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I am actually coveting one of those little plastic toys. I need to think on this for a while :)

by zafka 9y ago

ChuckMcM 9y ago
I find myself coveting a Mold-a-rama machine to make molds for it :-). Injection molding is pretty expensive to do in small quantities, I would like to have a 'table top' machine where I could trade time for money.
- cr0sh 9y ago
  Combine this: https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-injection-molding/ https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-inj... With this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Plastic-Injection-Molding-with-an-Epoxy-Mold/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Plastic-Injection-Moldi... Alternatively, you can purchase a hand injection molding machine as mentioned in the above instructable, if you don't want to build your own: http://www.easyplasticmolding.com/model_150/home.html http://www.easyplasticmolding.com/model_150/home.html ...for $1800.00. So - if you have more money than time, materials and skill - well, it's possible.
  - ChuckMcM 9y ago
    And they are reasonably close in Scotts Valley. I'm definitely going to have to get one of those. EDIT: Interesting that the Makezine article has a pretty big problem. It doesn't actually show you how to make the 'second half' of the epoxy mold. To make the second half, you would have to assemble the mold and then pour epoxy into the assembled mold. Depending on the material you'd probably end up some how pumping that epoxy in, and you would need to pull a vacuum on it to avoid bubbles. Its a nit of course, but worth considering.
  - _jal 9y ago
    For desktop use, it seems like mold-making combined with a lab heater for ABS/whatever you're going to use would make it cheaper-still. I used to do investment casting with silver, and that's mostly the way it worked. ABS is much lower-temp and cools faster, so some experimentation with the "crucible" would probably be in order. But that's home-brew for you.

I am actually coveting one of those little plastic toys. I need to think on this for a while :)

by zafka 9y ago

I am actually coveting one of those little plastic toys. I need to think on this for a while :)

I find myself coveting a Mold-a-rama machine to make molds for it :-). Injection molding is pretty expensive to do in small quantities, I would like to have a 'table top' machine where I could trade time for money.

cr0sh 9y ago
Combine this: https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-injection-molding/ https://makezine.com/projects/make-41-tinkering-toys/diy-inj... With this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Plastic-Injection-Molding-with-an-Epoxy-Mold/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Plastic-Injection-Moldi... Alternatively, you can purchase a hand injection molding machine as mentioned in the above instructable, if you don't want to build your own: http://www.easyplasticmolding.com/model_150/home.html http://www.easyplasticmolding.com/model_150/home.html ...for $1800.00. So - if you have more money than time, materials and skill - well, it's possible.
- ChuckMcM 9y ago
  And they are reasonably close in Scotts Valley. I'm definitely going to have to get one of those. EDIT: Interesting that the Makezine article has a pretty big problem. It doesn't actually show you how to make the 'second half' of the epoxy mold. To make the second half, you would have to assemble the mold and then pour epoxy into the assembled mold. Depending on the material you'd probably end up some how pumping that epoxy in, and you would need to pull a vacuum on it to avoid bubbles. Its a nit of course, but worth considering.
- _jal 9y ago
  For desktop use, it seems like mold-making combined with a lab heater for ABS/whatever you're going to use would make it cheaper-still. I used to do investment casting with silver, and that's mostly the way it worked. ABS is much lower-temp and cools faster, so some experimentation with the "crucible" would probably be in order. But that's home-brew for you.