Cool new material

[Cogsy]

My wife just showed me this video that's floating around on Facebook. Probably not alot of use for engines but I'm sure most of us will find some use for it on some project.

Haven't looked up a price but it's certainly intruiging.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMAd4FpXpy4[/ame]

 

[aonemarine]

I think this is the same stuff as the moldable soft jaw material.

 

[Cogsy]

I just had a quick look on their website and it's available in 2 'formulas', 1 for sculpting as per the video and 1 for molding which is much softer when heated so it can easily be pressed into molds. They're both the same consistency when cooled. Looking at some of the examples on the website they can get good detail with this stuff. I wonder how machinable it is? They do show a bolt and nut made from it...

I think I'll sweet talk the wife into buying me some so I can...fix stuff around the house .

 

[RonGinger]

I asked google for 'moldable plastic' and got several hits on this, or similar material. One brand is Shape Lock, or instamorph. Amazon has it as well.

I bought some ShapeLock a couple years ago and played with it, but have not found a real use for it.

 

[BronxFigs]

Maybe.....master patterns for "Lost-Wax"-"Lost Foam" castings for: engine parts, cylinder heads, various fittings, flanges, intake/exhaust manifolds, water/oil pump housings, con-rods, jewelry...special jigs and holding fixtures....ad fin. Model the parts, make a mold, cast the parts in metal, machine the parts.... done.

 

[barnesrickw]

A friend sent me this link on facebook, and I too immediately started thinking of model engine applications for it.

 

[aonemarine]

ok 4 years ago.....
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bFmv5rLYWk&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]

 

[Cogsy]

Yep, certainly looks like the same stuff (although the moldable must be slightly different) but a bit of a boring use for the stuff I must say . Watching that video gave me more of an impression of a glue than reusable plastic, I'm glad someone re-imagined it.

Surprisingly, the wife is in my mindset - wondering how we can use it and what for, rather than the normal 'WHY do we need it'. It's out of stock until next month but I'll get some then and report back.

 

[kvom]

I ordered a jar of pellets on eBay. Will be interested to see how it works for CNC machining.

 

[Cogsy]

Will be interested to see how it works for CNC machining.

I was wondering about it's machinability too. It seems fairly hard, which is good I think, but softens at really low temps (like 60 C) so it may turn back to mush from cutter heat. Hmm, I wonder how well it did perform as moldable jaws in the Tormach video above? Parts get plenty hot sometimes and having the moldable jaws turn mushy in the middle of a cut would not be fun!

Looking through the examples on the website I saw they had easily created 12mm nuts and bolts from existing hardware which mate well with each other and the original hardware. If it holds dimensions and details that well then I'm sure there's something useful to be made with it.