Strong thin walled castings

[Stonecoal]

I have 2 questions regarding Smooth-on's Task 4 resin: 1. Is it true that long-curing resins (16 hours for Task 4) shortens silicone mold life? 2. With production time in mind, is there a resin comparable in strength and durability to Task 4 but with a shorter cure time? Appreciate any help.

[mangozac]

Hi Stonecoal!

In general resins with a shorter cure time will generate more heat during curing, which in the long term does have a detrimental effect on the silicone. We all generally use resins with a cure time of less than 1 hour, but I expect that you could go a lot shorter than 16 hours without much impact on the mould longevity.

For help selecting the best Smooth-On product you'd be best talking directly to someone from Smooth-On.

[Stonecoal]

Thanks, mangozac. I'll be dealing in some cases with very thin sections (1/32 or less) so perhaps with small pieces the heat factor with long-curing times won't be too harsh on the silicone. BTW, you probably know that Smooth-on provides the resin for Micro-Mark. Smooth-on's Task-4 is Micro-Mark's CR-900.