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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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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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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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