Eric, the video came out great! We had such a good conversation that day and appreciate your efforts in putting together such a clean, professional, and useful video for the many other mold makers and casters out there. -BJB
I just thought i'd mention an ultrasonic cleaner... I mixed propyleneglycol and glycerine (50 ml in a glass bottle) by just shaking the bottle and then i put it in an ultrasonic cleaner thats kinda the right size for cleaning glasses... It's awesome to watch all the bubbles in the mix rise to where the water surface level in the cleaner is and then slower further up. I wonder if this vibration would speed up the curing process of any 2K compund...
Eric I'm sure you've heard this before , dust your mould with baby powder , blow off access with compressed air . It won't affect the surface of the casting. It is just another way of breaking the surface tension . I have made moulds the same size you have just used and using a heated mould with talc I had many perfect castings from it . I was using a quick set resin with no degassing , pressure or vibration .
@@glenfisher728 sorry but i've actually used talcum for that purpose (matt finish).. but it would actually be great to know how to avoid that - do you maybe have a video link?
@@TheZahnputz the surface finish on the master is what matters, the RTV will replicate the finish . I have used translucent resin with the mould coated in talc with excellent results. No video , have done any casting but getting back in go it now. Just got a vacuum chamber and am in the process of building a pressure pot , not one of those crappy paint pot conversions. Have been moulding and casting for a hobby for close to 35 years and still learning .
How funny, I am just making my first mold and epoxy lens. Just today actually. And I came up with the same idea when I saw bubbles in the silicone. What I did was simply holding my grinder against the mold for 20 secs on every side. That seems to do a lot too. I work in construction and there we use vibration in concrete preparation, so that's how I came up with it. You think does the job?
Eric, thanks for sharing so much casting information with the rest of us. I am casting a long 32" x 8" width- it has curves and undercuts- question is how do I create the part line? What do I place in the bottom half of the mold while I am pouring the top half? Do you have a video already dealing with this sort of product, if so would you send me the link?
A 6:05 you said that you noticed it speeds up the cure time significantly because of the vibration. I believe you and I don't have a vibration table to confirm, but in my opinion you significantly sped up the cure time with the vacuum chamber process, more-so than the vibration table. I am very curious to know your opinion on which sped it up more, because I just got my vacuum chamber running and I just switched to smooth-cast 326 to have a longer pot life than smooth-cast 325. I usually use my pressure pot for bubbles and I was just getting familiar with my new pot life when I decided I had enough time to vacuum AND pressurize. First thing I noticed was it was firing off much quicker and it was because of the vacuum. I managed to get it into the mold and pressurize it and it looked much clearer in the end so I was happy about that, although if it ruins my pot life, it is entirely unnecessary. Maybe I should vacuum parts A and B separately and mix a tiny bit slower to avoid introducing bubbles to begin with? I have a question for you about silicone. I was using Mold Max 14NV and 29NV to avoid the vacuum chamber, opting for a pressure pot, when I started. I now have Mold Star 20T which requires a vacuum process. The Mold Max had a pot life of 40 minutes but now I have 6 minutes with Mold Star. My question is, can I cool my silicone down in the freezer to gain some pot life? How cold is too cold? The vacuum process does not seem to affect the pot life or cure time of platinum cure silicone, but it does for urethane resins. I would have liked to see you pressurize this casting with that funky but effective mold setup :). I think the vibration table is only critically important while the resin is first pouring over and touching the surface initially. I'm going to build a single speed vibration table from wood and a vibration motor :)
Typically, you will see pot life reduction of a material under vacuum due to having a concentrated mass sitting there, reacting, and the exotherm building higher and higher. It has nothing to do with the vacuum process, or bubbles forming. The bubbles under vacuum are simply trapped air escaping. It is not causing heating of the material. The material is heating all by itself due to chemical exotherm. If you mix material and immediately pour it into a closed mold with a thinner wall section to reduce it's concentrated mass, the gel time is much longer than mixed material sitting there for 30-90 seconds in a mixing cup waiting for it to degas. Hope that helps.
Hi Eric, very interesting option not having to use a pressure pot for a starter. The brands for silicone and resins are not the same as in Europe. Is there any video or info on specs on different resins/silicone so I know what to look for when reseraching brands available in Europe?
Maybe this has been asked before in a different video , but everytime I see him working on this part I wonder what it is. It kind of looks like a futuristic car to me.
Friend thank you for the video. Unfortunately I had to skip through it. However I did like and will probably subscribe. So was your conclusion yes, vibration does remove bubbles from resin? Thanks a lot!!.. :))............
@@EricStrebel even more reason to use an open mold. Not trying to tell you how to do your work but I think you have made your job a lot more complicated than it needs to be. A little background on me: I've been fascinated by plastics my entire life. I went to school for it in fact. I was an injection molding process technician for close to 30 years. I've been resin casting for close to 15 years now. I cast intricate parts with lots of detail. I'm currently working on a 1/8th scale version of the Lincoln flathead V12 engine that has over 100 parts each engine. If I were to make that part I would make a rubber glove mold with a hard outer shell. It would be 1/3rd to 1/4 the cost of your molds. Using an open mold would eliminate the need to "inject" the resin and you'd be able to see any air bubbles and just release them with a stick. The "injection" is actually increasing the amount of bubbles through turbulence. Come look me up on Facebook groups HOTRODZRUS SCALE MODEL CARS to see what I do.
You tried this on clear parts would you think it get the bubbles out completely? Im tryna make my owe action figures but scared to convert or use a pressure pot myself
I bought a shaker table at auction a few years back to see if it would work. Well it did, so I recommend it to anyone who can.
Eric, the video came out great! We had such a good conversation that day and appreciate your efforts in putting together such a clean, professional, and useful video for the many other mold makers and casters out there. -BJB
Thanks, looking forward to doing it again sometime soon 😄👍
I just thought i'd mention an ultrasonic cleaner...
I mixed propyleneglycol and glycerine (50 ml in a glass bottle) by just shaking the bottle and then i put it in an ultrasonic cleaner thats kinda the right size for cleaning glasses...
It's awesome to watch all the bubbles in the mix rise to where the water surface level in the cleaner is and then slower further up.
I wonder if this vibration would speed up the curing process of any 2K compund...
It's a thermic reaction, so the vibration would not speed it up, but the vibration might remove more bubbles, some testing would be required.
Pretty neat Eric.. amazing how the slowmo shows the bubbles bursting and disappearing when torched... 👏
A great tip, Eric, thanks! Especially liked the electric guitar arrangement of The Mandalorian at the end!
Eric this was GREAT and I’m a bjb fan girl as well I love their products so much
Awesome! Be sure to tag us on your posts, we'd be happy to reshare.
That is a great tip, delivered by your smooth, like freshly poured resin, timbre!
Lol, Thanks!
Eric I'm sure you've heard this before , dust your mould with baby powder , blow off access with compressed air . It won't affect the surface of the casting. It is just another way of breaking the surface tension . I have made moulds the same size you have just used and using a heated mould with talc I had many perfect castings from it . I was using a quick set resin with no degassing , pressure or vibration .
he pobably needed the glossy finish of the original part since they look like sample pieces for automotive laquer
@@TheZahnputz talc doesn't affect the finish gloss or Matt .
@@glenfisher728 sorry but i've actually used talcum for that purpose (matt finish).. but it would actually be great to know how to avoid that - do you maybe have a video link?
wait that may have been bs. i was using transluzent resin so the matt finish was probably due to the added particles, not the surface
@@TheZahnputz the surface finish on the master is what matters, the RTV will replicate the finish . I have used translucent resin with the mould coated in talc with excellent results. No video , have done any casting but getting back in go it now. Just got a vacuum chamber and am in the process of building a pressure pot , not one of those crappy paint pot conversions. Have been moulding and casting for a hobby for close to 35 years and still learning .
I like to talc all my moulds.helps with the surface tension.
he probably needed a glossy finsish
Wondering if I can use my massager on the table to see if the bubbles will subside. Just a thought! My budget for new equipment is nonexistant...
Sure, try it
How funny, I am just making my first mold and epoxy lens. Just today actually. And I came up with the same idea when I saw bubbles in the silicone. What I did was simply holding my grinder against the mold for 20 secs on every side. That seems to do a lot too. I work in construction and there we use vibration in concrete preparation, so that's how I came up with it. You think does the job?
I heat the mold and the resin, then degass the resin for a minute, pour it and vibrate with an acuarium pump placed near the mold.
Have you thought about a splash guard for your vacuum pot lid? Those bubbles don't splatter much when popped, but it builds up over time.
How long did you use the vibration plate for? Thanks.
While I am pouring the resin and then another 20 seconds, depends on the resin actually
@@EricStrebel Thanks you.
Eric, thanks for sharing so much casting information with the rest of us. I am casting a long 32" x 8" width- it has curves and undercuts- question is how do I create the part line? What do I place in the bottom half of the mold while I am pouring the top half? Do you have a video already dealing with this sort of product, if so would you send me the link?
Will it work for polyurethane rubber as well? Thanks
A 6:05 you said that you noticed it speeds up the cure time significantly because of the vibration. I believe you and I don't have a vibration table to confirm, but in my opinion you significantly sped up the cure time with the vacuum chamber process, more-so than the vibration table.
I am very curious to know your opinion on which sped it up more, because I just got my vacuum chamber running and I just switched to smooth-cast 326 to have a longer pot life than smooth-cast 325. I usually use my pressure pot for bubbles and I was just getting familiar with my new pot life when I decided I had enough time to vacuum AND pressurize. First thing I noticed was it was firing off much quicker and it was because of the vacuum. I managed to get it into the mold and pressurize it and it looked much clearer in the end so I was happy about that, although if it ruins my pot life, it is entirely unnecessary. Maybe I should vacuum parts A and B separately and mix a tiny bit slower to avoid introducing bubbles to begin with?
I have a question for you about silicone. I was using Mold Max 14NV and 29NV to avoid the vacuum chamber, opting for a pressure pot, when I started. I now have Mold Star 20T which requires a vacuum process. The Mold Max had a pot life of 40 minutes but now I have 6 minutes with Mold Star.
My question is, can I cool my silicone down in the freezer to gain some pot life? How cold is too cold?
The vacuum process does not seem to affect the pot life or cure time of platinum cure silicone, but it does for urethane resins.
I would have liked to see you pressurize this casting with that funky but effective mold setup :).
I think the vibration table is only critically important while the resin is first pouring over and touching the surface initially.
I'm going to build a single speed vibration table from wood and a vibration motor :)
Typically, you will see pot life reduction of a material under vacuum due to having a concentrated mass sitting there, reacting, and the exotherm building higher and higher. It has nothing to do with the vacuum process, or bubbles forming. The bubbles under vacuum are simply trapped air escaping. It is not causing heating of the material. The material is heating all by itself due to chemical exotherm. If you mix material and immediately pour it into a closed mold with a thinner wall section to reduce it's concentrated mass, the gel time is much longer than mixed material sitting there for 30-90 seconds in a mixing cup waiting for it to degas. Hope that helps.
Good info! Thanks for the reply, always appreciated 👍
Is a dental vibrator like a transducer? Ultra sonic vibrator.
Not sure...
Didn't sound like it. Ultra- often means beyond human perception.
Hi Eric, very interesting option not having to use a pressure pot for a starter. The brands for silicone and resins are not the same as in Europe. Is there any video or info on specs on different resins/silicone so I know what to look for when reseraching brands available in Europe?
Nope, sorry don't have any for ya
The frequency of your vibrator is important... some like it high some low. Different strokes for different folks.
What is the product?
(though, it looks like something i've seen car paint companies use to show how different colours will look on a real car)
Correct
Thanks!
Your welcome
Any tips on how to make a 2 part mold out of resin so they won't stick to each other? So I can cast silicone instead
Yes, use a flexible polyurethane
@@EricStrebel I know but I'm saying like how I make the resin not bond together? Do I use vaseline like a 2 part silicone mold?
No release agent is needed nothing sticks to silicone except silicone
Great video. Can you use an instant pot to degass your resin? Wondering if that would work as a cheaper setup.
An instapot is a pressure device, I don't think it would be enough pressure like a pressure tank would.
Great video. Interesting and useful. Always improving the process. Mahalo for sharing! : )
Maybe this has been asked before in a different video , but everytime I see him working on this part I wonder what it is. It kind of looks like a futuristic car to me.
It is a color model, yes it is an abstract future vehicle
Friend thank you for the video. Unfortunately I had to skip through it. However I did like and will probably subscribe. So was your conclusion yes, vibration does remove bubbles from resin? Thanks a lot!!.. :))............
Just curious why you wouldn't just cast this part in an open mold seeing as it's solid?
Consistency, the part actualy gets a cork bottom glued to it.
@@EricStrebel even more reason to use an open mold. Not trying to tell you how to do your work but I think you have made your job a lot more complicated than it needs to be. A little background on me: I've been fascinated by plastics my entire life. I went to school for it in fact. I was an injection molding process technician for close to 30 years. I've been resin casting for close to 15 years now. I cast intricate parts with lots of detail. I'm currently working on a 1/8th scale version of the Lincoln flathead V12 engine that has over 100 parts each engine. If I were to make that part I would make a rubber glove mold with a hard outer shell. It would be 1/3rd to 1/4 the cost of your molds. Using an open mold would eliminate the need to "inject" the resin and you'd be able to see any air bubbles and just release them with a stick. The "injection" is actually increasing the amount of bubbles through turbulence. Come look me up on Facebook groups HOTRODZRUS SCALE MODEL CARS to see what I do.
You can't get consistent parts with an open face mold. There's no two ways around it
@@EricStrebel okay. It's your business not mine. I'll go away now.
When you make hundreds of these you need them to be all the same and you cannot do that with an open-faced mold.
You tried this on clear parts would you think it get the bubbles out completely? Im tryna make my owe action figures but scared to convert or use a pressure pot myself
No, it will not work for clear resin, you will need a pressure tank for that
What a palm sander help?
Perhaps, but you have not control of the settings
You need just brushing
first