The Star Trek: Discovery Phaser Project

im wowing at this.... its an insainly nice print and great design work going on there... The thumb wheel is a great touch.
 
There’s no “usual” size. I try to use the largest diameter that will fit. In this case it was 1/16 solid brass rod. same for the pivot hinge. i would never go as small as 1/32, too flimsy. You can get K&S brass rod and tube at most hobby shops. Is you’re not near a shop, try www.KitKraft.com great online hobby supplier
 
Simply beautiful. I love this phaser design.
Your craftsmanship, engineering and Imagineering in all you do, is truly inspiring.
Cheers my friend!
PEW! PEW!
 
What combination of silicone and resin do you use to ensure shrinkage doesn’t prevent the mechanics of the parts from still working once cast? Do you model in a certain amount of clearance to account for such things?
 
I use Reynolds Advanced Materials (Smooth-On) Products. For most molds I use Mold-Max 25. For casting resin I use Smooth-Cast 300. While both have spec'd shrinkage I have found it to be far less if used properly. Which means don't over-catalyze and don't heat cure. Thick parts will tend of shrink a bit more than thin ones due to exo-therm (heating up while curing. Another trick is to let the silicone mold sit for a week before demolding from the pattern. Yes, the instructions for the material say it can be demolded in 24 hours, and I do for some non-critical parts, the mold will last longer and seem to have less shrinkage if left to cure for a week before using.

As far as clearances, those can vary from .003" to .0075" depending on the part and function. For pivot holes, like the one in the thumb wheel I print the part slightly undersize and ream out on a drill press to the proper end size.
 
DaveG said:
I use Reynolds Advanced Materials (Smooth-On) Products. For most molds I use Mold-Max 25. For casting resin I use Smooth-Cast 300. While both have spec'd shrinkage I have found it to be far less if used properly. Which means don't over-catalyze and don't heat cure. Thick parts will tend of shrink a bit more than thin ones due to exo-therm (heating up while curing. Another trick is to let the silicone mold sit for a week before demolding from the pattern. Yes, the instructions for the material say it can be demolded in 24 hours, and I do for some non-critical parts, the mold will last longer and seem to have less shrinkage if left to cure for a week before using.

As far as clearances, those can vary from .003" to .0075" depending on the part and function. For pivot holes, like the one in the thumb wheel I print the part slightly undersize and ream out on a drill press to the proper end size.
Click to expand...

This is SUPER helpful! Thanks Dave!

I've made a point of building adjustable tolerances into all my models, and even done some experimenting with shrinkage rates in moving and connected parts printed in generic DLP resin, but I have far less experience with the galaxy of options available from Smooth-On for when it comes to molding and casting.

I spent the better part of a day extracting data out of their website and into a spreadsheet just so I could directly compare different attributes of their resins and rubbers (I didn't find their built-in tool was "data centric" enough for me). But the product and procedure recommendations that come from years of hands-on experience was what I really wanted!
 
Wow! This is a really cool project and absolutely professional made. Great! That‘s the best phaser of this type I‘ve seen so far.

If you will do a resin kit, I would definitely be interested.
 
BadAtNames said:
This is SUPER helpful! Thanks Dave!

I've made a point of building adjustable tolerances into all my models, and even done some experimenting with shrinkage rates in moving and connected parts printed in generic DLP resin, but I have far less experience with the galaxy of options available from Smooth-On for when it comes to molding and casting.

I spent the better part of a day extracting data out of their website and into a spreadsheet just so I could directly compare different attributes of their resins and rubbers (I didn't find their built-in tool was "data centric" enough for me). But the product and procedure recommendations that come from years of hands-on experience was what I really wanted!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't get too hung up on the product specs. You will get far more useful information by trying out different products to see what works best. Like I said, I've found that used correctly, my shrinkage rates are below those specified. Selection of the mold rubber and casting resin for me is almost always based on other criteria, especially for the resin. For example, Smooth Cast 300 is my favorite resin for most parts but it is a bit brittle for use in props that might be dropped. There are other resins that are more impact resistant. Reynolds sells smaller kits of all of there products so it's easy to try them out to see what works best for you.
 
All is well and we are healthy! I'm sort of poking away at making molds, there are a lot of individual parts , 45 or so, and 3/4 of them require two part molds, plus a couple of three-part and one major four-part mold. On top of that the weather has turned HOT here in southern California so it limits the number of hours each day I can spend in my non-airconditioned shop. (And I'm still lucky enough to have a full time day-job!). So be patient. I'll try to post some update photos soon.
 
Really glad you are well. As much as I would like a phaser, I would prefer you and yours make it through unscathed. I am originally from California (miss it every day) have lots of family and friends there and talk to them often. As the thread went silent I just started worrying a bit. Be safe!
 
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