Hei, if you willing to consider getting out of the synth system or hanging out with bunch of talented artisan sharing tips and tricks about casting, sculpting or just about anything you can think of. why dont you try joining https://discord.gg/nUsyadp
Im not trying to discourge the synth or anything, just giving another cheaper option i can even say that the butt for synth that theglyph made also can be a cheaper option...Hei, if you willing to consider getting out of the synth system or hanging out with bunch of talented artisan sharing tips and tricks about casting, sculpting or just about anything you can think of. why dont you try joining https://discord.gg/nUsyadp
I think the Synth and ZButt are about the same "quality" when it comes to internals design. And the synth doesn't have print lines.
I've got some other questions regarding mold-making/casting as well. Now I've tried my best to do pretty extensive research, looking through similar posts like mine made by those that are renowned in this community (Booper, ETF, what have you) and I'm still a little unsure on one thing and that's the question of vacuum degassing vs pressure chambers. I've seen that people use vacuum degassing for the mold-making process, and pressure casting for the actual resin-casting process. That's pretty expensive for someone starting out like me, so I was curious whether one of these tools will do a good job of both mold-making and resin-casting?
Hei, if you willing to consider getting out of the synth system or hanging out with bunch of talented artisan sharing tips and tricks about casting, sculpting or just about anything you can think of. why dont you try joining https://discord.gg/nUsyadp
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Hey that’s a really cool design man. Love the teeth! You have some good sculpting abilities. Look forward to seeing your progress.
I've got some other questions regarding mold-making/casting as well. Now I've tried my best to do pretty extensive research, looking through similar posts like mine made by those that are renowned in this community (Booper, ETF, what have you) and I'm still a little unsure on one thing and that's the question of vacuum degassing vs pressure chambers. I've seen that people use vacuum degassing for the mold-making process, and pressure casting for the actual resin-casting process. That's pretty expensive for someone starting out like me, so I was curious whether one of these tools will do a good job of both mold-making and resin-casting?
You 100% need a pressure chamber for casting. You should make your molds under pressure since you will be using them under pressure when you have resin in them (or else they may deform). Some silicones require vacuum degassing, but not all, so you can certainly get by without a vacuum chamber.
You can start without casting under pressure, but you'll have bubbles in your casts and wouldn't have the quality required to sell your caps.
$400ish is certainly a good chunk of change, but it's a one time cost up front (for the pot and the air compressor) and is a requirement of artisan cap making.
Hei, if you willing to consider getting out of the synth system or hanging out with bunch of talented artisan sharing tips and tricks about casting, sculpting or just about anything you can think of. why dont you try joining https://discord.gg/nUsyadp
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Hey man, that'd be great! I'll be sure to check out the Discord you linked, I'd love to get more involved with a like-minded community. As for the $ynth, I opted to get this after doing a lot of research cause it just really seemed to be a well-machined piece of equipment built-to-last. I've seen other systems that are open-sourced and WAY cheaper, but in the end I decided to shell a little cash for the $ynth and am loving it.
I'm sure other systems are just as fine, but I personally opted for this one. :)
I've got some other questions regarding mold-making/casting as well. Now I've tried my best to do pretty extensive research, looking through similar posts like mine made by those that are renowned in this community (Booper, ETF, what have you) and I'm still a little unsure on one thing and that's the question of vacuum degassing vs pressure chambers. I've seen that people use vacuum degassing for the mold-making process, and pressure casting for the actual resin-casting process. That's pretty expensive for someone starting out like me, so I was curious whether one of these tools will do a good job of both mold-making and resin-casting?
You 100% need a pressure chamber for casting. You should make your molds under pressure since you will be using them under pressure when you have resin in them (or else they may deform). Some silicones require vacuum degassing, but not all, so you can certainly get by without a vacuum chamber.
You can start without casting under pressure, but you'll have bubbles in your casts and wouldn't have the quality required to sell your caps.
$400ish is certainly a good chunk of change, but it's a one time cost up front (for the pot and the air compressor) and is a requirement of artisan cap making.
Gotcha, thanks very much for the info. I did more research and I definitely don't want to cheap out on the pressure chamber (esp after reading horror stories about cheaper quality ones).
I've seen that Smooth-On sells one for around $800 and I've also seen that Binks is a very reliable manufacturer/distributor of a pressure chamber. Was wondering where I could get one for around $400 like you mentioned and how that ones compares in quality to, say, the $800 one I mentioned here (https://shop.smooth-on.com/pressure-pot).
And I'll do more research about whether or not I will need a degasser. I currently have Oomoo 30 for my silicone formula. Was also thinking of picking up MoldStar 30 as that seems to cure much harder and that might be good.
I've got some other questions regarding mold-making/casting as well. Now I've tried my best to do pretty extensive research, looking through similar posts like mine made by those that are renowned in this community (Booper, ETF, what have you) and I'm still a little unsure on one thing and that's the question of vacuum degassing vs pressure chambers. I've seen that people use vacuum degassing for the mold-making process, and pressure casting for the actual resin-casting process. That's pretty expensive for someone starting out like me, so I was curious whether one of these tools will do a good job of both mold-making and resin-casting?
You 100% need a pressure chamber for casting. You should make your molds under pressure since you will be using them under pressure when you have resin in them (or else they may deform). Some silicones require vacuum degassing, but not all, so you can certainly get by without a vacuum chamber.
You can start without casting under pressure, but you'll have bubbles in your casts and wouldn't have the quality required to sell your caps.
$400ish is certainly a good chunk of change, but it's a one time cost up front (for the pot and the air compressor) and is a requirement of artisan cap making.
Gotcha, thanks very much for the info. I did more research and I definitely don't want to cheap out on the pressure chamber (esp after reading horror stories about cheaper quality ones).
I've seen that Smooth-On sells one for around $800 and I've also seen that Binks is a very reliable manufacturer/distributor of a pressure chamber. Was wondering where I could get one for around $400 like you mentioned and how that ones compares in quality to, say, the $800 one I mentioned here (https://shop.smooth-on.com/pressure-pot).
And I'll do more research about whether or not I will need a degasser. I currently have Oomoo 30 for my silicone formula. Was also thinking of picking up MoldStar 30 as that seems to cure much harder and that might be good.
A lot of people use the CA Tech 2.5gal tank which is currently just under $350. Then you just need an air compressor. Here's a link:
https://www.finishsystems.com/collections/resin-mold-casting/pressure-tanks
Many (all?) Binks pots are ASME certified, so they cost more. There have been no reported issues with CA Tech pots in our community (where as the super cheap Harbor Freight pots are known to have lid failures). The CA Tech pot is very solid and you won't be disappointed with it.
Got it, thanks. I will look into getting that one you linked. Do you have any recommendations for an air compressor? I've heard that the quality of the compressor doesn't matter as much as it does for the pressure chamber.
Got it, thanks. I will look into getting that one you linked. Do you have any recommendations for an air compressor? I've heard that the quality of the compressor doesn't matter as much as it does for the pressure chamber.
Honestly, any air compressor that can hit 60-80PSI will do. My only recommendation would be to look at the dB rating and buy the QUIETEST one you can.
Got it, thanks. I will look into getting that one you linked. Do you have any recommendations for an air compressor? I've heard that the quality of the compressor doesn't matter as much as it does for the pressure chamber.
Honestly, any air compressor that can hit 60-80PSI will do. My only recommendation would be to look at the dB rating and buy the QUIETEST one you can.
Got it, thanks. I will look into getting that one you linked. Do you have any recommendations for an air compressor? I've heard that the quality of the compressor doesn't matter as much as it does for the pressure chamber.
Honestly, any air compressor that can hit 60-80PSI will do. My only recommendation would be to look at the dB rating and buy the QUIETEST one you can.
Did some looking around and this one seems to be one of the quietest I could find, and it looks to be a pretty decent price. You think this one (https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060SP-Compressor/dp/B077CNLPBC/ref=sr_1_10?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1550542130&sr=1-10&keywords=California+air+tools+compressor#customerReviews) would be good?
Got it, thanks. I will look into getting that one you linked. Do you have any recommendations for an air compressor? I've heard that the quality of the compressor doesn't matter as much as it does for the pressure chamber.
Honestly, any air compressor that can hit 60-80PSI will do. My only recommendation would be to look at the dB rating and buy the QUIETEST one you can.
Did some looking around and this one seems to be one of the quietest I could find, and it looks to be a pretty decent price. You think this one (https://www.amazon.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060SP-Compressor/dp/B077CNLPBC/ref=sr_1_10?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1550542130&sr=1-10&keywords=California+air+tools+compressor#customerReviews) would be good?
Yeah, that's going to be about as loud as a conversation in a public place, so not bad at all. (Reference: http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm)
This is so awesome, would love to get one. The detail is crazy, way more advanced than any first time sculpter imo.
Really nice sculpt. I had just started same time as you.
In my opinion, I suggest to use Mold Star 15 or 30 from Smooth On and also mold release.
With the pressure chamber, I am currently using TCP Global models and always stick with around 50-60 psi (it has enough pressure to kill all the bubbles)
And I also suggest having a vacuum chamber, which creates a lot of efficiency for silicone mold.
Cheer up :thumb: :thumb:
Really nice sculpt. I had just started same time as you.
In my opinion, I suggest to use Mold Star 15 or 30 from Smooth On and also mold release.
With the pressure chamber, I am currently using TCP Global models and always stick with around 50-60 psi (it has enough pressure to kill all the bubbles)
And I also suggest having a vacuum chamber, which creates a lot of efficiency for silicone mold.
Cheer up :thumb: :thumb:
Hey, thanks!
And yes, I've been meaning to pick up some Mold Star 30, I will try to do that probably this weekend. I use Mann 200 mold release and I think it's not too bad, but I've heard that the Smooth-on one is very good, so I might pick up some of that as well.
In regard to pressure chamber, I was planning to do around 60psi (until the air leak, haha). And I want to get a vacuum chamber eventually but I wanted to see how the pressure setup works first. How would the vacuum chamber make the mold-making process more efficient? Just curious. I thought that that would involve throwing the mold in BOTH the vacuum chamber AND the pressure pot. Wouldn't that take longer? Maybe I have the wrong idea.
But thanks! Good luck to you in your cap-making :)
Thanks you first :)
I think with 50-60 psi, it is perfect, but you can still get with 40 psi.
And with vacuum chamber, it doesn't work like pressure pot. It kills all the bubble in silicone mold. Actually, you don't need to put silicone mold in pressure pot, it just makes bubble as small as possible (it's good for resin but with doesn't work well with silicone)
Vacuum chamber can also work with resin - but you need long time pot life for resin to do with that. For now, I just use vacuum chamber for silicone
You can take a look on youtube for how to using vacuum chamber, very easy to use
P/S: Sorry for my "bad" English :D - it's not my native language.
For silicone its good to have both vacuum and pressure pot just to be safe, but you still get away with only either one. I dont use vacuum just pressure and its fine.
But for resin casting pressure pot is definite the only way. U can use vacuum but as the guy said needs a long pot life resin and really unnecessary.
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Haha 200 caps is out of my league my max is 20-30 caps. Most guys here use smooth on's which cures pretty fast thats why it make sense to use vacuum for silicone molds and pressure for resin casting...For silicone its good to have both vacuum and pressure pot just to be safe, but you still get away with only either one. I dont use vacuum just pressure and its fine.
But for resin casting pressure pot is definite the only way. U can use vacuum but as the guy said needs a long pot life resin and really unnecessary.
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For making around 100~200 caps, I think using only vacuum chamber will save a lot of time, silicon molds always take about 6-12 hours to be cured. Although using pressure pot, vacuum chamber not only takes 15-20 minutes to complete but also you can put it outside. And in that time, you can make thing with pressure pot.
For silicone its good to have both vacuum and pressure pot just to be safe, but you still get away with only either one. I dont use vacuum just pressure and its fine.
But for resin casting pressure pot is definite the only way. U can use vacuum but as the guy said needs a long pot life resin and really unnecessary.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
For making around 100~200 caps, I think using only vacuum chamber will save a lot of time, silicon molds always take about 6-12 hours to be cured. Although using pressure pot, vacuum chamber not only takes 15-20 minutes to complete but also you can put it outside. And in that time, you can make thing with pressure pot.
Haha 200 caps is out of my league my max is 20-30 caps. Most guys here use smooth on's which cures pretty fast thats why it make sense to use vacuum for silicone molds and pressure for resin casting...For silicone its good to have both vacuum and pressure pot just to be safe, but you still get away with only either one. I dont use vacuum just pressure and its fine.
But for resin casting pressure pot is definite the only way. U can use vacuum but as the guy said needs a long pot life resin and really unnecessary.
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For making around 100~200 caps, I think using only vacuum chamber will save a lot of time, silicon molds always take about 6-12 hours to be cured. Although using pressure pot, vacuum chamber not only takes 15-20 minutes to complete but also you can put it outside. And in that time, you can make thing with pressure pot.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
For silicone its good to have both vacuum and pressure pot just to be safe, but you still get away with only either one. I dont use vacuum just pressure and its fine.
But for resin casting pressure pot is definite the only way. U can use vacuum but as the guy said needs a long pot life resin and really unnecessary.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
For making around 100~200 caps, I think using only vacuum chamber will save a lot of time, silicon molds always take about 6-12 hours to be cured. Although using pressure pot, vacuum chamber not only takes 15-20 minutes to complete but also you can put it outside. And in that time, you can make thing with pressure pot.
You absolutely want to cure molds under pressure. If they don't cure under pressure they might have small bubbles in the walls that will deform when you cast resin.
Vacuum is certainly useful with extremely thick materials, but is not a replacement for pressure. With materials that are "easy" to pour (up to 15k cps) vacuum is just an extra step that doesn't grant much benefit.
Love that you are getting serious about the casting process and putting in the time and the work. I think soon enough you'll have the small issues you want to fix all ironed out and make some beautiful caps. The first casting attempts look awesome and I can't wait till you have some ready that you think are worthy to sell.
Keep up the awesome work.
:thumb: