Introduction: Casting With Soft Mold Constructed From Sheet Materials
This project started with an interest in exploring unconventional casting techniques, especially in applications where the repeatability of the shape is not the primary focus. In traditional casting, you make a big block mold from your original, and then use this mold to produce multiples of the same form. In this process you'll normally use a lot of materials to construct the mold, and you'll try to make it perfect so that it lasts longer.
But what if you want to make multiples of different forms? Then constructing a big block mold for each of the forms will not be economical. In this instructable, I'll show you how to cast with molds constructed from cheap sheet materials, so that you can quickly cast different forms without investing much material and money.
Step 1: Cut / Score Patterns
The basic idea is to construct a shape using paper folding (origami) techniques. If you know anything about origami, you should know that you can create a million different 3d forms from 2d sheet materials. Here I'm not using paper because paper will be too easily penetrated by any casting material. I used polypropylene sheet from Tap Plastics, which comes in 24.5" x 45" x .020'' with one side matte and one side smooth.
I cut / scored a pattern with triangles on one sheet of polypropylene on an Epilog laser cutter. If you don't have access to a laser cutter you can also score by hand using an exacto knife. With a pattern with equilateral triangles you can fold the sheet into a closed shape very easily.
Step 2: Fold Pattern Into Casting Container
I used duct tape to close the shape. Then blue tape and duct tape to close the bottom of the container. Blue tape is magical! It is sticky but it doesn't really stick to a variety of casting materials. They can be very easily removed later on.
With the pattern I have, I can push the mold in different spots to make it more dynamic. This also means that I can create different shapes with the same mold.
I used the smooth side of the polypropylene sheet for the inside of the container. It is very smooth and release agent is not totally necessary.
Step 3: Casting: Materials & Techniques
You can do either solid casting or slush casting. Solid casting means that you'll pour in materials to completely fill up the void. As long as your mold is strong enough to hold the weight of the casting materials, you can create a solid casting using the mold you have. To save materials, you can also do slush casting. Slush casting is a casting technique to create a hollow casting. In the process the material is poured into the mold and allowed to cool until a shell of material forms in the mold.
In this example I'm doing slush casting, by pouring in casting materials and then rotating the mold to get an even coating on the inner surface of the mold. I did it by hand, but you can also make a rotating gig to help get a consistent coating.
I tried two different materials: hydrocal (a kind of plaster with higher strength than plaster of paris) & Smoothcast 65D (semi-rigid urethane resin). Both materials set super fast, so you don't need to worry about holding a mold and rotating forever until it sets. In the resulting casts, hydrocal has a beautiful matte surface and a nice weight, while Smoothcast 65D has a shiny plastic feel. One advantage of Smoothcast 65D over hydrocal is that you can do multiple coats, building up the cast little by little, since Smoothcast 65D sticks to itself super easily. Hydrocal, on the other hand, works best in one batch. This is because that when hydrocal is curing, it expands a little bit, which will crack earlier layers.
You can also color your castings. With hydrocal you can use liquid tint or coloring powder. With Smoothcast 65D you can use resin pigment and dyes.
Step 4: Demold & Finish
Once the casting cured, you can remove the tapes and peel off the polypropylene sheet easily. If you're careful enough not to destroy the mold, you can keep using it to do a few more castings. If your sheet mold is destroyed, no big deal, it only costs a few bucks.
Sand to smooth down the seams on your casting. Both hydrocal and Smoothcast 65D can be sanded down easily.
Step 5: Possibilities & Limitations
This technique provides new possibilities to casting, but it also has its limitations. Since we're folding from sheet materials, it is easier to do geometric / faceted shapes than organic shapes.
1. As I mentioned before, we can do so much with origami. Check out Paul Jackson's Folding Techniques for Designers to get more inspirations.
2. Using Pepakura, a software that exports a paper folding pattern for almost any 3d model you might have, you can make anything!
3. Designer Phil Cuttance has used this technique to create lamp shades and vases.
http://www.philcuttance.com/index.php?/faceture-pr...
4. Large-sclae, architectural explorations of this technique: Crease, Fold, Pour: Advancing Flexible Formwork with Digital Fabrication and Origami Folding, at the University of Michigan Taubman College.
5. Crumpling instead of folding: I tried to use aluminum foil as a casting container for Smoothcase 65D. It failed since I was not able to remove the aluminum foil later. But I think with the proper release agent, this can succeed and the result will be interesting.
