How many casts per day?

[Deadmeat30]

Hey everyone,

bit of a funny day, but how many casts per day do people get done?

[jontidy]

32.

[paulson games]

Some days zero, some days as many as 150-160 sprues.

[Deadmeat30]

you running muliple moulds of the same model?

[mangozac]

I think Paulson will win this one!

Personally I've probably not done more than about 20 sprues running my single pressure pot.

[paulson games]

When I'm doing the bulk casting I usually run 6 molds at a time and I run two pots, I'd ocassionally run three pots but the seal went bad on my oldest pot so I only have two available. Certain items I have 12-18 molds for. Some items I might only have 2-3 molds in that case I mix and match stuff so that I'm always running a full pot of 5-6 molds.

I try and cycle the stuff every 20 minutes, I've found that if I try and do it faster the resin is still a bit soft and gets dimpled or dented when I de-pressurize. I could probably use a faster setting resin but I'm only using a 3 minute pot life resin now and I don't want to have to rush more than I'm currently at.

I offset each pot so that I'm basically changing stuff out every 10 minutes, during that time I'm setting up the molds for the next batch that way the release has time to dry and I can get them powdered and closed back up without breaking the flow.

Most days I don't cast all that much as I try and do it in between rounds of playing killzone or battlefield but there are days where I do nothing but cast and run off a ton of stuff off.

[Anvils Hammer]

I use the exact same method as Paulson.

Randomly what is the powder you are talking about? I run my molds without an mold release. does it help with mold life? Im a little concerned Id end up with forgeworld style "NASA couldnt make paint stick to this" parts..

I normally have a mate come over and we run two pots with 3 sets of molds.

Each "set" of molds is 2 plates with perhaps 6 molds on average per plate.

two sets are in the pots while we de-mold and prep the third set.

Its very efficent but quite tiring!!

AH

[paulson games]

Mold release will extend the mold life very significantly, if your are casting in bulk it's a must. Normally smooth-on rates their silicon good for 30-50 pulls , with mold release I've gotten as many as 200 pulls before it wears.

The powder is talc or baby powder, you put a light dusting of it down after the mold release has dried and it helps remove surface bubbles on the cast.

[Anvils Hammer]

Damn... thats got to be worth a try, particularly on some of my highest use molds! I will look into it.

The talc power Ill try out on a few of my "troublesome" molds, most of them are fine with 45psi pressure,

Thanks for the advice,

AH

[Hiflt4@juno.com]

How often do you guys apply your mold release, every cast, or every few?

[mangozac]

I do every cast.

[Hiflt4@juno.com]

I have been aswell but I am haveing a problem with the mold release building up in the mold and leaving a thick layer on the casts that is almost sticky, and washing it out of the cast or mold is a serious pain.

I use Smooth-on, Ease Release 200 - Aerosol Can and Mold Star® 30

[paulson games]

I use the same spray release, I think you may be putting it on too thick. All you need is a very light dusting especially when you are doing it with every cast. I just do a light misting over the molds and it works fine.

Where I get build up is from the talc powder, (again only a very light dusting is needed) after I've run the molds for the better part of a day I start to get some build up on the non detail areas of the mold which if left alone cause the flash to get heavier. Most of it will flake off if you gently run your finger nail over it or soak it in water. Just make sure to do any washing at the end of the day and let it air dry overnight as any moisture in the molds will seriously mess up the resin.

[mangozac]

I do get a buildup between the mating faces of the mould which give me increasing flash like Jon gets from the talc buildup. So I have to clean that off after about 5 casts. But I don't get any buildup in the detail areas like you mention.