KenK05 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 I'm looking for some suggestions/advice on how to cast resin parts. I have a small, rectangular shaped piece of cockpit consul that I'd like to make a duplicate of. It's basically just a box with some surface detail of knobs and gages on the top. Any advice on what material I should make the mold with, and what resin to use? Something like clay would seem to be appropriate to press the original part into to make the mold, but I'm not sure how that would work with a resin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Check on youtube for resin casting tutorials. There are tons of them and they are very helpful. They show how to make a mold box for holding your part, how to make a latex mold of your part you want to cast in resin and then how to make the actual resin part from your mold that you just made. Check you local hobby shop as many of them have basic starter sets that contain everything you need to get you off the ground. A small amount of latex mold making material and the two parts of the resin used to make the part. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KenK05 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Thanks for the info. I'll see what I can find on youtube and check out my local hobby shop. I think I've seen kits similar to what you describe available from Micro Scale now that you mention it. Hopefully it won't entail buying a large quantity of materials, as I just have 1 small part I want to copy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Hobby Lobby carries what you need. Here is a link. Unfortunately, this will be about as cheap as you get but it includes everything you need. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Clay-Molding-Sculpting/c/9-175?q=%3Arelevance&page=1&quickview=22251 Short this you can always just use various bits of plastruct or evergreen sheet and rod plastic to replicate the panel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 If its just for small "prototype" parts then you could look at something like this https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/starter-kits/silicone-mould-resin-casting-starter-kit.html It gives you the basics and if you watch the video it will give you the basic ideas on how to do it too. You can, like I did, take it a step further and get yourself a vac chamber, but I got my setup from work so it was affordable, otherwise a vac system will set you back a few hundred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KenK05 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Excellent information folks, and thanks for the help. I've looked at some of the tutorial videos and the kits that you have suggested. It looks fairly easy to do, and is not that expensive so I'll give it a try. From what I can see, this should work well for my current needs, and may come in handy down the road. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Once you get going its really easy. A kit like that is a good way to buy a small amount of all thats required to do it. You can of course buy those things separately and in greater quantities. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedHeadKevin Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 I'd also recommend getting an "all-in-one" kit like Alumilite has. It's got everything you'll need to get started. I'd also get your hands on some Lego bricks to build mold boxes with. You can use other materials to make boxes, but Legos make things REAL easy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KenK05 Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 2 hours ago, RedHeadKevin said: I'd also recommend getting an "all-in-one" kit like Alumilite has. It's got everything you'll need to get started. I'd also get your hands on some Lego bricks to build mold boxes with. You can use other materials to make boxes, but Legos make things REAL easy. I bought the Alumilite Mini casting kit, and it worked fine for casting the small part I wanted to copy. It was a control console for a UH-34 helicopter kit. I used a small section of 1" pvc pipe for the mold box, and that also worked well. My only issues with the kit are that it is basically a one shot deal. It is intended to be used all at once. The instructions tell you to mix all of the catalyst and resin at once for this kit to get the right ratio. For larger kits they mentioned that the ratio for the catalyst to resin was 1:5 by weight. As I only needed a very small amount of resin I took a chance and estimated that ratio based on volume since I had no way to measure weights in the range I was dealing with. Fortunately it worked. Anyway, I just thought that was worth mentioning to anyone thinking about buying this kit. It's meant to be used all at once. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dafixer Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Check out plasimo on YouTube.That guy has a lot of diy stuff. Great production value as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 18 hours ago, KenK05 said: I bought the Alumilite Mini casting kit, and it worked fine for casting the small part I wanted to copy. It was a control console for a UH-34 helicopter kit. I used a small section of 1" pvc pipe for the mold box, and that also worked well. My only issues with the kit are that it is basically a one shot deal. It is intended to be used all at once. The instructions tell you to mix all of the catalyst and resin at once for this kit to get the right ratio. For larger kits they mentioned that the ratio for the catalyst to resin was 1:5 by weight. As I only needed a very small amount of resin I took a chance and estimated that ratio based on volume since I had no way to measure weights in the range I was dealing with. Fortunately it worked. Anyway, I just thought that was worth mentioning to anyone thinking about buying this kit. It's meant to be used all at once. Im not surprised, I looked it up on internet. It seems like a very small amount of silicone in that tub. Its for making a very small moulding tool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KenK05 Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 On 10/7/2020 at 12:39 PM, ElectroSoldier said: Im not surprised, I looked it up on internet. It seems like a very small amount of silicone in that tub. Its for making a very small moulding tool. According to the information provided with the kit, it makes about 5.5 cubic inches of silicone. That was more than enough for me, as my project needed only about 1.5 cubic inches. In looking at the directions again, it is the silicone in the kit that is designed to be made all at once, not the resin. The ratio by weight for the catalyst to base is 10 to 1, and that is what I tried to estimate by volume when I mixed this. Not the 1:5 ratio is mentioned earlier. Sorry about that mix-up, but I did the casting a month ago and forgot the details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Hmm... I must try this! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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