Just as title, I'm thinking of making my own parts for some stuff, anybody tried this yet? If so, any tips?
Casting clear acrylic (or anything you would want to use structrally) requires an autoclave. Acrylics you cast without an autoclave will not be as durable, but if you're just making cosmetic parts it's no big deal. Casting in other clear resins (like polyester) does not require and autoclave to get structurally sound parts. Polyester is somewhat similar to polycarbonate, but is more buttery and flexes more easily. It makes really nice reservoirs. Urethane is the standard casting resin and probably offers the best mix of easy molding and material properties. For general guidelines and materials to use for moldmaking and such check out http://www.fxwarehouse.info/fangs2.shtml and http://www.hirstarts.com/moldmake/moldmaking.html (I couldn't find any better references for what molding materials to use)
Having used casting resin before on a project, it can be a lil difficult to work with, and can take a bit of effort to get to a smooth polish, though this can have a lot do with the mould you use. only casing a certain thickness at a time can take a long time, but still, the results can be impressive, and stuff that you cannot make using other methods. Buy a can and experiment, worst case you waste £10, best you find something you love to use, hehe Jaz_knos
Well, my first one was beautiful, and shattered almost at the end of getting the inner mold out. I'll have to make a flexible inner mold I can pry out, and get more resin for try number two. That said, it was almost bulletproof until I found that damn mold line...
I used a product called Castolite, I made an acrylic face. IT was pritty easy to work with, i even added dye and metal flakes to it and it dried smooth. It also drills very easily http://www.eganauto.com/orb/88.JPG
