10-09-2015, 09:22 PM
Firstly iandt welcome to Big Blue as a poster not just a guest.
Your 3D model looks great, so well done there!
I cant comment specifically on resin casting as I have yet to try it, but I have cast concrete, done various types of welding and hopefully soon I will be casting aluminium and I have learnt a few things. It all comes down to learning the most correct technique to use and repeated practice. When you first try anything, unless you are a freak of nature, you are bound to only see partial success and you have to use that experience as a benchmark to project yourself further forward. Failure can be discouraging, no matter who you are. It just takes determination and a sprinkling of intelligence to see that with some minor changes, success is just around the corner. Even taking too much time off from a project or task can result in failure as your skills can and will degrade with time as you and your mind forget things. We were discussing at work, how even just having a holiday can put you "off your game" as far as trade skills are concerned.
Another thing to look out for is technique adoption, whereby you observe or use a technique in one part of your life and then see if that technique can be used elsewhere.
Check out people on You Tube who offer up resin casting techniques as that may help you to learn where your problems occurred.
Your problem with air entrapment in the mold is also a familiar one for people who try various types of casting, be they casting in plaster, foam, green sand, formwork or cake tins.
As far as bubbles in your resin mix, one tip I have seen used when casting water features is to use a stick or tool as a chute to pour the resin down to the molding surface to avoid air bubbles.
Another tip maybe to use a vibration device to help settle the resin into all the parts of the mold and float up any air bubbles.
If your resin is going off too fast before it reaches all of the mold, take note of how much hardener used and reduce it by say 10% in the next pour. If properly mixed it will still go off only more slowly.
Mark
Your 3D model looks great, so well done there!
I cant comment specifically on resin casting as I have yet to try it, but I have cast concrete, done various types of welding and hopefully soon I will be casting aluminium and I have learnt a few things. It all comes down to learning the most correct technique to use and repeated practice. When you first try anything, unless you are a freak of nature, you are bound to only see partial success and you have to use that experience as a benchmark to project yourself further forward. Failure can be discouraging, no matter who you are. It just takes determination and a sprinkling of intelligence to see that with some minor changes, success is just around the corner. Even taking too much time off from a project or task can result in failure as your skills can and will degrade with time as you and your mind forget things. We were discussing at work, how even just having a holiday can put you "off your game" as far as trade skills are concerned.
Another thing to look out for is technique adoption, whereby you observe or use a technique in one part of your life and then see if that technique can be used elsewhere.
Check out people on You Tube who offer up resin casting techniques as that may help you to learn where your problems occurred.
Your problem with air entrapment in the mold is also a familiar one for people who try various types of casting, be they casting in plaster, foam, green sand, formwork or cake tins.
As far as bubbles in your resin mix, one tip I have seen used when casting water features is to use a stick or tool as a chute to pour the resin down to the molding surface to avoid air bubbles.
Another tip maybe to use a vibration device to help settle the resin into all the parts of the mold and float up any air bubbles.
If your resin is going off too fast before it reaches all of the mold, take note of how much hardener used and reduce it by say 10% in the next pour. If properly mixed it will still go off only more slowly.
Mark
Fake It till you Make It, then Fake It some More