Vac-Cast Epoxy resin ........ what have I bought !?

Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Back

Vac-Cast Epoxy resin ........ what have I bought !?

Author	Message
TURK	TURK posted 9 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 101, Visits: 662	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. Thanks guys. TURK Tags Epoxy resin plug tooling Vac-Cast
	Reply Like 7
Reply
TURK	TURK posted 9 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 101, Visits: 662	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. TURK
	Reply Like 6