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TURK
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Hi folks, As per the thread title ........ I'm not sure if what I have bought from EC will be fine for what I am trying to accomplish. I purchased some 'Vac-Cast' Epoxy casting resin as I read it was ideal for a tooling plug as it was an aluminium filled epoxy casting resin resistant to heat. I've searched on the forum on how to use it ( and on YouTube ), but can't find anybody that has used it ! I did find however, many casting tutorials on the net but they were for liquid Latex and others. Am I to assume it's exactly the same procedure ? I have also read some of the tutorials on here, but the guide very quickly deviates to mould construction for the use of vacuum infusion for carbon fibre parts. I simply need to pour the mixture into a vacuum formed part. Leaving me with a 'male' plug so I can vacuum form many other parts just like my original. Any information greatly received as I'm really stuck as to which direction I need to go.
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Matthieu Libeert
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have you read this allready?
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TURK
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Group: Forum Members
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Many thanks Matthieu for taking the time to respond. Also, thanks for the link to the document, I did actually download that a while ago ........ it was that that really persuaded me to buy the Vac-Cast that I have. I was hoping somehow that I could find a 'how-to' in video form, so I could get a better understanding of how to use the product, or so I thought ! It's amazing to see just how many videos there are on YouTube demonstrating casting techniques ......... not a single one for 'Vac-Cast' however ! There are many ( too many ) resin casting how-to's showing people casting tiny little things pendants and small figurines, not quite what I was looking for. Also, many many videos on casting latex rubbers ! So you have to ask yourself, will my product ( Vac-Cast Epoxy Resin ) act in pretty much the same way. I was hoping that admin would of seized the opportunity to back-up their product, as they're the guy's in the know. As you've kindly confirmed my suspicions, that's exactly what I'll do. My approach is somewhat slightly different to you guys mostly doing resin infusion, and working with carbon fibre. I'm actually constructing some vacuum forming plugs, so I can vacuum form 3mm ABS car headlight assemblies. Here are the plugs in question > T4 Quad Headlight ProjectI'm putting the finishing touches on the plugs at the moment, just sanding back the Polyester body filler, then I intend on brushing a couple of coats of 'Pattern-Coat Primer' to a nice shiny finish. Do you see any problems doing it this way ? TURK
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Matthieu Libeert
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Group: Forum Members
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TURK
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Group: Forum Members
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Matthieu Libeert
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haha I'll do my best to take that as a near project then  have some topics ready for that Vac cast epoxy  Nice to hear you liked that Iron man video! Correct, I'm from Belgium, was a bit difficult in the beginning but you kind of get used to it to talk in english after a while. Still make some mistakes now and then but don't care about that anymore "Salut" or "tot de volgende" I'm from the dutch part of Belgium near to the French border, But I fluently speak french, dutch and a bit of english I guess :p
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TURK
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Group: Forum Members
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Very talented man Matthieu. Really enjoying all your videos, it's nice to see people taking the time to educate others. I can't wait to see the 'Vac-Cast' tutorial, I would of worked out the correct procedure by then hopefully. If I knew more about the subject, I would be the first to make a tutorial on making plugs and moulds. My research shows that there are so many ways of accomplishing plug and mould fabrication. I guess when it comes down to it, you have to continually test and get accustomed to a technique that works best for you. There are so many different products out there to chose from, I'm just getting so tired of all those youtube videos that show people casting things like pen blanks, earrings, jewellery or toy soldiers ......... most times without any instruction of what is happening what they're using, and a way too loud sound track that is either heavy metal or a bad 70's p0rn film ! Once in a while I would like to see a true pro at work explaining what's he's doing. When the time comes, I'll be posting how-to videos on plug and mould design and vacuum forming, as there's not a lot out there. At the moment I'm making some plugs made of MDF, covered and shaped with easy sand Polyester body filler >>  I'm just fine tuning them now, so a bit more sanding and they'll be the exact same size as the original part I need. They're not copied from anything, it's a design from scratch so no template. The next phase will be to brush a couple of layers of 'Pattern-Coat Primer' to give them that eggshell like finish. I then have two choices, I can vacuum form directly that shape using 2mm ABS, and pour a mix of 'Vac-Cast' Epoxy resin into the vac formed part and end up with a solid male plug, or I can make a box mould and pour 'Vac-Cast' Epoxy resin into a box mould and end up with a female mould. Ideally, I would like to test both versions and see how the ABS plastic performs. Both female mould and a male mould have to be hard wearing and heat resistant as it's for vacuum forming. I'm hoping I can workout the correct procedure for this, as I'll be using this technique for the headlight covers also. Here's an example of some headlight covers I made last year, using a DIY vacuum forming machine that I built. They were OK, but no where near strong enough. I concluded that the covers should be at the very least 2mm in thickness, but as I want to build a quality product I'm going to use 3mm ABS. >>  The aluminium headlight bracket you see in the picture, was one of my very first prototypes, while being a little on the flimsy side it allow me to workout the correct positioning of the headlight units. So the plugs I'm currently working on, are in fact a plastic version of the template you see there. But the headlight units will be installed inside the brackets and not in front as in the picture. >>  I'm also working on the clear cover version of the quad headlights also >>  Any help on the project will be greatly appreciated Matthieu, even criticism ........ would you have done it completely differently !? TURK
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Matt (Staff)
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Hi Turk,
When you get to the point where you're going to be casting the Vac Cast into your vac formed mould (i.e. to make a male former from Vac Cast) if you're at all unsure of the process then just let us know either through this forum or contact our support directly. Essentially, you're casting a two-part epoxy mix into your female mould which is a pretty straight-forward process.
The key is to reduce the amount of resin used by 'blocking out' the inside of your mould so that there is less capacity for the Vac-Cast; not only will this save you money on Vac Cast (and save you from producing a very heavy tool) but it will also reduce shrinkage and make it far easier to drill your vac pull-down holes (if you need them) because you'll be drilling through a thinner section.
Vac-Cast is a real staple of the vacuum forming industry because it is easy to use a reliable but, as I say, if you have any questions before use then just let us know.
Oh, final piece of advice - as always - test your release of the Vac Cast from your vac forming using your chosen release agent in a small area first. Make sure you get a good release with the combination of materials you're using before comitting to the whole job.
I look forward to seeing how you go.
All the best, Matt
Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales
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TURK
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Group: Forum Members
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Hi Matt, Many thanks for taking the time to respond and assist. Casting resins into moulds all seems very easy ....... actually it is ! As this is my very first attempt at this, and I usually research everything before hand, not knowing and not being accustomed to the materials you naturally don't know what works with what. The last thing you want is for a certain product reacting with another. I think this is where 'newbies' get confused or end up with a disaster on their hands, and not knowing what went wrong !
I'm fine with the polyester body filler, and brushing 'Pattern-Coat Primer' over the plugs. But then I have two choices ......... either I vacuum form directly over the top of those plugs, which will give me an slightly larger part than I need. But the intention would be to cast a polyester resin into that vacuum formed part. Polyester body filler and Pattern-Coat Primer which is a Polyester resin, makes sense.
Or, I could simply box out the plug and pour an RTV platinum silicon to create a mould, and then cast 'Vac-Cast' into the silicon resin mould. As nothing sticks to silicon ( apart from silicon itself ), demoulding should be straight forward.
Eventually what I want to end up with is, a backup of my plug ( or form ) so I can create more moulds from it in the future, as no mould lasts forever. Then it's to have a female mould made of 'Vac-Cast' resin and a male plug for vacuum forming my parts out of ABS plastic.
The issue is, 'Vac-Cast' resin is an 'Epoxy' resin ! how will that react with polyester body filler and if I use silicon to create a female mould, can I then cast the epoxy resin into it ? this is where I'm lost ........ can't find the information anywhere.
This is the finished plug at the moment, I've just got to sand down the radii a little more then I'm ready for casting. As you can see it's quite an intricate shape, but there no negative draft angles on it at all >>
Anybody had any experience doing this ?
The other thing you mention ........ 'blocking out'. I was intending to do that as I saw a tutorial on youtube where a guy was casting a urethane mould. Would I still be able to use wood as the 'block', and will I be able to remove the wooden block from my mould once it's cured, leaving me with sides to my plugs with 2cm walls and a hollow interior.
The release agent I use, I purchase from yourselves, it's the 'Easy-Lease' universal chemical release system. |
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TURK
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Group: Forum Members
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Hi folks, Matt - You did mention that when I got closer to creating my mold, to get touch. As an update to my quad headlight project, I thought I would post a few photos of how I'm getting on. And I still have an unanswered question from above. Does Vac-Cast Epoxy Resin stick to wood ? Now that all four parts of my headlight mounting brackets are ready ........ built with MDF, shaped with Polyester body filler and finished off with a couple of coats brushed-on 'Pattern-Coat Primer', I was ready to tackle the next phase of the operation. I've buffed the plugs up to a fine sheen but will also spray 'Ease Release 200' as a mold release agent prior to pouring the 'Vac-Cast' resin >>  I built a mold box giving me 18mm surrounding the plugs, which should in effect give me a female tooling plug with 18mm walls. Obviously, I won't be filling the mold box completely ......... just 15mm over the top of the plug should give me a good base >>  So far so good ......... I think !
I've read just about everything I could find concerning the use of 'Vac-Cast Epoxy Resin' ( which isn't much ), but I have seen an awful of how-to's on youtube concerning the use of RTV Silicon rubbers and various other cold casting techniques. So that's the method I'll be using.
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