Brand New and looking for advice

[Fleafa]

I have bought a second since I recommended this pot. Are you getting a vacuum pump too?

[chinwag]

Thanks Fleafa,

I was just going to go with the pot, try and source a suitable compressor, and go from there.

If I'm honest I'm a little confused about the vacuum pump side of things - is that to vacuum degass using the same pot?

Thanks.

[Fleafa]

Vacuum removes most of the bubbles introduced by mixing, as well as some air pockets.
Pressure reduces the size of the bubbles and increases the density of the cast plastic.

[chinwag]

Ah OK, thanks.

I might start with the pressure pot and compressor, then add the vacuum pump etc further down the line.

From what I've read I should see a lot of improvement with the pressure pot alone?

The vacuum side of things seems like a pretty straightforward conversion, I'm sure when I come to it, it won't be that simple!

[mangozac]

It depends on the parts. Using pressure alone you will still need to have proper gates and vents designed (resin in the gate, air out the vent), which can be a pain for small parts.

[chinwag]

thanks mangozac,

at the moment my molds are really simple, one part molds, with the odd 2 part mold as well, nothing really small, maybe 2cm at the smallest.

I'm assuming I don't need to do anything special with the one part molds, I'll have a read up on gating/venting and see what I need to do for the 2 parts, thanks for pointing it out.

I'm still trying to settle on a compressor so I have some time to read up!