CustomPropSculptorGuy
Well-Known Member
Does any one here do it?? Or know someone??
Metal Castings
- Thread starter CustomPropSculptorGuy
- Start date
division 6
Master Member
A few people on the forum work in foundries.
It may help if you mention what you want made and material cast in.
It may help if you mention what you want made and material cast in.
CustomPropSculptorGuy
Well-Known Member
Well truth is, I'm not sure what would work best. I have a project I am working on now that would need the molds made, and the piece poured in some form of metal. I have a guy now, but he's freaking out over the complexity of the project.
If anyone thinks they can help, they can PM me and I'll give them the details...
If anyone thinks they can help, they can PM me and I'll give them the details...
If you want brass or aluminum I can recommend mystic valley foundry. If the part is complex, then you will want lost wax casting and they are one of the best.
If you want pewter, I can tell you the cheapest way is go to someone in China through alibaba.com . Pewter spinners in the usa are expensive because china has cornered the market on tin and charge 5 times what is worth to export it to America.
If you want Zinc Alibaba is your best bet, but prepare to spend minimum of $1000 on the mold.
If you want pewter, I can tell you the cheapest way is go to someone in China through alibaba.com . Pewter spinners in the usa are expensive because china has cornered the market on tin and charge 5 times what is worth to export it to America.
If you want Zinc Alibaba is your best bet, but prepare to spend minimum of $1000 on the mold.
CustomPropSculptorGuy
Well-Known Member
yea I know alibaba.com very very well. I just don't know anything about casting or what material to use for a metal figure - and that's the problem - there are a TON of pieces, around 68 pieces for this particular piece...
I need something light weight, durable enough to put motors inside in, and still cost under 500 a unit to get the units poured... final manufacturing is taken care of, but I need at least the pieces poured, and if they could be drilled where need be, that'd be even better.
I am working on the resin master now, so I can at least have a set of silicone molds to either "A" run the pieces in resin, or "B" do what I want and run them in some form of metallic alloy...
I need something light weight, durable enough to put motors inside in, and still cost under 500 a unit to get the units poured... final manufacturing is taken care of, but I need at least the pieces poured, and if they could be drilled where need be, that'd be even better.
I am working on the resin master now, so I can at least have a set of silicone molds to either "A" run the pieces in resin, or "B" do what I want and run them in some form of metallic alloy...
What are the parts? Are they organic looking or boxy and mechanical?
The requirements you mentioned about putting motors inside make me think mechanical, and typically mechanical parts are machined not cast. Casting metal is totally different from casting resin. Metal shrinks by 8% or more depending on the metal. So you may want to consider machining the parts that require strict tolerances.
The amount of money it costs to pour metal may be with in your budget of $500, but that sounds really low for the other required elements such as molds and labor. I did a run of cast brass parts and the initial costs were over $10k.
You should look into CNC Machine Shop | Custom Waterjet, Plasma, Laser Cutting | eMachineShop.com as well if you need mechanical parts.
You could also look into melting metal in a home foundry, backyard metalcasting, metal casting if you want to DIY.
The requirements you mentioned about putting motors inside make me think mechanical, and typically mechanical parts are machined not cast. Casting metal is totally different from casting resin. Metal shrinks by 8% or more depending on the metal. So you may want to consider machining the parts that require strict tolerances.
The amount of money it costs to pour metal may be with in your budget of $500, but that sounds really low for the other required elements such as molds and labor. I did a run of cast brass parts and the initial costs were over $10k.
You should look into CNC Machine Shop | Custom Waterjet, Plasma, Laser Cutting | eMachineShop.com as well if you need mechanical parts.
You could also look into melting metal in a home foundry, backyard metalcasting, metal casting if you want to DIY.
CustomPropSculptorGuy
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the links RP... The person who is going to do the molds, it looks like, assuming he signs the contract, he's going to make the molds at cost for a back-end percentage, which, oddly enough, is something his studio wanted...
I actually jusy bought a kiln and upped the power in my mini-oven to melt some low-temp metals, so we shall see how far I can take the DIY part of the links you've provided.
Sith, I will shoot you a PM with a little more info...
Also, the pieces are going to be sculpted old school - meaning, I am going to my roots as a mechanical sculptor so I can sculpt in all the needed tension and load bearing/closure knobs, fames and such - so, it's going to be a pretty awesome project, that can truly be called "hand made" - and it's also why we're only releasing 100 of them over all in 20-unit run calls.
I actually jusy bought a kiln and upped the power in my mini-oven to melt some low-temp metals, so we shall see how far I can take the DIY part of the links you've provided.
Sith, I will shoot you a PM with a little more info...
Also, the pieces are going to be sculpted old school - meaning, I am going to my roots as a mechanical sculptor so I can sculpt in all the needed tension and load bearing/closure knobs, fames and such - so, it's going to be a pretty awesome project, that can truly be called "hand made" - and it's also why we're only releasing 100 of them over all in 20-unit run calls.
CustomPropSculptorGuy
Well-Known Member
I just don't know anything about metal casting... I'll deff. check out MicroMark now though...
If you want a motor housing, depending on its size, you should should make it in two parts out of something that can stand up to sand casting process and have them made in aluminum at a foundry. That would be the least expensive way to have them made. If you are talking about something small, you could cast bismuth or other low-temp metal into silicone molds at home.
