Learning how to make props and molds

Besides diving more into electronics with Arduino and whatnot, the next set of skills I’d like to pick up is model/prop making. I’ve got some project ideas that I’d like to tackle that would involve making props and whatnot out of cast resin. Is there anybody at VHS that knows how to make a silicone mold? I’m sure I can find some videos and whatnot to self-teach myself, but it’d be nice to have a bit of guidance.

A skill I’ve been wanting to pick up as well.

Ditto…

Well, why don’t we start by making a mold of something simple? I was thinking of maybe going and grabbing something that should be simple to make a mold of ( some sort of toy, like a lightsaber or something ) to practice with.

I think the silicone and resin come in not small containers, so I think if we all chipped in to get some supplies we could make some smaller molds to practice.

To make a two-part mold, I think this is all that’s needed:

  • clay
  • silicone + setting agent
  • two-part resin
  • some cardboard or foamcore to contain the mold
  • some wire to make the mold guides in the clay
  • the spray that’s required so that the two parts of the silicone mold don’t bond together

The only thing is that I think it takes 8+ hours for silicone to set, so this might end up being a multi-day project ( probably at least three days )

So, if go get the stuff to make molds and resin castings, would people be interested in chipping in to help cover the cost? I’m okay taking beer or some electronics help as payment.

Heck yeah!

I’ve linked to this a whole bunch for people who haven’t seen it:

Guerrilla guide to CNC machining, mold making, and resin casting
http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/gcnc/

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I’ll take a look at that link later this evening!

I think I’ll also scour the sites of local suppliers, and try to come up with a parts list of what I’m going to pick up. I bike to and from work ( Hastings & Holdom to Granville Island ) though, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to pick this stuff up with my car until the weekend – hopefully the supply stores are open on Saturday!

So I guess in the meantime… figure out what you want to make a mold of?

Definitely interested in a props/molding/casting night too!

Fiber-Tek on Boundary at 1st is the place to go for mold making and casting supplies.

We did some molding at a craft night at the Bunker last year - not a big attendance unfortunately as it was a miserable winter night, but the results were great! We only did small molds of buttons, broaches, etc to avoid wasting too much material on the learning. We didn’t do casting that night due to the setting time of the silicon as you mention.

I think most products are available in fairly small containers (~1L?).

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I would also like to support and learn about this.

Some possibly relevant OpenCourseWare links:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/media-arts-and-sciences/mas-962-special-topics-new-textiles-spring-2010/assignments-and-projects/final-project/final-project-tunable-stiffness-structures/

I’m in.

The easiest solution might be a SmoothOn Starter Kit which has almost everything you need. It’s about $50 and should provide enough for a small workshop. I bought one a few months ago and have been dabbling. Foam core works for building the box. Acrylic offcuts from the laser would also work depending on what’s available. To seal the seams of the box, you can use clay or hot melt. And a bunch of cups, stir sticks, and latex or nitrile gloves, also sold at Fibertek.

If you don’t go for the Starter Kit, be sure whatever mixes you get are 1:1 by volume. This will make life a whole lot easier than weight based mixes.

I also found a place out in Coquitlam that I want to check out. I wanted to go check out some hobby stores for non-casting related stuff on Saturday, so it won’t be too much out of my way.

I think I’d like to get enough so that people don’t feel like they have to stick with buttons or stuff that’s small like that. I’m thinking of doing a mould of one my my action figures ( or maybe a Buddha statue? ), or maybe picking up a lightsaber or something like that from Toys 'R Us.

Once I get the stuff on the weekend, I think I’ll plan out several nights: two for doing the moulds ( if someone is doing a smaller dump mould then they only need to come on one night ), and then a third night to make a resin cast.

I think because we might want to do multiple pours from a single resin mix, I’ll probably get something with a longer working time. It does mean that it’ll take much longer to set, but I think that should be okay.

Definitely. I’ll be picking up a bunch of mixing containers, as well as latex gloves for everyone to use if they don’t feel like getting their hands dirty.

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I picked up some silicone and some resin at Fiber-Tek and put it in my locker at VHS. I also picked up some plasticine for doing two-part moulds, as well as some gloves and mixing containers. I might have to make another stop there to pick up some more mixing containers and some mixing sticks. I’m also going to get some cardboard or foamcore to make the mould walls with.

I think there’s enough silicone for several people to make small moulds – maybe a few inches square each? I’m thinking of doing a mould of something like this:

http://www.stupid.com/assets/images/ArmyMenEraser4.jpg

I was also thinking that maybe we could 3d print some small things to make some moulds of? Something that’d be super simple to make moulds of are cookie cutters like this one – those could be done with dump moulds, no need for a two part mould. That would make the mould + cast process a lot quicker.

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