Reusable Mold Making Material - ComposiMold

Having pulled the part, this Powermold stuff is garbage. All detail is lost to the point a better part would be made of melted butter. This is the same type of issue that was plaguing the material I was helping a vendor develop. Its simply no good for any material that cures with the slightest of heat. For laughs ill post pictures up tomorrow. In the end Powermold has just been a huge waste of my time and a couple hundred grams of material.
 
Yeah i was put off when it said that anything over 130 degrees melts it. it's great for tiny parts or something that isn't resin but you can't do anything large in it.
 
On temperature resistant parts (even resin parts can tolerate 130° F) you might be able to let the entire poured mold simmer in a toaster oven at just above the 130°F melting point to degass and then remove from the oven to cool...

Although I'm hardly seeing anywhere near the detail of silicone in the above examples...
 
On temperature resistant parts (even resin parts can tolerate 130° F) you might be able to let the entire poured mold simmer in a toaster oven at just above the 130°F melting point to degass and then remove from the oven to cool...

Although I'm hardly seeing anywhere near the detail of silicone in the above examples...


Are you saying cook the mold just as its poured? I dont see that having any benefit what so ever as the material is thick like honey. Any air bubbles that are trapped regardless of any physical attempt to counter them just invites more bubble to the party. Cooking it seems like it would just end its reuse life.
Regardless even the most air free mold made of this stuff will just plop out slugs as parts. The material I used is a very, very low heat cure material. I did tests with thicker and thinner parts and even the thinnest is a slug.

Its so bad im even wondering is the original intent for Powermold which is to mold a rifle breach that will be busted up and distressed to appear exploded as a final part will even be acceptable for that!

I dont see any use for this stuff in the prop molding and casting world. Ive had better luck in a pinch on the spot pushing a part into clay, clear coating the clay and pulling a part from that than I have had with this Powermold stuff. Ill save the stuff and bring it to the next prop party along with something simple to mold for anyone interested in failure.
 
Yeah i was put off when it said that anything over 130 degrees melts it. it's great for tiny parts or something that isn't resin but you can't do anything large in it.


Wes, I dont see ANYTHING that puts off heat being acceptable from this stuff. Not small parts, not thin parts, nothing. It just melts the details. Wait till you see the pics tomorrow. Youll swear its a bad mix or a torch has been taken to the parts. This is why I also poured the same mix of material into a silicone mold of the same part. Even with that pour being a dump, it blows the Powermold out of the room.
 
Are you saying cook the mold just as its poured? I dont see that having any benefit what so ever as the material is thick like honey. Any air bubbles that are trapped regardless of any physical attempt to counter them just invites more bubble to the party.

Yeah cooking the mold, the longer you keep it liquid the longer the bubbles have to rise, that is unless it's making new bubbles as it cooks? But as you said it has many other issues, so in the end it's likely a bust...
 
Cooking it wont do anything. As mentioned the Powermold is like honey and traps any air bubbles regardless. I layed it on super thin and in layers in what looked to be an air free stream, even when inspecting the parts before layed in the rest yet the mold is still full of air bubbles. Cooking it would just do away with any possible reuse. This stuff is claimed to be reusable about 30 times with normal use. I dont even think those odds would pull a workable part out of any mold with this stuff.

To the right is a part pulled from a silicone mold in raw form and the one that was molded. I stuck some clear tape over the numbers more or less to see how the Powermold would react to tape (no adverse effects), the left is the same silicone mold part that was a simple dump with the left over material from, the middle which is from the Powermold mold.

Keep in mind the silicone mold has no air bubbles yet the silicone was not evacuated. The small voids you see on the left part is due to simply dumping the material into the mold as it was past its pour time while in the cup, yet it has the details. The part on the right has all the nuances and imperfections of the original as it has no paint on it. It was cast in color with metal powders. The one in the middle is from the Powermold and looks like its drawn in crayon. There are miniature air bubbles everywhere along with the immediately noticeable larger bubbles. Details are completely washed out and every edge is rounded to the point it has the appearance of being melted.

Again, this is not bad material or improper use. The part on the left is the same batch and mix from a silicone mold that was used for the middle part in the Powermold. On top of that any further pulls from the Powermold would only be worse as much of the detail is now gone. This parts material is so low in heat it can cure in the palm of my hand. I dont know of anything that cures in cold for parts making. Imagine a quick cure plastic in this stuff!

97qq3b.jpg
 
Just a thought... What would happen if someone were to try to use this as a casting material? Say a free standing statue or something of the sort? Provided the detail needed to be captured wasn't too intricate, do you think this could be an interesting alternative to rigid foams, etc? Assuming it can be painted, would it hold its shape? Or would it break down relatively quickly?
 
Well, technically, yes. But then you can also cast Jello in a mold, but you wouldn't want to put that on your shelf either.

But more to the point, I think that you've completely misread the thread. This material isn't rigid at all, but soft. In fact, chemically speaking, it basically is jello. Just without the sugar and flavoring.
 
It would be horrible as casting material for any part needing a bubble free detailed surface. The castings show the issues inherent with the material. Just imagine now the casting is the poured part and you will immediately see what the end result would be if it were used to cast parts.
 
This is a shame as so many of us could really use a reusable casting material if for nothing else than fast one or two castings of a small part that isn't worth the cost of normal molding material.
 
Wes, if the part is a fitting surface and you have a cold cure or extremely low heat material it may work. But as ive stated from my own personal experience, ive had better luck doing a push mold out of clay and clear coating it for a quick and dirty mold than I have with any experience with this stuff.

They sell a small tester of the stuff. I went all out and got the big tub. Maybe for poops and giggles ill try it on a coin project. Im making coins out of silver crayon so they can be melted to double as metal. Problem is melted crayon is hot and the mold needs to be dusted with a mix of metal powders to get the part usable right from the mold. I dont see it working but hell, ive got the time to try it tomorrow.
 
And don't forget about shrinkage. (Insert "I was in the pool" pun here)

I made a mold of a lathed part with this material and the cast I got from it was at least 5-8% smaller in volume than the master copy.

This stuff is not worth the $.
 
I didnt forget about another attempt with this stuff but I cant risk the finish on the original part. Had it in hand ready to start the process but my gut feeling tells me to not attempt it.
 
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