Making the mould for a rudder, 3d printers

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Making the mould for a rudder, 3d printers

Making the mould for a rudder, 3d printers

Author	Message
Pietro Barili	Pietro Barili posted 4 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 6, Visits: 35	Hi everybody! I’m up to building a fresh new carbon fiber rudder for my racing sailing boat FD. I would like to follow exactly the instructions given in the video by easy composites about the mould making. Unfortunately it is a shame i cannot create an exact shape with foam in a first stage that i can use as a pattern for creating the mould as shown. Also i cannot use the old rudder cause i need to make another shape. I’m owner anyway of a 3d printer with which i can make the pattern, i can print in PETG, ABS and also PLA, but I don’t know if any of these materials will have strange reaction with the components of the products used for the pattern and the mould. If the answer is yes, how can i solve this problem still using 3d print? Or how do you suggest me casting a perfect symmetrical and wright shape for the rudder with the foam? The rudder will have anyway a foam core so i need to find how to do that In any case, but it is not as important such the external surface of the rudder to be perfectly shaped and symmetrical... THANKS!
	Reply Like 5
Lester Populaire	L Lester Populaire posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
L Group: Forum Members Posts: 311, Visits: 13K	+x Pietro Barili - 4/23/2020 4:04:57 PM Hi everybody! I’m up to building a fresh new carbon fiber rudder for my racing sailing boat FD. I would like to follow exactly the instructions given in the video by easy composites about the mould making. Unfortunately it is a shame i cannot create an exact shape with foam in a first stage that i can use as a pattern for creating the mould as shown. Also i cannot use the old rudder cause i need to make another shape. I’m owner anyway of a 3d printer with which i can make the pattern, i can print in PETG, ABS and also PLA, but I don’t know if any of these materials will have strange reaction with the components of the products used for the pattern and the mould. If the answer is yes, how can i solve this problem still using 3d print? Or how do you suggest me casting a perfect symmetrical and wright shape for the rudder with the foam? The rudder will have anyway a foam core so i need to find how to do that In any case, but it is not as important such the external surface of the rudder to be perfectly shaped and symmetrical... THANKS! PLA works great for plugs in case you are not planning on post curing the mould with the plug. It is easy to print, stiff and fillers have a good adhesion on it. made a lot of moulds this way.
	Reply Like 4
Pietro Barili	Pietro Barili posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 6, Visits: 35	+x Lester Populaire - 4/23/2020 7:51:27 PM +x Pietro Barili - 4/23/2020 4:04:57 PM Hi everybody! I’m up to building a fresh new carbon fiber rudder for my racing sailing boat FD. I would like to follow exactly the instructions given in the video by easy composites about the mould making. Unfortunately it is a shame i cannot create an exact shape with foam in a first stage that i can use as a pattern for creating the mould as shown. Also i cannot use the old rudder cause i need to make another shape. I’m owner anyway of a 3d printer with which i can make the pattern, i can print in PETG, ABS and also PLA, but I don’t know if any of these materials will have strange reaction with the components of the products used for the pattern and the mould. If the answer is yes, how can i solve this problem still using 3d print? Or how do you suggest me casting a perfect symmetrical and wright shape for the rudder with the foam? The rudder will have anyway a foam core so i need to find how to do that In any case, but it is not as important such the external surface of the rudder to be perfectly shaped and symmetrical... THANKS! PLA works great for plugs in case you are not planning on post curing the mould with the plug. It is easy to print, stiff and fillers have a good adhesion on it. made a lot of moulds this way. Thanks! Can you give me some advise about the process you usually follow and the covering materials to use to make the plug from the PLA print? Thanks!
	Reply Like 3
Lester Populaire	L Lester Populaire posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
L Group: Forum Members Posts: 311, Visits: 13K	first of all i would design the parts in a way that there is a channel inside so you can thread them onto two aluminum square extrusions or similar so the individually printed parts are well aligned. then superglue everything together. doublecheck everything is straight and the tolerances are as needed. then i give the parts a rough sanding with a block and 120 grit sandpaper, then some bodyfiller to smooth out some iregularities, followed by sanding again. sanding is really nice as the ridges from the printed layers will give you indication of how deep you sanded. And keep things cool while sanding as the PLA doesn't like heat at all. So i do all sanding wet. Then from here on i will give you two ways of doing it. the right way and my way. I recommend doing it the right way and if you wanna do it like me, then absolutely test material compatibility in a small scale test! The right way: Use a 2K body filler sprayed on the whole part and block sand. repeat until you have the desired finish. Then spray a 2K paint on the whole part and let it cure perfectly. this can take a while but you will have heaps of problems if the paint is not cured. then you can proceed with a chemical mold release or wax and build your mould on this. Another alternative is to use a coating resin to coat the plug with, but this is a whole lot more work to sand to a perfect finish, and it is more likely that you will burn through the layer and will have spots where the mould doesn't release. As I am not super well equipped for painting 2K paint and i know i can get away with the following: Paint the whole plug with duplicolor spray putty to fill in bigger sanding scratches, then finish off with a layer of duplicolor spray filler, which i sand up to 800 grit usually. Once finished i let the paint dry overnight in an oven at 35...40°C. This is super important. As This spray paint is not resistant to solvents I then use Formula five paste wax (which is a really nice product anyway). I give it at least 3 coats. The wax will leave you with a nicer finish than the 800 grit sandpaper would make you believe, as it fills in micro scratches. Your plug is then ready to make an EPOXY mould. do not try to put on anything styrene based onto this surface... I hope this gives you an idea. cheers!
	Reply Like 4
Pietro Barili	Pietro Barili posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 6, Visits: 35	Yes’ thanks a lot! By the way, can i use styrene based products on first surface you described? I think that easy composites gel moulding coat has in it...
	Reply Like 3
Hanaldo	Hanaldo posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2.5K, Visits: 28K	You can use styrene based gelcoats on 2k coatings, but ALWAYS do a test with the specific products youre using. There are hundreds of different formulas, and there are as many that arent compatible as ones that are. Find one that works and stick with it!
	Reply Like 3
Pietro Barili	Pietro Barili posted 4 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 6, Visits: 35	Thanks for helping, i’ll continuing posting some questions and advancements on other section of the forum, bye!
	Reply Like 3