Casting

[Tomperys]

Hi,

Iam sorry if I will just sound stupid, but I´ll be grateful for your advice. I have silicone mold, but I have no idea what to use as resin - to make a cast. I dont know anyone who have some experience with this in our country.

Can you help me and give me some tipe what should I buy? I was looking for "resin" in my country but I didnt find anything useful. I guess I need to search for more specific name.

Btw.: do I need smth more than just resin and mold for make the cast?:confused

Thanks a lot :thumbsup

 

[mvmagic]

Mold and resin should be fine-depends on what you doing. If you're doing a vacuum form plug for instance, you'll be needing a tougher resin with higher deflection temperature.

A good basic resin is Smooth-Cast 300 which I use a lot.

In Europe, a good source for silicones and resins is Form Fx:

FormFX home page

 

[irishamericanlad]

Tomperys you dont sound stupid, everyone here that makes stuff had to start somewhere.
some personal advice... when you buy material by the small kits first, not all resins are the same, some react differantly, some set up in minutes, some in hours, smooth cast 300 is fantastic and easy and you really dont need a vacuum, its good for small parts.
also what size of a cast is your mold? larger molds may need a differant approach than pour and wait, like the helmets and such usually get roto or slushed... small things get poured, but in the end you will teach yourself a process that you like,
check you tube for great videos on casting and process, also smooth-on has a great tutorial library.
and we at the RPF LOVE pics of what you are doing!

 

[Tomperys]

Mold and resin should be fine-depends on what you doing. If you're doing a vacuum form plug for instance, you'll be needing a tougher resin with higher deflection temperature.

A good basic resin is Smooth-Cast 300 which I use a lot.

In Europe, a good source for silicones and resins is Form Fx:

FormFX home page

Thanks, I guess i dont need to vacuate them :$

 

[clonesix]

tomperys, to answer your question, you need Urethane Casting Resin. Resin is a generic name for liquid polymer, and there is polyester resin, Epoxy resin, etc.

I don't know what you mold looks like, or what you want to get out of it, so my answer is based on a solid casting, filling the mold.

The thing that you would like to remember is that resin cures with heat. The greater the volume poured, the greater the heat, and the faster it will set.

When you look at a resin's properties on a web site like Smooth-On.com, they will list resins by their strength, mix ratio, and cure times. Casting resins use a 1:1 mix ratio, by weight or by volume. Be sure to check which you are using. Although similar, not always the same. If you don't have a scale to measure the weight, mixing by volume is the next choice.

As far as cure times, a slower cure means that you have more time to pour and pick up detail. A faster cure time means that you can get more castings faster, but might trap small air bubbles as it sets.

Urethane resin is very forgiving of mistakes. Just be sure to measure carefully and mix thoroughly. Good Luck.

 

[Tomperys]

Tomperys you dont sound stupid, everyone here that makes stuff had to start somewhere.
some personal advice... when you buy material by the small kits first, not all resins are the same, some react differantly, some set up in minutes, some in hours, smooth cast 300 is fantastic and easy and you really dont need a vacuum, its good for small parts.
also what size of a cast is your mold? larger molds may need a differant approach than pour and wait, like the helmets and such usually get roto or slushed... small things get poured, but in the end you will teach yourself a process that you like,
check you tube for great videos on casting and process, also smooth-on has a great tutorial library.
and we at the RPF LOVE pics of what you are doing!

Thanks a lot! :thumbsup
I dont have a workshop or smth like that, so I think I will never do such great things, that I saw here from you guys. I envy the skills and beautifull replicas you all did!

I want to start with small things and because Iam startrek and stargate fan you can guess. I working on nemesis phaser, endgame tricorder.... planing to do also unique borg phaser and few ships from startrek.... then mayby smth from SG Universe

 

[Tomperys]

I have "Siligum" for making the mold confused

The only smooth cast 300 they are selling here is one that solidifies in 1 minute, and 5 minute ... do you think the 5 minutes one is good?

 

[mvmagic]

Depends on what you're molding. 5 minutes is plenty. I use 300q a lot too (the fast curing one)

As for mold, if its a small thing like a gemstone, siligum propably works but I would get some real mold silicone from FormFx-like Moldmax 30. As siligum is a paste and not pourable, it does have limitations but with some things it works.

 

[Tomperys]

Depends on what you're molding. 5 minutes is plenty. I use 300q a lot too (the fast curing one)

As for mold, if its a small thing like a gemstone, siligum propably works but I would get some real mold silicone from FormFx-like Moldmax 30. As siligum is a paste and not pourable, it does have limitations but with some things it works.

So with "Moldmax 30" you can just spray things and wait (how long???) and there you have a form??

 

[mvmagic]

No no no...its not something you spray. You must make a mold box and secure your master in place, mix the silicone (scale needed!), pour it (it IS thick unless you use silicone thinner) and wait for about 24 hours.

You really should read some casting tutorials...here's one:

Silicone Rubber Mold Making - Plastic Resin Casting

What are you making by the way..?

 

[Tomperys]

No no no...its not something you spray. You must make a mold box and secure your master in place, mix the silicone (scale needed!), pour it (it IS thick unless you use silicone thinner) and wait for about 24 hours.

You really should read some casting tutorials...here's one:

Silicone Rubber Mold Making - Plastic Resin Casting

What are you making by the way..?

Thanks
I want just make some star trek props for start and then will see...Thinking about smth from stargate. I also would be happy if I would make some skull... but I guess that would be not easy at all. Have no idea how to do that :lol