Lost pla casting II

[aonemarine]

Well had another go at it. Theese parts are actually printed in abs. I think
im getting a handle on things now
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFnfLsrSuAM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUSrlSdQ3dLlHlahmmmYbb2A[/ame]

 

[jwcnc1911]

Freaking awesome aone! That is for taking us along for the ride!

What's a Yoda tree for?

 

[aonemarine]

Freaking awesome aone! That is for taking us along for the ride!

What's a Yoda tree for?

The tree is just a bunch of Yoda heads that will be cut from the tree and used as key rings. Matt (printedsolid.com) and I are trying to develop the lost pla and abs casting process so others will be able to do it without having to experiment like we are now..

 

[Lakc]

Does the pla burnout as good as investment wax? Could you switch the printer over to print wax directly?

I do a lot of plaster casting, McMaster has a silicone mixing bowl thats not just cheap but worth its weight in gold Different sizes too.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#8982t4/=ni3lqa

 

[aonemarine]

Does the pla burnout as good as investment wax? Could you switch the printer over to print wax directly?

I do a lot of plaster casting, McMaster has a silicone mixing bowl thats not just cheap but worth its weight in gold Different sizes too.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#8982t4/=ni3lqa

I would say that no, it does not burn out as well as wax, but it does burn out ok. I have a large rubber mixing bown around here somewhere for mixing up the investment but darn if I can find it when I need it :wall:

 

[kadora]

Aneomarine
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
I am total beginner in the casting art /Now building furnace/
and your PLA ABS casting method is perfect and the most suitable
for me.
Of course i have a question
i do not see any outlet holes for releasing ABS fumes from the form.
Do you "dissolve" ABS material before you pour liquid metal into form?
Thank you.


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[aonemarine]

Once the investment is poured it is allowed to sit for a day or so then put into the kiln where the tempature is slowly increased to 750C over the course of a day or longer for larger molds. The abs is basically burned out leaving a hollow cavity behind for the moltem metal to flow into.

 

[kadora]

Aneomarine thank you

 

[aonemarine]

Aneomarine thank you

your welcome

 

[Lakc]

You would think you could get wax flakes to print/flow like pla with adjustments to the heater temp. Maybe dwell time?

 

[aonemarine]

You would think you could get wax flakes to print/flow like pla with adjustments to the heater temp. Maybe dwell time?

These printers work with an extruder. basically its a heated nozzle that they push plastic filament thru. You might be able to get one to print in wax but im not sure how well it would work out.

 

[BAH101]

That's pretty interesting. Just invested in a Makerbot replicator 2x. Now I have another task for it

 

[kadora]

This connection of thousands years old casting process
and hi tech 3D printing simply thrills me.

 

[44-henry]

We have done a lot of this in our lab at the University over the last few years. We use a Dimension Uprint which uses ABS plastics. We are using Kerr Satin cast investment powder, but I think the results would be much better with a ceramic shell (which is going to be my next try). We had OK results using an electric kiln, but lately have been using a gas kiln which seems to give better results. People I have talked to say that the burnout is more complete using gas than electric, whether this is true or not I have not been able to prove, but it does seem to work better. In any event, we can easily capture the detailed texture of the 3D printed surface, so I am quite satisfied with it.

We also have made some molds using the 3D printer and than wax injected them, this works well also.

We have also made some patterns using the 3D printer for use in sand castings. This works very well and has allowed us to make some excellent castings using a mix of old and new technologies. When done with the Petrabond sand that we use, very fine detail is possible with this as well.

 

[aonemarine]

some more lost pla castings for your viewing pleasure...

 

[DavidP]

Hi, just found this.

My son did this very successfully at school to make a tool for applying gold leaf to leather (book binding stuff). He did the initial pattern from CAD to printed ABS. A second print directly with wax. Outsourced the casting in brass paid by the gram and pretty quick turn around.

Quality of the critical surfaces was very good, not enough attention paid in the pattern making to other surfaces to had to dress up with a file to get. Reasonable shape to mount the tool. That was a design error on his part and nothing to do with the casting process.

This looks to me to be the way ahead for small, particularly bespoke, parts; and if you don't want to commit to the total setup costs you don't have to.

He submitted this as a design assignment and won a weekend for two at a nearby beach town (Wollongong) from the local engineering school at the uni. Not bad for a 17 yr old boy - yet to get the nerve to ask someone to come with him

Cheers, Dave


Sent from my iPad using Model Engines

 

[tecbuilder]

Your casting technique looks like it has significantly improved from when you were first casting!

Care to share some of the advances or new technique you do to achieve a higher surface finish?

 

[aonemarine]

http://youtu.be/20iYekoQUUA
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/20iYekoQUUA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ive changed many things since the video at the beginning of the thread. Improved print quality and going to vacuum assist casting have had the biggest impact on surface finish.