Making a 3-D Printed Mold

Step 7: Finished mold

Once the prints have been washed and dried, they are ready to go.  I was casting expanding foam and I did not need any further prep other than mold release; different casting materials might differ and I will surely do more experiments and write up my results.

Comments

[maxwelljets]

What mold release compound did you use? I am also trying to make expanding foam parts on a 3d printed mold.

[rachel]

I ended up using Turtle Wax, yeah the car stuff. It worked fine, not great but not bad. The silicone spray I tried was noticeably worse, which surprised me. I'd be interested if you find something better, as the wax needed to be spread in just the right thickness in order to keep the foam from sticking, but also not impede its expansion. I'm almost done with a foam casting Instructable which I should be able to publish in the next few days, with more information. If you come up with a better release agent I'd love to hear about it!

[matthieutje65]

APW wax is what you need, http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__APW_Soft_Release_Wax_426.html here's an example. Don't know where you from but you should look for it ;) Looks great but small question; Why didn't you 3D print the part en Cast the mould? would have been cheaper no?

[maxwelljets]

And what kind of expanding foam did you use? was it the two-part A B foam, or was it great stuff/ spray foam?