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Reproduction badges from silicone moulds


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fuck i was talking to shagy when i said that... i guess i shoulda mentioned that...sorry fer the thread jack...

 

that top chrome painting system is pretty cool had a chance to buy ne.... but it requires a ultra clean enviroment and surface....actaully he probably still has the machine for it... i dont think he ever tried to sell it after he tried to me...

 

as far as aresols thees no real chrome alt.... there all basically dull to shiny aluminum... we have a powder called near chrome ...i wish they would change the name to highly polished alum....cause it dont look like chrome...it only works on metal substrate...when i sold aint we sold a product called mirra chrome by auto air but it was a bitch too.....had to be over the nicest shinest smoothest black single stage paint job and it cant be sanded or u will see it in the chrome top coat...tough to replicate chrome cheaply.....my suggestion make a billion and then take them to a plater...lol

awww now i feel like an ass for talking shit on it... i remember finding some feedback from a few companies that bought that system and couldn't get it to work and then not being able to get exchanges or feedback. maybe it was just "user error" stuff and the system is great. i dunno.

i did have a crazy idea a while back but i haven't tried it yet. it involves that 3M chrome film that is used for sign making. i'll have to get back to you on that.

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I Saw that west coast customs show. That system I have seen before. A painter I know had it. He did a few things. Got a sick deal on it too..but then never did anything with it. Spectra Chrome was the name?? Alsa makes some cool stuff..but you really do need to work fast with the stuff, which just doesnt make sense to me. I'd stick to doing small parts.

 

eh, maybe in a year or so I'll look into the plastic chrome again. It would be nice to have the option, there are a lot of colors and such they offer with the system.

 

but if anyone has a 3D model they want me to try and get printed, I'll take it to my friends work and we'll mess with the printer.

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that machine is very user sensitive......and its all application in realtion to that statement ... the machine works fine and will ...and expecting a refund cause u cant make it work is slightly butt hurt ridiculous if u ask me....if its broke yeah but because you aren't patient or detailed oriented then i think the ownus would be on u, errrr them...

 

 

ps i think i am on the same page as u when in elation to the film... we ae talking suspended not applyied right... cause my earlier statement refered that u were not walmarty applying the film and rather intergratng it ... which will both be difficult and really add tot he ogness of your product should u decide to go that route....

 

in my mind i was thinking two pieces first then one piece...i think trying to make it all at once would be hard... welll what if u made a two level mold and attached it premolding before the molds are assembeld...u would have to device a system to allow it to fill either both or all at once .....another thing i seen cool was shaker tables used in amking thngs in molds to crete uniformity and eliminate porosity .... but i think your product is too viscous to try and reap that benefit...

 

haha i'm going to have to break out the stuff today. i'll let you know where i'm going with it when i get something achieved.i'm waiting to see what ratwagon 1600 does to his first!

EDIT: i think some of the issues with the system were mechanical failure. you know how it is, if you are using an expensive machine to make a living it has to be able to hold up. parts break, newly designed machines have flaws.

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mmmmm 3d printing like the vid of them making a crescent wrench then showing how it actually worked.....it was some plastic shit i never seem......cools shit ever i seen on video... a wrench appeared from no where....then they used ... minus the force of a rusted bolt but it turned and adjusted ... i was like .....vid +jrock=mindfuck

 

there was more than a little artistic license in that. there is a video of the host dude which is basically a mea culpa apolgizing for the inaccuracy.

 

he did in fact bring in a wrench, and it was scanned, but the resultant file was not printed. instead, a canned demonstration file that happened to be a similarly sized crescent wrench was sent to the machine and magically appeared. not a complete lie, but in reality a serious misrepresentation of the technology. a scanner can not see the internal mechanism, nor can appropriate clearances be designed in by the flashy technology... at least not yet it can't

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"throw some shrimp on the barbee" haha that's an australia joke, mate.

 

25$ degassing chamber. that's a brake bleeder from an auto store...

 

 

A better Australian joke is our current Prime Minister!

 

I watched the Tap plastics video on YouTube and was thinking, how am I going to make a small vacuum chamber to get rid of the inevitable air bubbles. You've solved my quandary as it just so happens I have a brand new air assisted brake bleeder unit sitting in the garage. I bought it years ago and have never used it (yet). I'll dig it out today and start work on a bleed chamber (pics of course will follow).

 

The painting issue is going to be interesting. I'd love to be able to do plastic chroming, albeit on a small scale, but, I think it will be a bit cost prohibitive. The spray chrome option is another avenue. I'll be researching this a bit more and would be great full for anymore ideas people might have. The rest of the badge will be hand painted with enamel model paints.

 

Thanks for the vids. Looks like a bit of a magic show to me

 

Now, to send my thread slightly off topic, a link to one of the 3d printing sites I have been following.

 

http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap

 

I've been holding off on buying one of these as I'm waiting for the technology to get a little bit better before I save up my pennies and take the plunge.

 

More to follow soon.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

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so dguy and ratwagon, i've been planning to do the same thing for an emblem that my b210 is missing. how are you guys planning on painting them? i think enamel model paint will work for the colors but the chrome is a whole different thing. i know that chrome electroplating is possible, but really really expensive. i'm cheap. and there is no spray on silver that looks right.

a few years ago i spent about $300 on different spray paints (one can at a time) and stuff that claimed to be "the one" but i never found it. so then i started looking into chrome plating and realized i can't do it myself and i'm not paying somebody else to do it either. i found a few strange systems for sale online...

 

It's a Tollen's reagent based system with usually a 2K clear. Basically, a silvering process: http://en.wikipedia....ollens'_reagent

 

I've actually been curious to try this, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'd probably just roll my own chemicals though.

 

Good quality chrome paint looks reasonably ok, but just has no real handling characteristics, and all of the ones I tried reacted badly to being clear coated.

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Thanks for the vids. Looks like a bit of a magic show to me

 

Now, to send my thread slightly off topic, a link to one of the 3d printing sites I have been following.

 

http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap

 

I've been holding off on buying one of these as I'm waiting for the technology to get a little bit better before I save up my pennies and take the plunge.

 

More to follow soon.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

 

The filament printers require a lot of finessing to get good prints. We've got a Utilimaker, and a Makerbot beside the Objet, but our machine shop guy who runs the prototyping facility has spent a lot of time fine tuning them for decent prints. They are really cheap to run though, but things defiantly require cleanup later. Good for home use but not suited for any kind of multiple item runs for sale. Basically, the quality of the Makerbot is what drove the purchasing of the Objet.

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The filament printers require a lot of finessing to get good prints. We've got a Utilimaker, and a Makerbot beside the Objet, but our machine shop guy who runs the prototyping facility has spent a lot of time fine tuning them for decent prints. They are really cheap to run though, but things defiantly require cleanup later. Good for home use but not suited for any kind of multiple item runs for sale. Basically, the quality of the Makerbot is what drove the purchasing of the Objet.

 

That's what initially drove me to 3D printing... The MakerBot: Cupcake CNC printer. Then they came out with the second one. It looked like it printed out in decent resolution, but new larger, more expensive units would print better. I think I'd still like to pick up a MakerBot just to be able to quickly (a relative term) print something out for a check before I either have it milled or sent off to an Objet facility.

 

So it sounds like plastic chroming is near impossible, but there's so many pieces out there chromed. What's the process that these companies are using to chrome plastic? I think I've read a few articles on vapor forming?- not too familiar with the process.

 

On an unrelated related note: for those of you interested in the DIY scene, you should check out www.instructables.com Ive been building things from that site for years now and love it. It's where I first saw home 3D printing.

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Ok.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic this is going to work.

 

The initial mould appears to be curing well and I need to resist the temptation to remove it at this stage. Another 24 hours should see this right. The surface of the mould is nice and flat with no apparent sign of air bubbles although this doesn't mean they are not lurking underneath.

 

The brake bleeder vacuum system has been dug out.

 

901fb043.jpg

 

800bdcef.jpg

 

The idea at this stage is to make a vacuum chamber using this.

 

ce222754.jpg

 

Failing that, I'll make a vacuum box from scratch using the Perspex sheet I have lying around. If the other container doesn't work, this will allow me to scratch build something, and will also show the air bubbles (assuming it works) being removed.

 

d501dbf6.jpg

 

I've dug out one can of chrome spray I have and need to find another can here in my garage which is a different brand. I'll use them, and a bit of hardened fibreglass resin Imhave as a test piece.

 

9b6690e2.jpg

 

This is going to be the next badge I'm going to do.

 

245bb0c8.jpg

 

Starting on the mould box now.

 

 

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As soon as I get some more silicone and a different resin, this is next:

bluebird-u.jpg

:thumbup:

 

I'll probably run it through the 3D scanner just for the hell of it anyways.

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As soon as I get some more silicone and a different resin, this is next:

bluebird-u.jpg

:thumbup:

 

I'll probably run it through the 3D scanner just for the hell of it anyways.

 

Not sure what it's off (Datsun obviously) but looks damm fine!

 

Just about to start the build of the vacumn box.

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Not sure what it's off (Datsun obviously) but looks damm fine!

 

Just about to start the build of the vacumn box.

 

Off a 610.

 

Actually it occurred to me to try some Rose's metal (low metal alloy ~100C) instead of resin next time. I found a place that with shipping is about ~$20USD for 450g.

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Not sure what it's off (Datsun obviously) but looks damm fine!

 

Just about to start the build of the vacumn box.

 

oh man i should have mentioned for the vacuum chamber... smaller is better it takes a lot of pumping to get all of the air out... you'll see.

 

 

EDIT: a larger container takes a lot longer to get negative pressure, i have a few and i use the smallest one i can for the given job.

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sorry, i just noticed this... that plastic food container won't work, it will just collapse on its self. if the sheet plastic you are planning to build one with after that is less than 1/4 inch thick that will be too thin, too. don't under estimate air pressure. maybe if you build a box with a thick plastic viewing window?

i use jars because they are stiff. i even coat them with clear tape in case one decides to implode from the pressure.

once you get one built there is some awesome stuff you can do with it, like plastic impregnated/stabilized wood for knife handles.

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sorry, i just noticed this... that plastic food container won't work, it will just collapse on its self. if the sheet plastic you are planning to build one with after that is less than 1/4 inch thick that will be too thin, too. don't under estimate air pressure. maybe if you build a box with a thick plastic viewing window?

i use jars because they are stiff. i even coat them with clear tape in case one decides to implode from the pressure.

once you get one built there is some awesome stuff you can do with it, like plastic impregnated/stabilized wood for knife handles.

 

Thanks, I've been pondering whether the container would do the job and sort of came to the same conclusion.

 

The Perspex is about 3mm (roughly 1/8) thick, so possibly same deal.

 

I really want to make something big enough to place the filled mould in hence the large box idea.

 

Time for some more research methinks so back to Google I go.

 

Mould no1 is going to be ready in a couple of hours (pics soon).

 

Cheers

 

Jason

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