by Islacrusez » Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:11 am
Curses!
I was hoping to use aluminium instead of resin to reduce costs, by melting down aluminium cans from my friends' copious consumption of energy drinks and similar. I suppose a hard mould will do, but it does then create new constraints in the design, doesn't it?
I have had an idea on how to do it. blindhorizon has pointed me towards ninja magic... They do 3d printing in high-quality wax, and then investment casting into bronze. If I design my item in 3d, and then invert the design, have that printed instead and hey presto bronze moulds? There's a 300 degree difference in melting points, approximately (since both materials are alloys of unspecified mixes), so I should then be ok?
Only real problem will be the hilarity of designing it with fixed-mould constraints. But hey, if the professionals can do it... I'm so screwed xD