Props to this dude, responded to like 6 completely indecipherable comments politely and wanting to know what they meant. Thats patience i aspire to have some day.
Heck yeah! I actually found out about the Saturn engine blocks after I learned to do this method. Very interesting. I've seen another TH-camr make intake manifolds this way
@@HeinrichsMade I've been dreaming about making a Denture our of Beer can alloy using the lost wax, ao2 polystyrene, process. Your ideas would bebmuch appreciated.
I’m 61 as if lol, I had an 8th grade Metal Shop teacher who taught us this. Mr.Simpson he was one of the best teachers I had all the way through high school. Mr.Simpson taught us the proper 2 steal frames packed with sand with our styrofoam pattern between and a heavy powder between them so it could be separated. I made a belt buckle that said “KISS” the band of course lol. Anyway I really dig your short cut method pouring this mold. I have a suggestion I hope no one else has mentioned. I’m not a know it all or a smart ass I just would really like to give some advice that someone actually listened to and they benefited from. If you would put another piece of foam from the surface of the sand to the tip of your pattern it would vent like another sprue. You probably know this because you don’t pack the sand it allows for the pour to vent through the sand itself. That’s why it stops and then finishes the pour. With a vent you pour until it comes out the vent and you’re done. You could still not pack the sand. Ok that’s enough out of me., I’ve made lots of comments and no one’s ever responded to one. I went on to become a certified welder and retired in 32 years at 48. Which was great but I’m handicapped from the job lol. Any way I like your work Brother. Be safe and Godspeed.👍🏻
Thanks for the comment, and I will respond. I wish more people responded to you. 💯💯. I have tried the additional foam for venting before. It never really was needed tbh. Also it's good to hear you did this in school. I wish I did 😎. Now I learned to do this in my 30's and I'm happy I did.
Would there be a different process if one were casting cement instead of metal? I know you can't use a "lost" method as you must have an empty cavity for concrete.
@@SBUBandit it gives a barrier between the foam and the sand. This will leave you with an aluminum piece with the texture of the foam. If you don't with that drywall mud it will have the grain from the sand.
i seen MINI cylinder heads with Styrofoam structure and i thought that can't be, there must be residue, well now i know that it works. fascinating. is that just casting or pressurized?, the casting is flawless. the milled surfaces have zero imperfection. i might just not get my head around the Styrofoam weakness an therefore the casting sand strength dealing with the gases trying to escape, .. boom. if the sand let the gases escape, hallelujah.besides water and liquide aluminium is extremely reactive, what i read.
I have no idea how TH-cam decided to bring me to this of all things but this dude has the patience of a saint and is pretty chill from what the comments show. 10/10 find
I'm really impressed by the quality of that cast especially given how coarse some of that sand looked. I guess the drywall mud is helping a lot, pretty cool detail
@HeinrichsMade look into lost casting with a 3d printer. They're pretty cheap these days new and even cheaper used off of places like Facebook market place. There is free software for the work flow as well. You can make much more interesting and complex castings with one of those.
Casted aluminum like this in 8th grade shop class. Decades later I still have the pieces. Our high school had an actual "Machine Shop". Lathes, mills, etc, and a surface grinder. I made things that I still have and use today. Also studied machine shop and auto shop in junior college. Skills that I still use today. Then along came Computer Science and a new love was born 😊. Now retired but I can still hand sharpen a drill bit to perfection.
That's awesome!! I love that you still have the pieces. I had auto shop in high school. Metal class was probably taken out of schools by then. Auto shop definitely helped me for where I am today.
Oh man that looks wonderful, now hit it with a full coat of black paint before you brush on some metallic paint, the black will give it depth in the cracks and crevices and make it absolutely pop!
when I worked in a pattern shop as an apprentice one of the journeyman made a one shot casting of a hand carved carborator using dense styrofoam in a sand casting mold. The carving was for a mock up section of an engine that Pratt and Whitney was developing in the late 70s.
if anyone is interested, its called "lost foam casting". People use a very similar process with parts printed in PLA...though with PLA you have to actually burn it out before the metal goes in.
And you have to cast the PLA part in plaster first, then bake out the PLA in a messy process, burn it out if complex which smell horrible, THEN attempt the casting.
@@echonovember636 someone had a bad experience.... if you got a quicker way to get 3d printed level detail & precision out of a casting, I'm all ears? ps...I think they use ceramic, not plaster...but maybe people use both, I'm not all knowing.
@@mtraven23 Perhaps you could take the 3D printed part, make a quick mold of it, then fill it with expanding foam and do the process in the video? Or maybe just print the mold rather than the object and fill the printed mold with the expanding foam, then do the method in the video.
@@TryAgainPlease might be an interesting experiment, but I can all but guarantee it wont work. Expanding foam is polyurethane, air & some flame retardants. It wont burn out cleanly like the styrofoam does.
I love this technique. It's super easy and you can get creative. Check out my 2014 lost foam casting playlist th-cam.com/play/PLrdcGmB7TsJYCzEWHsFrybscmCuXEbB8V.html&feature=shared
Wax was used for many centuries to achieve the same thing. If you use green sand with enough moisture to make it hold together the finish of the casting will be far better defined
@@ronaldmcdonald8894 Yes. I've seen tons of castings done and I've never seen any plaster use. Very fine sand mixed with oil and packed as tightly as possible is what everyone recommends. The older method is called lost-wax casting. This is lost foam. With the right sand and oil and the right technique, you can pour directly into the sand without destroying the wax or foam. It's a different technique where you make a mold in the sand and remove the original object. I think the plaster slows down part of the process but It saved time because he used dry sand that's obviously a mixture. Dry sand pours very easily. Oil-sand mixtures have to be packed a bit forcefully or you have air pockets which deform your casting.
@@brookelord3448 That is the same thing I determined as well. I want to try the same type of product but instead of CNC and foam I will use a hollow version of a master using a 3d printer. Instead of encasing in sand and pounding I wil dip the part into a ceramic slurry, sprinkle with silica sand, re-dip, re-sprinkle. repeat. The ceramic slurry is too expensie though. Ther is a really good video on youtube, just search lost PLA casting. The vid I watched looked like a South American bust .
@@HeinrichsMade Thank you, have you ever lookied into the lost pla casting? You can get a good Ender 3 printer for $300 new and print whatever you want to cast. Doen't mean it will work but you can try anything. The most interesting technique I saw with the lost PLA was to use a creamic slurry dip, spinkled with silica sand, allowed to dry and redip until enough layers have been added so it wont beak. There are a couple vids using that technique but the slurry is expensive. Another method was to print hollow with thin walls, push it down into a container with joint compound or plaster of paris, allow to dry, turn upside down and bake the pla out of the mold then cast.
@@ronaldmcdonald8894 I actually purchase an ender 3 a few years back. I wasn't happy with it. Also lost pla as you said requires a ceramic slurry. I have looked it up and it is very expensive. I might try it out in the future.
Ive seen the movies so many times and it's close but the predators only had to spear tips on it. This honestly would have been cooler. I'm assuming you mean predator 2, cause they made a big deal out of the spear tip Danny found at the room full of Jamacians.
Interesting that you don't vibrate the can, or stamp down the sand to make it more dense. Why's that? Does it not make a difference for these molds, or even lead to adverse effects for the resulting product? Also why such rough sand and not crushed sand or even powdered sand? Do they not work as well, or is it a price thing?
I do actually vibrate the container. It should be vibrated to get the sand into all the areas. The sand isn't a big deal, but it should be small. The plaster coating I added to the foam helps give it a better finish.
In model railroading this technique has been used for years to cast small detail parts. The sand used is almost a talc and the lost original is made from bee's wax. The mold in those cases are filled with brass.
@@johnholder9062 They're describing lost wax casting. And gold/jewelry is generally investment cast. (Wax master is coated with thin plaster/porcelain and fine fine sand in layers to build up a shell. The shell is then fired upside down so the wax is burned out.)
@@HeinrichsMade You may be right for most people, but I am highly reactive to these fumes. It is a great technique but I would only do it outside where I could escape the fumes.
This is a great no nonsense approach. Really simplified this. What is needed now is a 3D printing filament that can be burnt off by the molten alloy like styrofoam can.
I've watched another YT video that made a plaster cast of a 3D printed part, then placed the mold into an oven for an entire day to melt out the plastic.
@@HeinrichsMade to be honest im not a professional, ive just seen it in other casts. Probably about the the geometry, small tubes where air could not get past the liquid metal or parts that go back up from the main part and could create pockets of air
We did this in 7th grade shop class. Learned to arc weld and wood working also. Had a great teacher, Mr. Ellis. Thought about him a lot, and the basics he taught us.
It is a miniature 1 handed mace. Not a replica of anything though. However a few weeks ago I made a full size replica of the Azog mace from The Hobbit. th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
Thank you. I worked in a bronze foundry years ago, Frank La Hay Metal Works, Sonoma, California. We did sand casting for markers, plaques and cemetary urns; even a run of belt buckles for Sebastiani Winery. I'm versed in the process and remain puzzled as to how the drywall layer is "vaporized." Nice work. Subscribed.
What type of casting did you do? Sand Casting with water bond sand or oil bond sand? The drywall mud is only there to give the final cast a smooth finish when cast. Since it does burn away it leaves a barrier between the foam and the sand.
Very very neat, quite cool. Never considered this process. Perhaps I’ll have to give it a whirl. Do you have videos on how you made the part out of polystyrene?
most of my long format videos I include how I make the foam. Here is a video only on making something out of foam. th-cam.com/video/toDnO36Z8-o/w-d-xo.html
I worked bench for a jewelry store. I've done tons of lost wax casting with gold,silver but never lost foam!! Investment casting gets expensive so this is really interesting!
Oh thats genius! That probably saves so much work on making molds for single items too! I wish my schooling could've had any metallurgy but i was stuck with woodshop, the budget just wasn't there for metalwork. Very cool video anyway! Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks! Yeah lost foam casting is great. I didn't have metal shop in school 20 years ago either. Only wood shop. Nowadays, I don't think they have metal shop. For safety reasons I'm sure.
Plaster of Paris is the absolute best for casting.. people have been using it for jewelry making for hundreds of years, even to this day. It breaks down easily with water after casting and is the best for minimizing porosity.
I know the molten medal vaporizes the foam but wouldn't the chemical mix left behind from the foam leach into the metal, creating a weaker material to work with or does it just leak off into the sand leaving behind the metal?
No, unfortunately pla does not vaporize like foam. To do pla it requires a different process. It needs to be in a ceramic or casting plaster shell and burned out with high heat for 24h before pouring.
An interesting variation of the ‘lost wax’ casting method that has been used for several millennia (as far back as 3000 BCE). Normally, the sand or earth needed to be packed around the sacrificial original to prevent voids in it. Using the drywall mud coating on the outside must provide a bit of a protective shell while using fine sand around it would provide support to reduce blowouts.
👍👍👍. The drywall does technically act as a barrier, but is not strong enough to prevent blowouts using heavy metal. Using it helps preserve the finish of the foam.
I do not believe it creates air pockets in the metal. This technique is used to make some automotive parts. I think the gasses are escaping from the sand
GM made saturn engines basically the same way. I saw engine blocks, heads and other parts made out of styrofoam. If you look at a saturn block you can see the pebble foam finish on the outside.
The more general term is investment casting. Quoting the Wikipedia article on that: "Investment casting has been used in various forms for the last 5,000 years." The use of plastic is just a variation.
Gotta love good ol' sand casting. When I was in kindergatren we would do this with milk jugs to cast wet sand, then make candles. Later in life came lost wax and silver, along with lead D&D minis. :)
We did sand casting in a boat building class I took. We used bronze. It was a really fascinating process. The two sand halves could only create a limited smoothness to final casting. I read that once you seperate the 2 halves you can spray a sugar solution on the surfaces that will see metal. I cant remember but I think it was maybe 10 20 or 30% sugar to water. Once dried the sugar when exposed to the hot metal melts smoothing out the surface of your casting. Pretty fun process. You can make a small furnace pretty easily if you take an interest.
Very cool! I do 2 part green sand casting as well. I actually have a bid coming out next week doing green sand casting. I've never heard of spraying sugar water on hot metal. You say you did it with brass. I wonder what it does to aluminum
My brother-in-law used to work for Saturn, in the prototyping plant. He showed me the "Lost Foam" molds that they used to cast their engine blocks. If you look at one of those old engines, they have a styrofoam pattern in the aluminum.
The metal cools really quickly. I´d assume it will start to solidify after the first contact with the sand, form a plug and never reach the bottom of the foam model. How is this possible? Was the sand pre-heated somehow?
That is super fantastic and I've been going down the road of creating a furnace for the last few years developing my idea and now adding this to it really pushes me in a direction that I previously wasn't quite sure how to go about without using wax
So does the vapor from the foam just travel up through the molten metal and release into the air? Or does it get stuck in the metal or something? I never thought of this being a thing, awesome vid
As far as I know, that is what happens. This technique was used to make Saturn Automotive engine blocks in the 90's. You should google search it. People to this day still use this process for automotive parts.
This is exactly how we used to cast API612 centrifugal end suction pumps with molten steel - it would have additional thermite feeders to ensure porosity only occurred outside the part. As a consequence the mass ratio of part to scrap was approx 1:2. Pouring had to take less than 10 seconds for 300kg molten steel to ensure the cast filled uniformly. It was fun to watch!
Basis is the Lost Wax process. The oldest known examples of this technique are approx 6,500 years old (4550-4450 BC) and attributed to gold artefacts found at Bulgaria's Varna Necropolis.
@@HeinrichsMade that’s what i am scratching my head over. Burnt up and gone where? Not even a single residue? You would think it would get mixed with the aluminium or something
No, but that's cool! I recently made a full siW mace of the Azog mace from The Hobbit th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.html. I decided to modify it and make a small version ofnitm
Wow, that’s so cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these videos as cool as this one. It’s crazy how the aluminum “vaporizes “the Styrofoam so quickly that the sand around it doesn’t even have time to fill the void.
@@HeinrichsMade I know it takes a lot of time for you to respond to all these comments, it’s really cool that he take time to do that. I love your channel.
@@pauljarrell8162 thank you so much! I do try my best to respond to everyone. However, I do know in a few years when I grow even bigger and have a ton more videos up. It will be almost impossible.
now I'm trying to think how to create interesting remarkable sand/glass with aluminum ' crazing ' being an actual framework /structure- semi translucent ,filled with scented wax ( natural scents ) with attached aluminum unpatterned lace-like dome or cap ( safety feature for pets , kids etc around lit candles ) sell with catalog of mail order wax refill kits could also have chain hangars, stands, hand held/ table, wall sconce options offered, ren faire sales would be great! don't mind me, I have memory issues from death & coma after defibrillator revival, if I don't note things right away & screen shot, it's gone! no need to reply, thanks for the inspiration!
If you want a better surface finish on your lost foam castings, use some wax to fill in those little pores on the foam surface. You can get lost foam to look really good if you take care in making the pattern as clean and smooth as possible. You could also use some additional venting to let that vaporized foam gas out and allow the melt to fill the cavity better.
You should add a gate (like a straw) to one of the sides to allow the air to escape as you pour. It would give a better finish and avoid any under cuts. Otherwise, great job!
If you liked this video, I'm sure you will Love this one:
th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.html
@@HeinrichsMade I'd like your videos more IF you say Aluminium 😉
@@HeinrichsMade sure I will
Hi, I run a foundry, we cast bronze and aluminum. Curious, what furnace is that? Love the crucible shape.
@@natedawg2p I'm going to say it sometime and see what reactions I get from fellow Americans 😂😂
@@failgg oh this video is just an electric furnace
Props to this dude, responded to like 6 completely indecipherable comments politely and wanting to know what they meant. Thats patience i aspire to have some day.
@@miles11we 😭🤖
A bottle opener
And yet he didnt respond to Yours. ;c
@@sonamadik3851 he wants to keep it professional, liking this hurts his image
This has to be a bot comment, right? To get people to look through and find the comments?
Lost foam molds. Saturn Motors used this method for their engine blocks. At the time, it was a great innovation. Nice job here.
Those engines are legendary. Last I knew, the toughest engine blocks to get are the Chevy 454 and the Saturn SL. He said they just don't go bad.
Heck yeah! I actually found out about the Saturn engine blocks after I learned to do this method. Very interesting. I've seen another TH-camr make intake manifolds this way
@@robertthomas5906 the Chevy 454 is called the “rat” motor because it’s a thin walled cast block
You can see the pattern of the cells on the block.
@@robertthomas5906 but Saturn's auto transmissions all came with a self destruct feature if you spin the tires
I wish more shorts were like this:
Informative
Interesting
No obnoxious music
And a finished story with no parts 2,3, etc that we have to look for.
I'm glad you liked it. I want to make videos people would enjoy watching. Not clickbait
There's a lot of rewatch-value that way
@@HeinrichsMade
I've been dreaming about making a Denture our of Beer can alloy using the lost wax, ao2 polystyrene, process. Your ideas would bebmuch appreciated.
@@GerardVaughan-qe7ml I haven't done lost wax yet, but I do plan to give it a go. Thanks, I hope my videos have helped you.
@@HeinrichsMade yes you did, what you're doing with styrofoam is "lost wax" (though with more noxious fumes)
You know what works better than fine sand? Aquarium sand. That stuff is super fine and gives a really fine finish to castings.
I don't think it would change much because there is already the drywall mud coating.
“Girrrl, you as fine as aquarium sand!”
I’m 61 as if lol, I had an 8th grade Metal Shop teacher who taught us this. Mr.Simpson he was one of the best teachers I had all the way through high school. Mr.Simpson taught us the proper 2 steal frames packed with sand with our styrofoam pattern between and a heavy powder between them so it could be separated.
I made a belt buckle that said “KISS” the band of course lol. Anyway I really dig your short cut method pouring this mold. I have a suggestion I hope no one else has mentioned. I’m not a know it all or a smart ass I just would really like to give some advice that someone actually listened to and they benefited from. If you would put another piece of foam from the surface of the sand to the tip of your pattern it would vent like another sprue. You probably know this because you don’t pack the sand it allows for the pour to vent through the sand itself. That’s why it stops and then finishes the pour. With a vent you pour until it comes out the vent and you’re done. You could still not pack the sand.
Ok that’s enough out of me., I’ve made lots of comments and no one’s ever responded to one. I went on to become a certified welder and retired in 32 years at 48. Which was great but I’m handicapped from the job lol. Any way I like your work Brother. Be safe and Godspeed.👍🏻
Thanks for the comment, and I will respond. I wish more people responded to you. 💯💯. I have tried the additional foam for venting before. It never really was needed tbh. Also it's good to hear you did this in school. I wish I did 😎. Now I learned to do this in my 30's and I'm happy I did.
Would there be a different process if one were casting cement instead of metal? I know you can't use a "lost" method as you must have an empty cavity for concrete.
@@ArcadesSabbouth I am not sure, but you are correct that you'd need an empty cavity.
Tf is this? A recipe?
A kiss belt buckle, eh? You definitely could have been pals with my dad. And now I’m inspired to make one! Thank you for the tale, sir.
Drywall mud!!!! I've done this many times I've never used that, absolutely brilliant!!
I'm glad you learned something new 💯💯💯. Try it out!
Just curious, what is the purpose of the drywall mud?
@@SBUBandit it gives a barrier between the foam and the sand. This will leave you with an aluminum piece with the texture of the foam. If you don't with that drywall mud it will have the grain from the sand.
Fascinating stuff. I learned something new😀
@@unclechuck5635 AWESOME!!!
Its called ”lost foam” for anyone wondering
@@lukasohlund Saturn used this method to cast their aluminum engine blocks - it's both highly accurate and very sutomatable.
@@Changtent Drop forged? No...
@@johnpalmer3848 It's not forgeing, it's casting.
Actually it's called lost form. Or Investment casting, since the original mold shape can be reused over and over.
i seen MINI cylinder heads with Styrofoam structure and i thought that can't be, there must be residue, well now i know that it works. fascinating. is that just casting or pressurized?, the casting is flawless. the milled surfaces have zero imperfection. i might just not get my head around the Styrofoam weakness an therefore the casting sand strength dealing with the gases trying to escape, .. boom.
if the sand let the gases escape, hallelujah.besides water and liquide aluminium is extremely reactive, what i read.
I have no idea how TH-cam decided to bring me to this of all things but this dude has the patience of a saint and is pretty chill from what the comments show. 10/10 find
Well I'm glad TH-cam showed you my video. Appreciate you 👍👍
@@HeinrichsMade I'm glad too. Keep doing what you're doing, brother. 👍
I got here from "Soul Food". Go figure!
Thanks for actually EXPLAINING what the heck is happening unlike everyone else. Bravo 👏
Thanks! I make a ton of these videos in long form. I probably explain it better in those. I appreciate your comment and thanks 👍
Thanks as well for not telling your entire life story before getting to how you made the part!
@@dolfinwriter5389 what do you mean about people telling their life story?
@@HeinrichsMade I mean super long videos that run 20 minutes where maybe 30 seconds address the title of the video.
@@dolfinwriter5389 lol oh yeah, I see what you mean. Thankfully we have the ability to skip through the video instead of watching the entire thing.
Vaporizes and replaces the foam! So Cool!
👍👍👍👍👍
THIS is why we need to bring shop class back to public schools.
exactly right!!!
we did this in metal shop class in 1985...lol
@@crashalexander7232 1985 🔥🔥🔥
Did sand casting in industrial arts in 1975!
We need to get education back into the schools!
@@Rick-np9vz 100% education is going woke
I'm really impressed by the quality of that cast especially given how coarse some of that sand looked. I guess the drywall mud is helping a lot, pretty cool detail
Yes the drywall is the barrier between the foam and the sand. This gives the finish cast the smoothie of the foam
I didn't know that's how that worked.... WOW!!! Thanks Dude
yeah its super easy. check out my 2024 lost foam casting projects:
th-cam.com/play/PLrdcGmB7TsJYCzEWHsFrybscmCuXEbB8V.html
@HeinrichsMade look into lost casting with a 3d printer. They're pretty cheap these days new and even cheaper used off of places like Facebook market place. There is free software for the work flow as well. You can make much more interesting and complex castings with one of those.
@@HeinrichsMade so what did you end up using that for? 🤔
@@michaelz6870 to add to my collection of things for when I die people say wtf? Haha
Casted aluminum like this in 8th grade shop class. Decades later I still have the pieces.
Our high school had an actual "Machine Shop". Lathes, mills, etc, and a surface grinder. I made things that I still have and use today. Also studied machine shop and auto shop in junior college. Skills that I still use today. Then along came Computer Science and a new love was born 😊. Now retired but I can still hand sharpen a drill bit to perfection.
That's awesome!! I love that you still have the pieces.
I had auto shop in high school. Metal class was probably taken out of schools by then. Auto shop definitely helped me for where I am today.
Same! I actually studied machine tool technology and welding in the same high school shops where my dad and the teacher got their certifications.
@@rkgaustin very cool, machine tool technology wasn't available for me either 🤔
Ngl this shit slaps. Whoever said "let's try this" is a G
no kidding!!!
Oh man that looks wonderful, now hit it with a full coat of black paint before you brush on some metallic paint, the black will give it depth in the cracks and crevices and make it absolutely pop!
Yeah that would be wild!I love the recessed black look . I did that in a recent video
th-cam.com/video/BusVpnDdJ_I/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
@@HeinrichsMade absolutely awesome! Phenomenal work. +subscribed!
@@xeddiustripp6398 thank you so much 🙏🙏
when I worked in a pattern shop as an apprentice one of the journeyman made a one shot casting of a hand carved carborator using dense styrofoam in a sand casting mold. The carving was for a mock up section of an engine that Pratt and Whitney was developing in the late 70s.
That's awesome! Yeah this is a dense foam it is polystyrene XPS. It's probably the same stuff he used
To anyone wondering, brass can be used also, and with the right 4 finger ring mold.....
Yes you sure can. I have a video here of me doing brass: th-cam.com/video/9Lx0tnHAhhA/w-d-xo.html
@@HeinrichsMade thank you for sharing! I loved the medallion!
You'd think that the sand would just collapse as the polystyrene is melted. I did not expect such a perfect casting. Nice work and thanks for sharing!
Yeah it's pretty cool how it works. 💯💯💯
This brought me back To The King of Random Grant Thompson backyard metal foundry . Thanks for the memory
Happy to do it 👍👍
You are the reason my lights dim every evening !
Haha yeah right
if anyone is interested, its called "lost foam casting". People use a very similar process with parts printed in PLA...though with PLA you have to actually burn it out before the metal goes in.
And you have to cast the PLA part in plaster first, then bake out the PLA in a messy process, burn it out if complex which smell horrible, THEN attempt the casting.
@@echonovember636 someone had a bad experience....
if you got a quicker way to get 3d printed level detail & precision out of a casting, I'm all ears?
ps...I think they use ceramic, not plaster...but maybe people use both, I'm not all knowing.
@@mtraven23 Perhaps you could take the 3D printed part, make a quick mold of it, then fill it with expanding foam and do the process in the video? Or maybe just print the mold rather than the object and fill the printed mold with the expanding foam, then do the method in the video.
@@TryAgainPlease might be an interesting experiment, but I can all but guarantee it wont work.
Expanding foam is polyurethane, air & some flame retardants. It wont burn out cleanly like the styrofoam does.
@@mtraven23 Hmmm... good point. Would be interesting to see what the result would be like nonetheless.
Awesome video and technique. Thanks for sharing and I'm going to have to try this.
I love this technique. It's super easy and you can get creative. Check out my 2014 lost foam casting playlist
th-cam.com/play/PLrdcGmB7TsJYCzEWHsFrybscmCuXEbB8V.html&feature=shared
Now that….is an effective, straightforward approach to fabricate metal! I love it!
Glad you like it!
Wax was used for many centuries to achieve the same thing. If you use green sand with enough moisture to make it hold together the finish of the casting will be far better defined
You turned foam into…. A gas. Nothing else. You molded aluminum in its place.
Cool video. That last line got me though haha
if a finer sand were used and the sand were packed would there be a need to cover the master with drywall mud?
@@ronaldmcdonald8894 Yes. I've seen tons of castings done and I've never seen any plaster use. Very fine sand mixed with oil and packed as tightly as possible is what everyone recommends.
The older method is called lost-wax casting. This is lost foam. With the right sand and oil and the right technique, you can pour directly into the sand without destroying the wax or foam. It's a different technique where you make a mold in the sand and remove the original object.
I think the plaster slows down part of the process but It saved time because he used dry sand that's obviously a mixture. Dry sand pours very easily. Oil-sand mixtures have to be packed a bit forcefully or you have air pockets which deform your casting.
@@brookelord3448 That is the same thing I determined as well. I want to try the same type of product but instead of CNC and foam I will use a hollow version of a master using a 3d printer. Instead of encasing in sand and pounding I wil dip the part into a ceramic slurry, sprinkle with silica sand, re-dip, re-sprinkle. repeat. The ceramic slurry is too expensie though. Ther is a really good video on youtube, just search lost PLA casting. The vid I watched looked like a South American bust .
I am not sure but you probably wouldn't need the plaster coating with really find sand. It is only there to give a good smooth finish
@@HeinrichsMade Thank you, have you ever lookied into the lost pla casting? You can get a good Ender 3 printer for $300 new and print whatever you want to cast. Doen't mean it will work but you can try anything. The most interesting technique I saw with the lost PLA was to use a creamic slurry dip, spinkled with silica sand, allowed to dry and redip until enough layers have been added so it wont beak. There are a couple vids using that technique but the slurry is expensive. Another method was to print hollow with thin walls, push it down into a container with joint compound or plaster of paris, allow to dry, turn upside down and bake the pla out of the mold then cast.
@@ronaldmcdonald8894 I actually purchase an ender 3 a few years back. I wasn't happy with it. Also lost pla as you said requires a ceramic slurry. I have looked it up and it is very expensive. I might try it out in the future.
That's actually the first gen. spear tip thingy they found in the Predator movie.
Ive seen the movies so many times and it's close but the predators only had to spear tips on it. This honestly would have been cooler. I'm assuming you mean predator 2, cause they made a big deal out of the spear tip Danny found at the room full of Jamacians.
@@FRANK45CASTLE Yes, the 2nd one. It had almost no weight. 😃
guessing its the mace from LOTR
Was looking for this comment!! I thought so!! Predator II.
“Want some Candy?”
@rustyforceps1012 kkkk click hummz candy?
Interesting that you don't vibrate the can, or stamp down the sand to make it more dense. Why's that?
Does it not make a difference for these molds, or even lead to adverse effects for the resulting product?
Also why such rough sand and not crushed sand or even powdered sand? Do they not work as well, or is it a price thing?
I do actually vibrate the container.
It should be vibrated to get the sand into all the areas.
The sand isn't a big deal, but it should be small. The plaster coating I added to the foam helps give it a better finish.
Jewelery makers used the " lost wax" method to cast findings. Wax instead of foam.
In model railroading this technique has been used for years to cast small detail parts. The sand used is almost a talc and the lost original is made from bee's wax. The mold in those cases are filled with brass.
All beeswax? Seems like a better option for casting gold than foam and drywall mudd.
@@johnholder9062 They're describing lost wax casting. And gold/jewelry is generally investment cast. (Wax master is coated with thin plaster/porcelain and fine fine sand in layers to build up a shell. The shell is then fired upside down so the wax is burned out.)
Awsome Finnished product mate!
Polystyrene fumes fast road to cancer though.
True, but I think that would need to be something to worry about if you do it often.
@@HeinrichsMade You may be right for most people, but I am highly reactive to these fumes. It is a great technique but I would only do it outside where I could escape the fumes.
Cigarettes cause cancer. Not one cigarette ever caused cancer but years of smoking does
Hendricks,
Thank you.
If this inflation keeps going ... this might be the solution to finding parts .
Just make sure to account for shrinkage on your foam. I believe the aluminum is 1.5% smaller than the foam after it's cast.
This is a great no nonsense approach.
Really simplified this.
What is needed now is a 3D printing filament that can be burnt off by the molten alloy like styrofoam can.
Facts!!!
I've watched another YT video that made a plaster cast of a 3D printed part, then placed the mold into an oven for an entire day to melt out the plastic.
@@tempeleng yes lost pla requires you to burn out the plastic with an oven or similar. The Molten metal won't melt the plastic.
Makes sense. Thanks for AN ACTUALLY USEFUL tip/ trick!
What is it?
just a mini mace head
@@HeinrichsMadenot to be confused with a tiny foul mouthed Mace Windoo
@@ronaldmcdonald8894😂
With more complex casts be sure to add air channels
How complex? This one worked great
th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
@@HeinrichsMade to be honest im not a professional, ive just seen it in other casts. Probably about the the geometry, small tubes where air could not get past the liquid metal or parts that go back up from the main part and could create pockets of air
@@the_retag I agree 👍 there is a guy @kellycoffield533 who makes intakes. I think I've seen him use small channels in his casts
When I worked in defense we had to 100% x-Ray the castings we bought for porosity. Those were machine gun components about the size of a VHS tape.
@@Flannelsurfer Thats really cool! I never knew you could x-ray a metal casting to see the porosity. 👍
We did this in 7th grade shop class. Learned to arc weld and wood working also. Had a great teacher, Mr. Ellis. Thought about him a lot, and the basics he taught us.
Very cool! I wish I learned it in high school. I doubt they teach it anymore.
1 hand mace from World of Warcraft.
It is a miniature 1 handed mace. Not a replica of anything though.
However a few weeks ago I made a full size replica of the Azog mace from The Hobbit.
th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared
How fossils are made: disintegrating soft stuff leaves a hole in sediment, and harder stuff takes its place and shape.
Research hydrophilic substitution
I'll keep the cats out of the sand 💥💥💥
😂😂😂
Haitian?
I took a foundry class going through college and it was a BLAST!
I bet it was. I wish I got into doing this at a younger age.
Thank you. I worked in a bronze foundry years ago, Frank La Hay Metal Works, Sonoma, California. We did sand casting for markers, plaques and cemetary urns; even a run of belt buckles for Sebastiani Winery.
I'm versed in the process and remain puzzled as to how the drywall layer is "vaporized."
Nice work. Subscribed.
What type of casting did you do? Sand Casting with water bond sand or oil bond sand? The drywall mud is only there to give the final cast a smooth finish when cast. Since it does burn away it leaves a barrier between the foam and the sand.
does the melted foam mix with the aluminum changing its molecular structure?
I don't think so. They used top make automotive parts with this method and I believe still do
Very very neat, quite cool. Never considered this process. Perhaps I’ll have to give it a whirl. Do you have videos on how you made the part out of polystyrene?
most of my long format videos I include how I make the foam. Here is a video only on making something out of foam.
th-cam.com/video/toDnO36Z8-o/w-d-xo.html
@@HeinrichsMade Wow, thanks for the link
Simple process, yet mind blowing...
Super simple and yes so mind blowing 😁
All I can say is, NICE bro?! It’s really an interesting reality. I’ll be watching more of your videos. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. 🙏🙏
I worked bench for a jewelry store. I've done tons of lost wax casting with gold,silver but never lost foam!!
Investment casting gets expensive so this is really interesting!
I'm sure casting with wax can be very expensive. But you can't make small intricate things from foam like you can wax.
Dude thank you I feel like I’m a semi smart person but for some reason my brain can’t comprehend casting but this is simple!!!! Thank you!!!
I am glad to have taught you something new
Oh thats genius! That probably saves so much work on making molds for single items too!
I wish my schooling could've had any metallurgy but i was stuck with woodshop, the budget just wasn't there for metalwork.
Very cool video anyway! Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks! Yeah lost foam casting is great. I didn't have metal shop in school 20 years ago either. Only wood shop. Nowadays, I don't think they have metal shop. For safety reasons I'm sure.
This, is actually brilliant. Never considered foam as a inverse mold.
👍👍👍
Other than the electric furnace, looks like the rest of the materials you might have on hand. Pretty cool
Plaster of Paris is the absolute best for casting.. people have been using it for jewelry making for hundreds of years, even to this day. It breaks down easily with water after casting and is the best for minimizing porosity.
I know the molten medal vaporizes the foam but wouldn't the chemical mix left behind from the foam leach into the metal, creating a weaker material to work with or does it just leak off into the sand leaving behind the metal?
I don't think so. This process was and still is used to make engine parts
So cool! Would this work with some kind of 3d printed material? For example, would PLA vaporize and be replaced?
No, unfortunately pla does not vaporize like foam. To do pla it requires a different process. It needs to be in a ceramic or casting plaster shell and burned out with high heat for 24h before pouring.
I think you just changed the trajectory of my life, thanks m8
That is awesome to hear 🤘🤘🤘. If you liked this video, check out this full video of a full size mace
th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.html
An interesting variation of the ‘lost wax’ casting method that has been used for several millennia (as far back as 3000 BCE). Normally, the sand or earth needed to be packed around the sacrificial original to prevent voids in it. Using the drywall mud coating on the outside must provide a bit of a protective shell while using fine sand around it would provide support to reduce blowouts.
👍👍👍. The drywall does technically act as a barrier, but is not strong enough to prevent blowouts using heavy metal. Using it helps preserve the finish of the foam.
Does this work better than the tightly packed sand/cavity method?
Boat types of methods serve their purpose. I wouldn't say better
Doesn't the vaporized foam create air pockets in the metal, or other impurities? Does does the sand help it vent out the gasses well enough?
I do not believe it creates air pockets in the metal. This technique is used to make some automotive parts. I think the gasses are escaping from the sand
GM made saturn engines basically the same way. I saw engine blocks, heads and other parts made out of styrofoam. If you look at a saturn block you can see the pebble foam finish on the outside.
yeah i read that. I think that is super cool.
I like it. It's cleverly gratifying in neatly fabricating a specific metal product. 👏🏻
I am glad you like it. Thank you for commenting and showing your appreciation. 👍👍
Great video. What is the purpose of the drywall mud?
Thank you! The drywall mud coating keeps the fishing big the foam. Without it you would get a rough finish because of the sand
@@HeinrichsMade thanks!
The more general term is investment casting. Quoting the Wikipedia article on that: "Investment casting has been used in various forms for the last 5,000 years." The use of plastic is just a variation.
Gotta love good ol' sand casting. When I was in kindergatren we would do this with milk jugs to cast wet sand, then make candles. Later in life came lost wax and silver, along with lead D&D minis. :)
We did sand casting in a boat building class I took. We used bronze. It was a really fascinating process. The two sand halves could only create a limited smoothness to final casting. I read that once you seperate the 2 halves you can spray a sugar solution on the surfaces that will see metal. I cant remember but I think it was maybe 10 20 or 30% sugar to water. Once dried the sugar when exposed to the hot metal melts smoothing out the surface of your casting. Pretty fun process. You can make a small furnace pretty easily if you take an interest.
Very cool! I do 2 part green sand casting as well. I actually have a bid coming out next week doing green sand casting. I've never heard of spraying sugar water on hot metal. You say you did it with brass. I wonder what it does to aluminum
Do you test your weapons? Which metal is the best for withstanding heavy blows on something such as a soft wood like Pine?
I don't test my weapons. Any weapon made out of cast aluminum probably would not be extremely strong.
Amazing. If only engineers had known about this method 200 years ago.
Well, I don't know about 200 years ago, but they did know about this technique 30 years ago .
200 years ago they would not be casting aluminum though.
My brother-in-law used to work for Saturn, in the prototyping plant. He showed me the "Lost Foam" molds that they used to cast their engine blocks. If you look at one of those old engines, they have a styrofoam pattern in the aluminum.
Super cool! I read that engine blocks were made this way for Saturns. Never seen one in person
😲🤯💥 I am seriously blown away by this
💯💯💯😁😁😁🔥🔥🔥
Very fascinating! I have never seen anything like that, and I have seen quite a few casting videos.
Yeah it is! I do this all the time, but on a larger scale. Check out some of my longer videos 👍
The metal cools really quickly. I´d assume it will start to solidify after the first contact with the sand, form a plug and never reach the bottom of the foam model. How is this possible? Was the sand pre-heated somehow?
It burns it so fast. Just make sure the aluminum is hot enough so it will not cool before burning away all of the foam. I have had that happen before.
That is super fantastic and I've been going down the road of creating a furnace for the last few years developing my idea and now adding this to it really pushes me in a direction that I previously wasn't quite sure how to go about without using wax
Very cool!! Now if I had the money to buy all this equipment!
🔥🔥🔥🔥 save up 👍👍👍
Interesting , can the same procedure work for brass n bronze?
Yes it can, I made a double sided coin with brass. Check it out here:
th-cam.com/video/9Lx0tnHAhhA/w-d-xo.html
Sweet thanks for sharing...
Thanks for watching!
Very informative. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Why didn't you use wax? Like jewelers and other metal casters?
I like doing lost foam. Plus I haven't ventured into lost wax casting yet.
Saturn, when they started were the first company to use lost foam casting for their engines. Pretty cool for the time and they held up really well.
Yeah I read about that. It was definitely cool to see automotive parts cast in this way
Gosh i wish i could remember all these things when it comes time to make a part and put this stuff to use! I love this stuff!
yeah this technique is very useful. Easy to do, and fun to make things with.
So does the vapor from the foam just travel up through the molten metal and release into the air? Or does it get stuck in the metal or something? I never thought of this being a thing, awesome vid
As far as I know, that is what happens. This technique was used to make Saturn Automotive engine blocks in the 90's. You should google search it. People to this day still use this process for automotive parts.
I have a 10" x 1" thick "Peace Symbol" I made via the same process back in 1969. It still sits in my glass cabinet.
Too that's big! That's cool you still have it. I keep most of what I make.
Huge desire to start building the stuff I've thought
about : )
Let's gooo 🔥🔥😄
I hate to pick nits, but you need a fume hood to pour this inside.
The foam contains “blowing gas” that will cook off as the foam burns.
I normally do this outside
This is exactly how we used to cast API612 centrifugal end suction pumps with molten steel - it would have additional thermite feeders to ensure porosity only occurred outside the part. As a consequence the mass ratio of part to scrap was approx 1:2. Pouring had to take less than 10 seconds for 300kg molten steel to ensure the cast filled uniformly. It was fun to watch!
Very cool! Molten steel, something I can't do. I'm sure you would need to feeders also for the purpose of cooling.
That is very cool thanks for sharing this method. I’ve got to know. What is that cast aluminum piece going to be used for?
Thanks! It is just a mini mace I wanted to make after making my full size mace. It really has no purpose. 🤣🤣
Basis is the Lost Wax process. The oldest known examples of this technique are approx 6,500 years old (4550-4450 BC) and attributed to gold artefacts found at Bulgaria's Varna Necropolis.
Where did the melted foam go? Fascinating
It just burned up and the aluminum replaced it
@@HeinrichsMade that’s what i am scratching my head over. Burnt up and gone where? Not even a single residue? You would think it would get mixed with the aluminium or something
Is dry wall mud the uk equivalent to polyfiller?
I'm not sure. Drywall mud is gypsum powder mixed with water. Take a look at the ingredients. 👍
Would the same principle work with 3D models from PLA filament?
Unfortunately not. Pla requires a burnout process as well as being in a plaster mold, not sand.
Verry good cast. I was expecting it to destablize the sand as the foam melts but it looks like it came out perfect
Thank you! It happens at the same time where it doesn't leave a void for the sand to fall in.
Very cool!! Is this the tip of a Morningstar whip?
No, but that's cool! I recently made a full siW mace of the Azog mace from The Hobbit th-cam.com/video/M8CX96D8vhM/w-d-xo.html. I decided to modify it and make a small version ofnitm
thanks for shaing great upload
Thanks 💯💯💯
Wow, that’s so cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these videos as cool as this one. It’s crazy how the aluminum “vaporizes “the Styrofoam so quickly that the sand around it doesn’t even have time to fill the void.
Nice! It's like a transfer of energy. It happens simultaneously
@@HeinrichsMade I know it takes a lot of time for you to respond to all these comments, it’s really cool that he take time to do that. I love your channel.
@@pauljarrell8162 thank you so much! I do try my best to respond to everyone. However, I do know in a few years when I grow even bigger and have a ton more videos up. It will be almost impossible.
also amazing the sand doesn't glassify, but I think salt peter would be needed.
now I'm trying to think how to create interesting remarkable sand/glass with aluminum ' crazing ' being an actual framework /structure- semi translucent ,filled with scented wax ( natural scents ) with attached aluminum unpatterned lace-like dome or cap ( safety feature for pets , kids etc around lit candles ) sell with catalog of mail order wax refill kits could also have chain hangars, stands, hand held/ table, wall sconce options offered, ren faire sales would be great! don't mind me, I have memory issues from death & coma after defibrillator revival, if I don't note things right away & screen shot, it's gone! no need to reply, thanks for the inspiration!
The end result was absolutely awesome, hugely impressed here, thank you 👍🏻
I'm glad you enjoyed it and Thank you! 👍👍👍
If you want a better surface finish on your lost foam castings, use some wax to fill in those little pores on the foam surface. You can get lost foam to look really good if you take care in making the pattern as clean and smooth as possible. You could also use some additional venting to let that vaporized foam gas out and allow the melt to fill the cavity better.
Thanks for the information. 👍. I have wax and want to start adding it to any tear outs. The gypsum coating helps drastically on the finish.
Very good idea 👍👍👍💯👏
Appreciate it!
Awesome 👏 I wanna see more 😃👍
Oh, I have a ton more. Check out my videos and shorts
You should add a gate (like a straw) to one of the sides to allow the air to escape as you pour. It would give a better finish and avoid any under cuts. Otherwise, great job!
I don't think having a vent is necessary
I've done this before. It's really fun and awesome what can be created. Nice job.
That's awesome you've done it too. It is so much fun!