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Expanding foam for mould, solid enough ?
Expanding foam for mould, solid enough ?
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Expanding foam for mould, solid enough ?
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TURK
TURK
posted 10 Years Ago
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Hi all,
Anybody used the expanding foam you can buy from the diy stores, in aerosol form.
I'd like to know what the difference is between that, and the 2 part stuff available. I understand that the 2 part stuff may be 'closed cell', probably making it harder. But can I get away with using the normal aerosol stuff usually used for insulation purposes ?
I'd like to spray it into a form ( female mould ) about the size of a shoe box, then demould the expanded spray foam, and then brush on layers of Pattern-Coat Primer to make it harder to use as a main male mould.
TURK
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expanding foam
Insulation Foam
mould
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Hanaldo
Hanaldo
posted 10 Years Ago
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In essence, the HDT rating of a resin is a pretty useless value for most users, as it is the temperature at which the resin deflects under load. This is normally a temperature that is somewhat higher than the actual Tg of the resin (hence why manufacturers like to quote it in their data, as it makes their resin sound like it takes more heat), which means your resin is likely to be softening up before it gets to 80 degrees. If that's the case, I'd be cautious with it if you need to go as high as 120 or even 100. You may find that it will lose its form at those temperatures, ruining all the work you put into getting it dimensionally accurate.
That said, I don't have any experience with that resin or with vacuum forming. If they say specifically that it can be used for that purpose then I'm sure it will be fine.
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TURK
TURK
posted 10 Years Ago
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Hi Hanaldo,
I hear you, and totally agree ........ but I haven't got to where I am with my project by 'playing it safe' !
I constantly take chances on my projects, I think we all do when confronted by new procedures, as we're not sure if they'll work or not. I think this is how we learn what works and what doesn't, and from that, we tend to develop our own 'style'.
I'm still at the research stage at the moment, hence all the questions. In fact, the mould which will culminate to a working plug, may even turn out to be a female mould. It would most certainly suite my final ABS part, as the shrinkage of the material would ease the release of the part, as a male mould would have the effect of clamping down onto the plug making demoulding that much harder.
Many thanks for all the info guy's, armed with my new found knowledge I now have a clearer picture of what to expect.
I'll keep you all posted.
Alternatively, you can see the entire project on the 'vwt4forum'.
TURK
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Expanding foam for mould, solid enough ?
TURK
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10 Years Ago
It works ok, but I wouldn't recommend it. It collapses lots, so you end up having to spend hours...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Thanks Hanaldo I was afraid somebody would say that, but not totally surprised. Is it available...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
Smooth-On are pretty global, I'd be surprised if they don't have a distributor in France or at least...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Thanks Hanaldo, I did find it in the end, the company do 'Smooth-On' products in France if anyones...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
it can be done, I made new wings for my car using the spray foam. Sprayed, trimmed with a saw to...
jaffa
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10 Years Ago
That's great work jaffa ....... amazing what some people can do. Even to undertake such a task, many...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
I think I found a far better supplier in France for 'Smooth-On' stuff, than the one mentioned above....
TURK
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10 Years Ago
thanks for the comments. Expanding foam was the aerosol from building suppliers, in this case...
jaffa
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10 Years Ago
It's always a good idea to lay a fibreglass skin over a foam pattern/plug just so you can then sand...
Fasta
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10 Years Ago
It's always a good idea to lay a fibreglass skin over a foam pattern/plug just so you can then sand...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
Actual PU foam (not the aerosol stuff) is closed cell, so the pattern coat primer won't harden it at...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Thanks Hanaldo for your time and expertise, very much appreciated. It makes great sense what...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
Apologies, you had mentioned that's what you were doing, I had forgotten. You might just want to...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Hi Hanaldo, I assume the 'Tg' is the 'Heat distortion temperature' of the resin. No 'Tg'...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
In essence, the HDT rating of a resin is a pretty useless value for most users, as it is the...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Hi Hanaldo, I hear you, and totally agree ........ but I haven't got to where I am with my...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
Absolutely agree mate, trial and error is all part of the fun! Honestly your project isn't really a...
Hanaldo
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10 Years Ago
Thanks Hanaldo, I fully understand mate, I did read some of your posts, sounds like interesting...
TURK
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10 Years Ago
Hanaldo, Sorry for the late reply. Just wanted to say that I have used expanding foam to make a...
Zedok
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10 Years Ago
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