. My unit has a stainless steel bowl, not glass, so better heat reflection. This unit also uses halogen lamps to super heat the air, not the traditional coiled stove element. This unit heats fast with no preheating required. The HIC was formable at from just 2:30 and melted at 4:10. I was running the unit at 250 degrees C for my tests today.
So how did I go? Well considering I've never done this before
As you can see, at the top is a FAIL of the day and this was the part that ran at 4:10 and stuck to the tray. I thought I would still see what I could do with it, but not a chance, it was stringy on the inside by this time.
I found the best times were between 3:45 and 4:00. Amazing what just and extra 10 seconds can do though
The issue with the parts on the bottom is that they didn't get enough pull. I am going to run with the idea that I didn't get a good enough seal here. The vacuum cleaner I used was a VAX [wet/dry unit], I just think the fault is in my design where the material didn't pull down enough and I didn't get the seal I needed. A dry run with the HIP out of the frame placed the vac into overoload as all the DIY videos show you need to do. Yet with the buck in place, I was not getting that, so there must be an air leak somewhere.
Anyway, I'll cut these out and see how they look. By this time next week, I will have my large MDF vac table rig ready to go. I am basically using the design that James of xrobots.co.uk video has built. I will probably also make the same heating unit as well as he seems to be getting excellent results. I also have a dyson in the house
I have now cut out the parts and fitted them onto the shoes. Not sure if I like it. I think a smaller radius might be in order. As mentioned in the previous post, I didn't get the pull I wanted, so the level is detail is not there.
I fitted it to the shoe [the size 8s]. Because the part is hollow, I was able to fit this part over the top of the original.
It is probably a touch too big for these shoes. Maybe I need to fit it to the 10's and see how it looks as the mold was actually made from the ankle buckle of the 10s.
the vacuum formed part looks great.
i think the only thing the needs correcting may be the curve in the middle.
ive been trying to sculpt mine in clay and its proving immensely difficult.
Thank you for the positive feedbackairair said:
The pull didn't hug the buck tight enough, so what I got was a very flat version of itself.
I've never really sculpted anything before, well not to this complexity anyway. Everything I have made in the past had flat edges, where this does not any flat sides.
What I am glad is that I chose hard materials to work with. I did play with some clay when I first started this and found it to be frustrating to say the least.
I think I will re-do this out of MDF. Cheap and easy to build up if I make a mistake. The PVC was chosen because it offered a curved inner surface as a base, but it took time to laminate up to the right thickness. Because I am now going with vac pulls, all I need to worry about is the outer surface.
I'll fit the MK1 vac pulled parts on the size 10's tomorrow and see how they look. It had been suggested that both this part and the heel cup were a 1 size fits all. Based on my images above, I'd say this is not the case and each size shoe has its own size parts.
Here is a quick look at these parts on the size 10s. They look better. So I guess that means I have to make this in multiple sizes.
UPDATE:
I could not resist to check the clear soles. A part that leaked at the back appears to have set, so I gentally peeled back the mat to reveal...
.Spoiler:
I will remove the mat until Sunday to give the Shoe Goo time to cure properly (up to 72 hours).
I also made my full sized Vac Form Table today. I need to source a decent vacuum attachment as I think drilling a hole and just shoving the vacuum hose in is a bit ordinary.
I also glued some scrap MDF bits together by next week, I should have a new set of bucks for the both the Ankle Buckle and the Heel Cup.
Sounds very good!
I must say that it's a great idea to apply the goo directly to the shoe.
Pictures as soon as possible, please!
I can't wait to see how it turns out! Its really cool to see someone taking advice to heart and trying out shoe goo!
A massive thank you for suggesting it. I had not even thought about it when seeking out materials that could be used.punisher said:
Not long now guys. Tomorrow the wraps come off
Some interesting results. To read about them, go to the last post of the Clear Sole link in my signature.
After doing another stage on the clear soles, I began version 4 of the Ankle Buckle.
The idea of Vacuum Forming is great and regardless of there being a seal issue in the last go, the shape in still wrong because the part is too wide.
So I will do this again, this time with a smaller radius and I think I will extend the sides around a bit more. I had a heap of 80mm discs left over from a laser cutting job and I have used a special solvent to fuse them together to make a cylinder. Tomorrow, I will start shaping them.
I have also glues a heap of rectangles together which will be the Heel Cup.
I decided to get stuck into this new part today rather than put it off until tomorrow.
What started out as a cylinder of plastic [other half is in the back ground] is now starting to take shape.
There is quite a bit more to do on this. The differences between this version and the last is that the radius is smaller and the sides will extend around the ankle further. I have also left the top flat rather than having the curved top edge and this has forced the gap where the Ankle Strap will attach a bit higher up than the previous version.
Because I am making this part for Vac Forming, I am leaving the "stand" on it so the plastic does not wrap around the buck and then has to be cut out. I have also made this part solid rather than the previous hollow version.
I've got to get back on track! You're leaving me in the dust ! Haha, you're buck is coming along nicely, honestly I might have to buy some from you instead of making my own! Now that yuppie vacuforming the buckles, I can't imagine doing it any other way! I think the 4th revision is going to be the winner! Doesn't look like it will hard to remove at all.
I spent a few hours rounding out the work yesterday and all the time struggling to think why it does not look 100%. Then I looked the image Cloneprops has of the part he makes and I suddenly realized where I had gone wrong.punisher said:
Not to say I have made mine wrong as this is closest I have got this so far, but if you look at the side where the strap attaches, the buckle is cut away and recessed. Mine is flat here and I will go off soon and see if I can't hollow that out a bit. Because I am using a spinning tool, I won't be able to make that angular like the image shows, but I should at least get this recessed enough that when the strap passes through and around, that it does not stick out.
My Vac Form table is complete! Just need a few things for the heat box and it is all good.
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