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Finally managed a successful casting in resin, though I am strongly debating whether it is a practical option or not. Between the cost of molding and the resin itself, and then the cleanup after, it isn’t a very practical solution for this type of item. In truth, that is no doubt why CNC wood cutting machines are more commonly used, it lends itself to a carving solution much better. My intermediate solution is still printing, but even that is fairly slow and troublesome. Will continue to experiment though, since I already have the materials and one half of the mold…
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As I continue to experiment and attempt resin molding, and fiddle and tune the 3d printer, I managed to finish a single full usable dice box, in my preferred copper PLA filament. Its not the ideal design (I have a version with a Runelord’s Sihedron Rune in the top), but the lid and base are functional. Note the small magnets that hold the case closed – they work, though may need a bit of padding to make them a bit stronger. Basically, the holes are just a little bit too deep, leaving the magnets a bit too separated. The copper…
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Apparently, I made a mistake with the resin. After a bit of math, I had estimated fairly closely the amount of resin mix required to fill the mold – right at 1 cup total. Mix the material, add coloring, stir for several minutes, slowly pour into the mold. After several minutes of slow pouring, I reached the end of the resin, and honestly expected it to have reached the top, and start pooling at the feed hole. Unfortunately it was then I noticed the large growing pool of resin at the bottom of the tray – the resin was actively…
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We finished the second half of the first attempt at a mold on Tuesday, and managed to de-mold the forms that evening. New lesson learned – if you don’t spray a sealant, the new silicon bonds with the old. Thus I had to cut a new seam in the mold, to remove the original. Fortunately, the silicon had no interest at all in sticking to the PLA, so that removed very easily. However, with the structure and slots of the front, the silicon resisted being removed from the part itself. I was perhaps overly cautious, but it took several minutes…
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Over the last week, I have been having new challenges with the 3d Printer, as I have been trying to print rather large parts. Initially, I could not get the filament to adhere, or it would be splotchy and rough at different sections. As usual, a lot of this was a matter of constantly tuning the finicky machine. Adherence was due to mainly leveling the bed (again), and in my case turning down the temperature of the nozzle. With the basic Hatchbox Grey I typically use, 205 degrees was working well. But with my new roll of Gizmodorks Copper PLA,…
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Expanding my efforts with 3d printing, by branching out into silicon molds and epoxy replication. First attempt is a rather large project to attempt to duplicate a set of rpg dice cases I am working on, instead of having to print each set. So far, this is just the first of two parts, and the first of two pours, to make the matched set of molds. Fingers crossed that it worked out as good as hoped, but better than feared. However, I am discovering that silicon molding is rather expensive – the sample pack ran about $25, and is only…
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Since we had to reschedule the start of our Shadowrun campaign, I used the opportunity to try out the second edition of Star Wars X-Wing with my son. The closest comparison we have is Armada, which although Star Wars, plays much differently. The main advantage we found is that the game runs much faster, turn over turn. In Armada, the full 6 turns can take several hours with a complex game. For X-Wing, at least for the intro game, we ran thru numerous turns in less than a single hour. Setup and cleanup was similarly fast and simple, though I…
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Spent a couple days working on terrain for Star Wars: Legion, specifically an Imperial Bunker by Upsidedown98. Print was lengthy (about 36 hours), but not unreasonable for the bulk, and my printer has become rather finely tuned now, so the quality is pretty decent. The piece is in two parts, the base plus a removable roof (though I may glue it at some point). Imperial models included for scale, and unfortunately show how little painting I have done recently. Looking for a few other models to try, though I need to acquire another spool of filament now that my last…
Halfling13 Hobbies
Something about nothing – a collection of miscellaneous hobbies
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