*Important note:* Not all hs-PLA's are the same. Some filaments just don't get soft enough. There can be a massive differenceS between filaments used. The one I use and recommend is "Sunlu - Meta PLA". Make sure it has Meta in the name. There is another video using this method in case you missed it. *Print-Wave Metal Casting: Aluminium Mug* ua-cam.com/video/5ZhkHHd6YwM/v-deo.html
Here is a trick for knowing when the plaster is dry. After drying it, let it go to room temperature, then place your hand on the surface. If it feels cool, it's still moist. If it feels warm, its dry. (If it is dry it will feel warm even at room temperature). We use this trick all the time making ceramics.
If anything it was understated. This was some top notch stuff and while I guess we'll never stop seeing 3d printing innovations, they still surprise me when I see them!
Your "not brass" metal is probably Zamak, an alloy of Zinc, Aluminium, Magnesium and Copper. It's a really amazing metal for casting, has a much lower melting point than brass, and does less toxic Zinc fumes. I love Zamak :)
Surely the aluminum fumes can't be better than the zinc ones tho. Either way people should be on daily silica supplements for all the airborne aluminum from cloud seeding, doubly so when they're sanding and melting alloys in their home
Yep I work as an electroplater and we plate a lot of cast Zamak parts. Probably Zamak 3 if I had to guess, there are multiple types of Zamak. We do zinc plating for a better surface finish and then a chemical dye that turns the plating a brassy color. We do a lot of handles for hotels.
I"m just sitting here in my underpants saying "holy shit" repeatedly. Incredible. One of the most integral processes to modern humans industrialization has just been meaningfully iterated. so smart to recognize the application of the microwave.
Thank you! I am happy to receive feedback, so I know what people enjoy. I also like those slow-motion metal melting scenes, so I'll keep using them whenever it makes the video more visually appealing.
What a truly inspirational video. Like all great ideas, they are so obvious once you are shown it. I have just started putting together the necessary items to build my own metal melting workshop. I have spent hundreds of hours watching videos and reading articles and no one comes close to how you do it.
Thank you for this. I just learned lost PLA to silver this year, and this just took it a step further. There are so many sources of old scrap meltable metals all over.
You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. Seriously incredible work on this channel. You've re-awakened my dream of finally making some custom wedding rings!
Add salt to your plaster to speed up the curing time. You can get it to set within minutes, depending on the amount of salt. (A great tip that I got from a dental prosthetic maker)
I've tried many different casting processes and not tried this one before! For me any material is precious so I try my hardest to make everything as cheap as possible. My favourite way to cast things is to print a 3D model in vase mode and then dip it in plaster of Paris, creating about 3 or 4 mm shell. Then, after drying, put it in the oven to soften the plastic and carefully remove it. Then I pack the mould shell inside some dry sand. I found casting like this uses absolute minimum materials possible
John Heisz just added a 3d printer to his wood shop. Check out what he’s been doing with it. I tried sharing link to his channel but I guess it got deleted.
Yes. Looks like zamak. A very common material in door handles and many other things. It's a really nice material for casting. Melts at lower temperature and thus have a lower shrinkage. And it's easier to find than brass
@@ShakeTheFuture I use two ways of checking if it is zamak. One is measuring the density of the piece. By weight in dry and underwater. The second way is to scratch the surface of the metal and put a bit of copper sulfate solution. If it turns black it is zinc based and probably zamak. In Spain it is sold as antifungal in any place that deals with plants. Usually blue color.
@@jabonet Yeah, blue... I´ve heard, man can dissolve those blue copper- sulfate-granules, and use the solution to copper-plate steel/iron, with a DC-source, and a sacrificial piece of copper.
Microwaving an object like this will create hots spots and cold spots - the EM waves in a microwave oven are about ~10cm, so you'll get 5cm of very hot plaster and 5cm of cold plaster - the heat from the hot areas will - of course - spread, so the cold areas will receive some heat, but it's less than ideal or efficient . . you also set up stresses in the plaster than make it much more likely to break, crack and crumble . . . . this is why pretty much all microwaves have a rotating turntable so areas of the food are not just stuck in a cold spot . . . . if you can find some easy way of moving the plaster around, up and down or rotating (or any movement) you will get better, more consistent, results.
Yes, indeed. Using the rotating turntable can be beneficial. I don’t use it because my microwave is flipped on its side. I could flip it back to its intended position when I microwave molds, but it’s just not worth it for me. Cheers!
Paragraphs like this generally come from people who have never tried anything like this themselves, but think YT videos outlining theory overrides experience. We’ve all watched videos on microwaves, guy. This person is pushing limits, and proving your comment pointless before you even posted it.
The g-code shown in the video is not the only one I use. I have much shorter-faster moving g-codes that do the shaking. You suggestion using accelerometer testing g-code is great. Cheers!
My Anycubic Kobra 2 features what they call 'resonance tuning'. Shake the table faster and faster until it 'hums', do they same thing for the nozzle. The excursion is pretty short, however...will have to do some testing.
The first *500* people to use my link in the description will receive a one month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/shakethefuture06241 Even though this method does not replace *Lost PLA casting* , it's amazing and has its own strengths and weaknesses. I can cast items that I could not before due to the size limitations of the kiln. Sure, there will be people who say that it's much easier to do sand casting. It might be. If you are into sand casting, all power to you. This is just another way. Some people might prefer to use plaster/investment molds over sand casting. It's great for people who just want to try out metal casting. This method has taken over a significant portion of my metal casting projects. It's great, and the future videos I'll be sharing will demonstrate that you can cast objects way more complicated than a butter knife. We are only getting started
This is one of those few videos where my mind starts to race! Not only is this approach novel (but once you have seen it IT IS SO OBVIOUS!), but the elegant simplicity and accessability deserves a round of applause. I already have some ideas for improvement - like adding vents for more complex objects and a bigger funnel. I will totally try this in the near future. Oh, and as others have already said: that mystery alloy the door handle was made of almost certainly is Zamac. You, my good sir, had a bright idea that certainly is going to make some waves amongst makers of all kinds.
Thank you for this video. Seriously. I've been considering how best to make a mold for some things I want to make, using many materials, but often using 3d printing to help create the mold itself, but I haven't been able to figure out which way to go about it for reliable and reusable results. This seems like the best method so far.
Thanks, Seth! I would love to see what you come up with. You're the first one to mention the Batman scene. I'm glad that at least somebody found it funny. 😊
@@ShakeTheFuture I'd really like to focus on making molds that can be reused. It might be possible with the right material. Keep up the good work. You have a knack for creating very entertaining videos!
That butter knife came out great. Maybe making a batch of tall "funnels" out of investment to make the pouring sprue longer, then stick them onto the moulds with bit of investment as glue? That silver metal the door handles were made from is probably Zamak, a pretty common zinc-based die-casting metal.
Thanks! Well, you can always carve out the investment. It's very easy to do it after microwaving while the investment is still wet. I did not do it with the butter knife, since I have a silicon carbide ring, but I could have done that instead. One of those wax carving/sculpting tools that looks like a letter "U" attached to a stick works very good.
I think, that it was a proof-of-concept.video, where he knows, that it´d be better off with long sprues, and still doesn´t use any, cause in this case, it still worked out well. Pouring steel, if I got it right... With a 3d-printer and a mirowave-oven, mind you. That´s Startrek-level stuff.
30 seconds in, based on what you said, I would have normally stopped watching the video figuring it was just hype. But since I've seen your other videos, instead, I continued watching, knowing that you do stuff I didn't think was possible. Not to mention things I don't think I would be willing to do. Like putting wet plaster right onto the build plate! WTF???? LOL Your videos are making me want to do things I am very nervous about doing. Though I'm still incredibly concerned about the danger aspects, and I don't have a microwave, so who knows. I would love a video on a deep dive on stainless steel casting. I heard you say that it can be done, but you aren't sure if you could melt enough for the butter knife. A whole video figuring that out would be of great interest to me. Thanks again for another great video!
Thanks! Yeah, stainless steel needs a lot of heat. So far, I have successfully melted a few stainless steel nuts (A2-70). I am talking about quantities enough to cast a ring. Because it requires such high heat, I had to use a few tricks to melt it. Preheating the crucible and using smaller crucibles helped. That's why I'm unsure if I can manage larger quantities, but I'll definitely try and make a video about it. Cheers!
@@dougaltolan3017 Well, it isn´t a different ball game apparently, if one only handles smaller amounts, like, for a big butterknife... Mind you, only with a 3d-printer, plaster, and a microwave oven...!!! Imagine what one could do with TWO microwave ovens...!!!
Interesting approach! I've seen them do this the 'traditional' way where they dip the part repeatedly in a professional casting use, where sometimes the part is so complex that there's no other way to get it out other than burn-out. I tried this with a super-complicated compressor section and even went to the extra effort of reverse assembling the blades upside down, fitting all the parts by hand, and they Still got stuck! Not so bad when it comes out on the first try, but it usually takes two and breaks me when I have to wreck a beautiful resin print. By the by, rather than occupy your printer with the shaking motion, anything that vibrates like a orbital sander or neck massager, you can ziptie a rod to and let the rod pop the bubbles on complex prints where moving multi-section molds would be bad. 😉
Thanks! Yes, I do vibrate the bucket with a reciprocating saw before pouring. You can see me doing it in other videos. The printer vibration is an additional step 😊
Neat technique! I saw you patiently sanding with a Dremel. Bosch makes a cute 12V cordless die grinder that’s great for shaping and polishing metal parts. So satisfying.
btw if you need higher temperatures, get a broken toaster oven for free, a kiln coil and pid controller for 10-15 bucks each, and a bag of refractory concrete for 5-10 bucks. you can add insulation around to make it more efficient (and reach higher temps) too.
@@hanelyp1 could even put in side actions/splits in the 3d print to make it easier to get it out of the mold. Would destroy the mold when demolding the final part but that could be worth it.
This method looks good for making ceramic slip casting molds. You really do want a kiln to do a proper burnout for metal casting. Steam explosions are no joke.
Zinc, or some zinc alloy, from my experience in the foundry industry. When I worked for National Zinc Processors, we would see all sorts of spouts and handles come in for recycling. Awesome work as always and looking forward to your channel growth.
This is sweet thanks a lot! Shaking the investment on the printer for shorter distances and at higher frequency, rough guess like 60 hz, (think input shaper calibration) might get more bubbles out
That was the first G-code I used. It also traveled a shorter distance at some point during the 2-minute shaking. However, I recently changed the G-code to begin using shorter distances right from the start just like you suggested. Indeed, it's better that way 👍 Cheers!
Something to be aware of that I've previously found using this method is to be aware of the spaces of the internal geometries if the part has "hollow" sections. As an example, when casting a donut shaped object, the metal shrinking can potentially contract and cause the plaster filling the "hole" to fracture. This of course can also happen with traditional investment casting, but when I tried this using a plain plaster-sand mould, the lack of usual internal investment structure (wire, etc) meant that the sections could crack off and cause cast failures, including fracturing the mould.
Very cool results! I use a similar trick for very detailed plaster sculptures, where I boil the molded plaster part to soften the plastic instead of microwaving it. I'll give the microwave method a test - but I fear it may weaken the plaster. For your purposes, as long as it holds up for the casting, that doesn't matter. But I want my pieces to have maximum strength and microwaving may cause issues - especially if it's done before the plaster reaches maximum strength.
Ive been messing with the combo of 3d printing qnd mold making, and this was by far one of the most genius ideas. I have an actual melting furnace but it makes me nervous to pour big stuff where my house is 😂 The idea of making small mold frames directly on the printing bed is 🤌 One of those rarer moments where you think, "now THAT is good" I'm going to try more for making a 3d print prototype, take a silicone mold of that, pour a wax cast then electroform and reclaim the wax. One day in the near future ill try the actual 20lb bronze pours i initially intended to 😂
For the debubbling try using a shorter frequency shake, but start it before you pour the plaster, that will help dislodge the bubbles as you pour, you can also try poking with your finger into the plaster and touching all over the surface of the part, pay attention to the corners where the bubbles usually get trapped and this will help remove them. Another tip for people that never have used plaster, DO NOT pour any remaining plaster into the sink even if you wash it and dilute it, it will still solidify and clog your pipes.
Yes, I actually do use different bed-shaking patterns. That was one of the early trials. Starting to shake the bed before pouring is a great idea. I heard about shaking the mold while pouring the plaster being beneficial, but I never tried it because it was not as straightforward a process as shaking the mold with a printer. I'll definitely start doing it. Putting a finger in the plaster to remove the bubbles is something I never heard of, and it totally makes sense. I'll try it out with problematic, bubble-trapping molds. Thank you very much!
I just had a thought - they make a wax filament, which would allow you to use a 2-filament printer to make a more complicated cast. Would require a little bit of burnout, but may be easier for some objects than using a full flask process.
I do have 1 spool of wax filament. I never made a video about it, because it's difficult to print and the adhesion in bad. I find that it's much easier (and 3x cheaper) to use PLA. That said, I have not touched the spool in years. Maybe I should give it another shot with Prusa MK4.
Have you tried doing this with flexible filament? Could remove the microwave step! Maybe even allow for reuse by having a position jig for gluing the pieces back to the bed?
The PaulsGarage channel has taught me about ZA-12. It's a common Zinc Aluminum alloy for casting, and may be what you had there. Pure aluminum needs pressure to overcome the surface tension and get fine details.
I really like this method. I look forward to trying it out. I'm glad to see you have sponsors. Where do you buy your plaster? What type of plaster can be used and which to avoid? Thanks in advance.
Thanks! For Mario's star, I used a professional investment called "Unicast Prestige." The butter knife was cast using just ordinary dental Plaster of Paris. I live in Spain, and I got it from the "Dentalix" store. For this method, you'll want to use plaster that isn't as brittle. For example, for Lost PLA casting, I sometimes use the cheapest construction plaster I can find. For this method, it's better to use something a bit stronger since you'll need to pull the PLA out of the mold. Dental Plaster of Paris works fine. If you are doing something with a lot of detail or hills and valleys, like letters, you might want to use something a bit stronger like Ultracal or Hydrocal. Using mold release can also help. For now, I use Vaseline, but I want to try out mold release sprays.
Using the printer as a linear nutator is brilliant. I’ve been doing similar in cold pour silicone for decades. Similar process but you’ve updated the technology 😂 Great job , thanks for sharing !
Especially for copper based alloys, have you tried spraying the inside of the mold with a very fine graphite powder mixed with alcohol (dries, burns out quickly)?
I've considered but not tested it but if you have a kiln you might have clay, and could probably make a clay mold for metal too if you don't want to mess with plaster and metal temps. Sand should be best and plaster obviously breaks up easier but clay might get you a really nice resolution and be able to be pre-heated.
Your mystery metal in the door handles is probably some form of Zamak which was brass plated. There's a bunch of different kinds but what they have in common is that they are zinc alloys designed for die casting. Melting point is fairly low, and the metal is very fluid so it fills details in the mould well. Hence your nice cast (except for the damage from early opening). Zamak is actually so good that it's worth setting up just to cast it; it has reasonable mechanical properties (superior to cast iron, for example) and easily produces good castings. However it cannot tolerate even the slightest contamination with lead, inclusion of lead in the alloy will cause a form of corrosion which makes the metal break with a strange 'crystalline' appearance or worse crumble into little bits. In fact manufacturers go so far as to distill the zinc to obtain sufficient purity to make good Zamak. This would be a problem if you used the same crucible and tools for Zamak as for brass, as brass often contains 0.5% or so of lead as a machinability aid.
Using a glass bed, seems all my stuff popped up, lol.... a little bit of spilling but spilled plaster remained in the bed, be careful with how its adhered, and go for a runnier plaster vs a more solid one, also create vents
Crazy idea, throw on some ultrasound sensors/speakers. You can use clicks to precisely measure top of fluids you add with another tool, then you can use the ultrasound to probe the plaster.
Hello Just wanted to say your ideas and videos are absolute genius, thank you for showing great results. I wanted to ask if you could test an idea which is also very interesting and could be a game changer for ceramic molds using desktop 3d printers. If possible can you use water soluble filament, create any complex geometry and then dissolve the filament so that you are left with an intricate ceramic mold. I think this can work both with the ceramic mold poured surrounding the water soluble mold or if the ceramic slurry is poured inside the water soluble mold. Similar to your method, no burnout would be required. The mold would then need to be dried out to remove any moisture and be ready for casting, would be great to see if this is possible. I have attached a video for reference which will help clarify what I mean but I think can be used for casting very complex shapes. Would be great to see what you think of this. Ceramic pour printing ua-cam.com/video/KeQFBX5JFoI/v-deo.htmlsi=rHQaBYmi7Zv1Hgfn
Interesting. I'll stick to my old way, but this way is interesting and opens things up for people who prefer or are more familiar with different tools.
Thanks! Here is the gcode I use for Prusa MK4 (without the image) __________ G1 Y5 F12000 ; Move bed forward 5mm at 12000mm/min G1 Y-5 F12000 ; Move bed backward 5mm at 12000mm/min M400 ; Ensure no other movements are pending __________ Then I just copy paste those lines and change the movement distance. Cheers!
I'm thinking of building a custom microwave so that I can make it larger and have custom controls- such as built in burnout schedules, etc. I had thought that building it with multiple magnetrons might be a fool's errand since the complications due to microwave interference would be difficult to overcome... but it just hit me. What if I made separate microwave chambers that were isolated with aluminum shielding (or built the shielding into the kaowool when I built the furnace) so that there were effectively two or more different microwave chambers that were thermally connected to the main chamber and could contribute heat flow to the main chamber without having to send their microwave radiation there. Perhaps such a scheme could allow for more reliable heating at temperatures required for steel or even titanium. I would make blocks of silicon carbide that are connected by hallways of silicon carbide to the rings of silicon carbide that heat up the central chamber. Essentially, a thermal circuit. The silicon carbide blocks and hallways would be thermally insulated from the exterior as usual by kaowool and kapton tape. Inside the kaowool around the middle of the hallways (separated far enough from the silicon carbide to not melt), I would place aluminum reflectors that would achieve separating the magentrons' EM waves. I guess the whole point of such an elaborate setup would be to ensure that the microwave can run for a long time without overheating the magnetrons. Distributing the load across the magnetrons could allow the microwave to get to a similar temperature with less duty cycle per magnetron. This would make it more reliable overall. Or you could more quickly reach high temperatures. That could be nice too. LOL. Now I'm probably going to have dreams of distributing a thermal circuit in a sphere around the central chamber and pumping in energy from 16 magnetrons. The real problem is plugging them all in. Hahaha.
Microwaving an object like this will create hots spots and cold spots - the EM waves in a microwave oven are about ~10cm, so you'll get 5cm of very hot plaster and 5cm of cold plaster - the heat from the hot areas with spread, so the cold areas will receive some heat, but it's less than ideal or efficient . . you also set up stresses in the plaster than make it much more likely to break, crack and crumble . . . . this is why pretty much all microwaves have a rotating turntable so areas of the food are not just stuck in a cold spot . . . . if you can find some easy way of moving the plaster around, up and down or rotating (or any movement) you will get better, more consistent, results.
_"LOL. Now I'm probably going to have dreams of distributing a thermal circuit in a sphere around the central chamber and pumping in energy from 16 magnetrons. The real problem is plugging them all in. Hahaha."_ Lol, you'd need to get all 16 in phase, otherwise there would be a ton of destructive interference.
In investment casting, the "investment" is the carved(or printed) part which is lost in the mold making process, not the plaster mold. This is not investment casting and there is no investment in this process. Nice video! If you haven't done so yet, try with RTV silicone molds and Pewter casting. Molds can be reused many times.
Your content is always fantastic, thank you ! Have you tried to anneal you printed object with your microwave ? It should be really fast and efficient.
I'm super excited to see people doing this, but actually it's nothing new. GE has been doing this for over a decade (man that really dates me) to make disposable core dies for jet engine blades. The typical process uses a metal mold to form the ceramic core that blades are then cast around. Once cast, the ceramic is dissolved with a caustic solution to leave cooling passages. The problem with this process is your 3D geometries are limited by the two piece die, so now they're casting the dies with 3D printed molds.
I Love your creativity. Perhaps you could add someething to your investment that would allow you to bring it up to vitrification temperature in the microwave. Some of the silicon carbide that you use for crucibles perhaps?
I have tried it, but not enough times to draw any conclusions. I think the time I tried it, nothing happened. Maybe I needed to add more silicon carbide. There is also a possibility that the mold will crack because of the microwaves. There might be a way to do it in a controlled environment. I did not continue experimenting because it's also an extra cost to add silicon carbide to the investment. That said, I do make molds out of silicon carbide. Smaller molds can be burned out without using any kilns; only microwaving them is enough. Cheers
@@ShakeTheFuture many microwaves have a "popcorn" or a "smart defrost" mode; the actual behaviour varies, but on certain models these modes will "feather" the microwave emissions (you don't want frozen food to explode after all) and use humidity sensors to detect if the object is steaming and automatically stop early.
When I do Lost PLA casting with the burnout, I usually print my parts around 3% bigger to compensate for the shrinkage. I have not checked whether not the shrinkage is the same by using this method. Cheers!
you should try a mold releasing on the printer bed, you could use a thick one like Vaseline petroleum jelly away from the parts. then close to the part you could use none or maybe a really thin oil with a paint brush on the parts.
I do use some mold release sometimes. In the dice video (not the footage from this video, it was a test piece), I had to use a mold release. I tried Vaseline, but what worked best was castor oil. I am still looking for other mold release options. Cheers!
@@ShakeTheFuture I honestly don't know much either, but I know people use it to dry food completely very efficiently and make it stable at room temperature for like months. I think there might be something here... or not, idk lol
Pretty clever. I was like what kind of microwave is that, than melt brass?? Then i realized its a regular household model on its head. Very cool. Im still skeptical a microwave can melt brass. 😮
With the first star you cast, I don't think the sprue was too short but rather too thin. There isn't much of a depression on the top side of the pouring funnel indicating that the sprue solidified before the casting was done solidifying.
The metal is zamak 12, an alloy of zinc, magnesium and copper, used in bathroom fixtures, door handles and other items that require very accurate details. It is known to be one of the best flowing alloys, next to silicon bronze. Also, mold should not be close to pouring temperature, it should be 500F lower than the pouring temp.
@@ShakeTheFuture No foul done, I enjoy the innovative content. You should try casting some stuff with that zinc alloy too and explore its capabilities, I would love to see that.
Interesting idea but it will only work for a pattern that can be withdrawn with the necessary draft so I see no advantage over sand casting which is much quicker and an indefinite number of castings can be made from one pattern.
I agree that sand casting is much quicker and less wasteful, but there are some advantages to other methods that I'll demonstrate in future projects, such as the dice example at the end of the video. That said, I have never done sand casting, so I might not know what I am talking about 😊 Thanks for the comment!
With the pattern softened for removal I don't see this method limited to sand casting draft requirements. On the other hand, if drafting is satisfied a pattern might be reused.
*Important note:* Not all hs-PLA's are the same. Some filaments just don't get soft enough. There can be a massive differenceS between filaments used.
The one I use and recommend is "Sunlu - Meta PLA". Make sure it has Meta in the name.
There is another video using this method in case you missed it.
*Print-Wave Metal Casting: Aluminium Mug*
ua-cam.com/video/5ZhkHHd6YwM/v-deo.html
Here is a trick for knowing when the plaster is dry. After drying it, let it go to room temperature, then place your hand on the surface. If it feels cool, it's still moist. If it feels warm, its dry. (If it is dry it will feel warm even at room temperature). We use this trick all the time making ceramics.
Thank You for sharing the trick. Do you think it also applies to very small/stubborn quantities of water?
@@ShakeTheFuture yes, as long as there is moisture. It's critical in ceramics, so the pieces don't explode in the kiln.
no clickbait ,super informative and inspiring content -that is what UA-cam used to be. Thank you!
Thank You! I am glad you like it.
If anything it was understated. This was some top notch stuff and while I guess we'll never stop seeing 3d printing innovations, they still surprise me when I see them!
Your "not brass" metal is probably Zamak, an alloy of Zinc, Aluminium, Magnesium and Copper. It's a really amazing metal for casting, has a much lower melting point than brass, and does less toxic Zinc fumes.
I love Zamak :)
Not to mention, zinc alloys shrink so much less than just about any other casting metal.
Surely the aluminum fumes can't be better than the zinc ones tho. Either way people should be on daily silica supplements for all the airborne aluminum from cloud seeding, doubly so when they're sanding and melting alloys in their home
Yep I work as an electroplater and we plate a lot of cast Zamak parts. Probably Zamak 3 if I had to guess, there are multiple types of Zamak. We do zinc plating for a better surface finish and then a chemical dye that turns the plating a brassy color. We do a lot of handles for hotels.
Yeah, but it looses basically all strength at 250°C and is an absolute bitch to electroplate with other metals.
I"m just sitting here in my underpants saying "holy shit" repeatedly. Incredible. One of the most integral processes to modern humans industrialization has just been meaningfully iterated. so smart to recognize the application of the microwave.
Imagine the advantages that smooth glass heat-bed could add to that... The mating of the plaster-halves would be even more precise.
What color are they 😉
This is the most underrated channel on you tube. This guy is awesome. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
It definitely IS. I never comment, but I came to say the same, this is premium content !
Thank You very much for the kind words!
That slow motion scene with melted pouring brass and music was great. Amazing tech and this is GREAT!
Thank you! I am happy to receive feedback, so I know what people enjoy. I also like those slow-motion metal melting scenes, so I'll keep using them whenever it makes the video more visually appealing.
This dude is using just average kitchen supplies to metal cast stuff, I'm definitely inspired. Unexpected way of use!
Thank You! I am Glad you enjoyed it.
What a truly inspirational video. Like all great ideas, they are so obvious once you are shown it. I have just started putting together the necessary items to build my own metal melting workshop. I have spent hundreds of hours watching videos and reading articles and no one comes close to how you do it.
Thank You for taking time to leave a comment. It's always nice to know that the people found the video/information useful.
This is incredible! The mold process, the melting process, the information...
What a great channel, thank you!
Thank You very much for taking the time to leave the comment.
Thank you for this. I just learned lost PLA to silver this year, and this just took it a step further. There are so many sources of old scrap meltable metals all over.
Cheers!
You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. Seriously incredible work on this channel. You've re-awakened my dream of finally making some custom wedding rings!
Cheers!
Add salt to your plaster to speed up the curing time. You can get it to set within minutes, depending on the amount of salt. (A great tip that I got from a dental prosthetic maker)
Thanks for the tip. I'll try it out!
I've tried many different casting processes and not tried this one before!
For me any material is precious so I try my hardest to make everything as cheap as possible.
My favourite way to cast things is to print a 3D model in vase mode and then dip it in plaster of Paris, creating about 3 or 4 mm shell. Then, after drying, put it in the oven to soften the plastic and carefully remove it. Then I pack the mould shell inside some dry sand. I found casting like this uses absolute minimum materials possible
Thanks for sharing your casting process 👍
THE most significant use for 3D printers i have seen since 3D printers became an affordable thing.
John Heisz just added a 3d printer to his wood shop. Check out what he’s been doing with it.
I tried sharing link to his channel but I guess it got deleted.
Cheers!
Then you, my friend, haven’t seen a giant TPE marital aid! 😊
The "Brass" is most likely ZAMAC of some sort. It flowed very nicely which is charactaristic of ZAMAC.
I see, Thanks for the info. I heard about zamac, but never tried it...purposely 😂
Yes. Looks like zamak. A very common material in door handles and many other things. It's a really nice material for casting. Melts at lower temperature and thus have a lower shrinkage. And it's easier to find than brass
@@jabonet I'll need to check my collection of door handles and see if I have more. Then I can "purposely" try it out.
@@ShakeTheFuture I use two ways of checking if it is zamak. One is measuring the density of the piece. By weight in dry and underwater. The second way is to scratch the surface of the metal and put a bit of copper sulfate solution. If it turns black it is zinc based and probably zamak. In Spain it is sold as antifungal in any place that deals with plants. Usually blue color.
@@jabonet Yeah, blue... I´ve heard, man can dissolve those blue copper- sulfate-granules, and use the solution to copper-plate steel/iron, with a DC-source, and a sacrificial piece of copper.
Microwaving an object like this will create hots spots and cold spots - the EM waves in a microwave oven are about ~10cm, so you'll get 5cm of very hot plaster and 5cm of cold plaster - the heat from the hot areas will - of course - spread, so the cold areas will receive some heat, but it's less than ideal or efficient . . you also set up stresses in the plaster than make it much more likely to break, crack and crumble . . . . this is why pretty much all microwaves have a rotating turntable so areas of the food are not just stuck in a cold spot . . . . if you can find some easy way of moving the plaster around, up and down or rotating (or any movement) you will get better, more consistent, results.
Yes, indeed. Using the rotating turntable can be beneficial. I don’t use it because my microwave is flipped on its side. I could flip it back to its intended position when I microwave molds, but it’s just not worth it for me. Cheers!
Paragraphs like this generally come from people who have never tried anything like this themselves, but think YT videos outlining theory overrides experience.
We’ve all watched videos on microwaves, guy. This person is pushing limits, and proving your comment pointless before you even posted it.
Severely underrated channel and methods 👍🏻 great work.
Thank You very much!
I think an accelerometer testing g-code would be great for popping bubbles of various sizes, as it passes through a huge range of frequencies.
great idea
The g-code shown in the video is not the only one I use. I have much shorter-faster moving g-codes that do the shaking. You suggestion using accelerometer testing g-code is great. Cheers!
He should use the vibration like my bambu does before every print
@@AckzaTV That's the first thing I thought of! That annoying BBBBBRRRRRTTT!!! lol
My Anycubic Kobra 2 features what they call 'resonance tuning'.
Shake the table faster and faster until it 'hums', do they same thing for the nozzle.
The excursion is pretty short, however...will have to do some testing.
The first *500* people to use my link in the description will
receive a one month free trial of Skillshare!
skl.sh/shakethefuture06241
Even though this method does not replace *Lost PLA casting* , it's amazing and has its own strengths and weaknesses. I can cast items that I could not before due to the size limitations of the kiln. Sure, there will be people who say that it's much easier to do sand casting. It might be. If you are into sand casting, all power to you. This is just another way. Some people might prefer to use plaster/investment molds over sand casting. It's great for people who just want to try out metal casting. This method has taken over a significant portion of my metal casting projects.
It's great, and the future videos I'll be sharing will demonstrate that you can cast objects way more complicated than a butter knife. We are only getting started
Bro, you are a genius. The onscreen jokes are pretty good too. Keep up the fantastic work!!
Thank You!
Great video again! I hope I am not dead before I can reach this point of my Bucket List...
I hope not 😀
Wow. Most underrated maker channel on UA-cam!
Thank You!
This is one of those few videos where my mind starts to race! Not only is this approach novel (but once you have seen it IT IS SO OBVIOUS!), but the elegant simplicity and accessability deserves a round of applause. I already have some ideas for improvement - like adding vents for more complex objects and a bigger funnel. I will totally try this in the near future. Oh, and as others have already said: that mystery alloy the door handle was made of almost certainly is Zamac. You, my good sir, had a bright idea that certainly is going to make some waves amongst makers of all kinds.
Thank You very much!
Thank you for this video. Seriously. I've been considering how best to make a mold for some things I want to make, using many materials, but often using 3d printing to help create the mold itself, but I haven't been able to figure out which way to go about it for reliable and reusable results. This seems like the best method so far.
I am glad you found it useful. Cheers!
This is awesome. Really shows how you don't need special equipment
Cheers!
Wow, that’s an amazing technique. Very useful.
Thank You!
Great video. Thankyou for sharing. So clever what you have done on the plastic printer and the microwave. I would never have thought of that.
Thank You very much!
Wow this is such a cool and innovative process! I’m already thinking of ways to use it. Thanks for sharing! The Batman scene made me laugh. Nice job!
Thanks, Seth! I would love to see what you come up with. You're the first one to mention the Batman scene. I'm glad that at least somebody found it funny. 😊
@@ShakeTheFuture I'd really like to focus on making molds that can be reused. It might be possible with the right material. Keep up the good work. You have a knack for creating very entertaining videos!
That butter knife came out great.
Maybe making a batch of tall "funnels" out of investment to make the pouring sprue longer, then stick them onto the moulds with bit of investment as glue?
That silver metal the door handles were made from is probably Zamak, a pretty common zinc-based die-casting metal.
Thanks! Well, you can always carve out the investment. It's very easy to do it after microwaving while the investment is still wet. I did not do it with the butter knife, since I have a silicon carbide ring, but I could have done that instead. One of those wax carving/sculpting tools that looks like a letter "U" attached to a stick works very good.
I think, that it was a proof-of-concept.video, where he knows, that it´d be better off with long sprues, and still doesn´t use any, cause in this case, it still worked out well. Pouring steel, if I got it right... With a 3d-printer and a mirowave-oven, mind you. That´s Startrek-level stuff.
Awesome work like usual. Your videos are always an immediate click. Thanks from Brazil, man
Thank You! I am glad you find them useful.
30 seconds in, based on what you said, I would have normally stopped watching the video figuring it was just hype. But since I've seen your other videos, instead, I continued watching, knowing that you do stuff I didn't think was possible. Not to mention things I don't think I would be willing to do. Like putting wet plaster right onto the build plate! WTF???? LOL
Your videos are making me want to do things I am very nervous about doing. Though I'm still incredibly concerned about the danger aspects, and I don't have a microwave, so who knows.
I would love a video on a deep dive on stainless steel casting. I heard you say that it can be done, but you aren't sure if you could melt enough for the butter knife. A whole video figuring that out would be of great interest to me.
Thanks again for another great video!
Melting points
Brass 930C
Aluminium 660C
Stainless steel 1,500C
It's a very different ball game.
Thanks! Yeah, stainless steel needs a lot of heat. So far, I have successfully melted a few stainless steel nuts (A2-70). I am talking about quantities enough to cast a ring. Because it requires such high heat, I had to use a few tricks to melt it. Preheating the crucible and using smaller crucibles helped. That's why I'm unsure if I can manage larger quantities, but I'll definitely try and make a video about it. Cheers!
@@dougaltolan3017 Well, it isn´t a different ball game apparently, if one only handles smaller amounts, like, for a big butterknife... Mind you, only with a 3d-printer, plaster, and a microwave oven...!!! Imagine what one could do with TWO microwave ovens...!!!
Interesting approach! I've seen them do this the 'traditional' way where they dip the part repeatedly in a professional casting use, where sometimes the part is so complex that there's no other way to get it out other than burn-out. I tried this with a super-complicated compressor section and even went to the extra effort of reverse assembling the blades upside down, fitting all the parts by hand, and they Still got stuck! Not so bad when it comes out on the first try, but it usually takes two and breaks me when I have to wreck a beautiful resin print.
By the by, rather than occupy your printer with the shaking motion, anything that vibrates like a orbital sander or neck massager, you can ziptie a rod to and let the rod pop the bubbles on complex prints where moving multi-section molds would be bad. 😉
Thanks! Yes, I do vibrate the bucket with a reciprocating saw before pouring. You can see me doing it in other videos. The printer vibration is an additional step 😊
Neat technique! I saw you patiently sanding with a Dremel. Bosch makes a cute 12V cordless die grinder that’s great for shaping and polishing metal parts. So satisfying.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Awesome innovation to use the print bed as the mating surface and even shaking the bubbles out!
Cheers!
btw if you need higher temperatures, get a broken toaster oven for free, a kiln coil and pid controller for 10-15 bucks each, and a bag of refractory concrete for 5-10 bucks.
you can add insulation around to make it more efficient (and reach higher temps) too.
Thanks for the tip!
This is a great idea. You can even do it with non drafted things. Im def going to try this! Tyvm sir!
Cheers!
Even limited undercut if my guess is right.
@@hanelyp1 could even put in side actions/splits in the 3d print to make it easier to get it out of the mold. Would destroy the mold when demolding the final part but that could be worth it.
This is such a cool process, and using a microwave to melt metal is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
Thank You for commenting. Much appreciated!
This method looks good for making ceramic slip casting molds. You really do want a kiln to do a proper burnout for metal casting. Steam explosions are no joke.
Thanks!
Nice job, love the alternative methods.
Thank You very much!
Zinc, or some zinc alloy, from my experience in the foundry industry. When I worked for National Zinc Processors, we would see all sorts of spouts and handles come in for recycling. Awesome work as always and looking forward to your channel growth.
Thank You!
This is sweet thanks a lot! Shaking the investment on the printer for shorter distances and at higher frequency, rough guess like 60 hz, (think input shaper calibration) might get more bubbles out
That was the first G-code I used. It also traveled a shorter distance at some point during the 2-minute shaking. However, I recently changed the G-code to begin using shorter distances right from the start just like you suggested. Indeed, it's better that way 👍 Cheers!
Something to be aware of that I've previously found using this method is to be aware of the spaces of the internal geometries if the part has "hollow" sections. As an example, when casting a donut shaped object, the metal shrinking can potentially contract and cause the plaster filling the "hole" to fracture. This of course can also happen with traditional investment casting, but when I tried this using a plain plaster-sand mould, the lack of usual internal investment structure (wire, etc) meant that the sections could crack off and cause cast failures, including fracturing the mould.
Very cool results!
I use a similar trick for very detailed plaster sculptures, where I boil the molded plaster part to soften the plastic instead of microwaving it. I'll give the microwave method a test - but I fear it may weaken the plaster. For your purposes, as long as it holds up for the casting, that doesn't matter. But I want my pieces to have maximum strength and microwaving may cause issues - especially if it's done before the plaster reaches maximum strength.
Thanks Mattias!
Thanks for this STF! I like the way you do your making and teaching!
Thank You very much. I am glad you found it useful.
This is a super cool technique. Great video.
Cheers!
Ive been messing with the combo of 3d printing qnd mold making, and this was by far one of the most genius ideas. I have an actual melting furnace but it makes me nervous to pour big stuff where my house is 😂
The idea of making small mold frames directly on the printing bed is 🤌
One of those rarer moments where you think, "now THAT is good"
I'm going to try more for making a 3d print prototype, take a silicone mold of that, pour a wax cast then electroform and reclaim the wax. One day in the near future ill try the actual 20lb bronze pours i initially intended to 😂
For the debubbling try using a shorter frequency shake, but start it before you pour the plaster, that will help dislodge the bubbles as you pour, you can also try poking with your finger into the plaster and touching all over the surface of the part, pay attention to the corners where the bubbles usually get trapped and this will help remove them.
Another tip for people that never have used plaster, DO NOT pour any remaining plaster into the sink even if you wash it and dilute it, it will still solidify and clog your pipes.
Yes, I actually do use different bed-shaking patterns. That was one of the early trials. Starting to shake the bed before pouring is a great idea. I heard about shaking the mold while pouring the plaster being beneficial, but I never tried it because it was not as straightforward a process as shaking the mold with a printer. I'll definitely start doing it.
Putting a finger in the plaster to remove the bubbles is something I never heard of, and it totally makes sense. I'll try it out with problematic, bubble-trapping molds. Thank you very much!
I just had a thought - they make a wax filament, which would allow you to use a 2-filament printer to make a more complicated cast. Would require a little bit of burnout, but may be easier for some objects than using a full flask process.
I do have 1 spool of wax filament. I never made a video about it, because it's difficult to print and the adhesion in bad. I find that it's much easier (and 3x cheaper) to use PLA. That said, I have not touched the spool in years. Maybe I should give it another shot with Prusa MK4.
That door handle is most likely made of zamak12, a very common casting zinc alloy. It's used in everything.
Cheers!
My Bambu a1 mini would vibrate the plaster really well, it does that test before each print that vibrates the x & y.
I am sure it can be done on prusa....but I have not looked into that. It's not my area of expertise 😊
I’m going to try this with a plaque I’ve been struggling with. I’ll come back when I have some time to try this.
Have you tried doing this with flexible filament?
Could remove the microwave step!
Maybe even allow for reuse by having a position jig for gluing the pieces back to the bed?
I have not tried it yet, but I will. Cheers!
The PaulsGarage channel has taught me about ZA-12. It's a common Zinc Aluminum alloy for casting, and may be what you had there. Pure aluminum needs pressure to overcome the surface tension and get fine details.
Thanks for the info.
This is amazing! Why didn't anyone popularize it earlier!
Thanks!
my guess for your non-brass is ZAMAK/Zamac. easy to cast, low melting point around 400°C, good surface finish, strong enough for most uses
Thank You! It's good to know.
This is ingenious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Cheers!
This is brilliant! I must try this!
Cheers!
I really like this method. I look forward to trying it out. I'm glad to see you have sponsors. Where do you buy your plaster? What type of plaster can be used and which to avoid? Thanks in advance.
Thanks! For Mario's star, I used a professional investment called "Unicast Prestige." The butter knife was cast using just ordinary dental Plaster of Paris. I live in Spain, and I got it from the "Dentalix" store. For this method, you'll want to use plaster that isn't as brittle. For example, for Lost PLA casting, I sometimes use the cheapest construction plaster I can find. For this method, it's better to use something a bit stronger since you'll need to pull the PLA out of the mold. Dental Plaster of Paris works fine. If you are doing something with a lot of detail or hills and valleys, like letters, you might want to use something a bit stronger like Ultracal or Hydrocal. Using mold release can also help. For now, I use Vaseline, but I want to try out mold release sprays.
@@ShakeTheFuture Thank you!
This was very informative. I may try it out on some of my camera adapters. Thanks for the tips!
Cheers!
Using the printer as a linear nutator is brilliant. I’ve been doing similar in cold pour silicone for decades. Similar process but you’ve updated the technology 😂
Great job , thanks for sharing !
Thank You!
Especially for copper based alloys, have you tried spraying the inside of the mold with a very fine graphite powder mixed with alcohol (dries, burns out quickly)?
Thanks for the info. I have never tried or heard about it. I might try it out. Cheers!
This is very nice, well done.
Thank You very much!
I've considered but not tested it but if you have a kiln you might have clay, and could probably make a clay mold for metal too if you don't want to mess with plaster and metal temps. Sand should be best and plaster obviously breaks up easier but clay might get you a really nice resolution and be able to be pre-heated.
Cheers!
Another innovative casting technique, _thanks!_ 11:00 maybe tin?
Yeah, zink is the same metal as tin, I think ... Very good for casting too, with preeeetty low melting-temperature...!!!
Your mystery metal in the door handles is probably some form of Zamak which was brass plated. There's a bunch of different kinds but what they have in common is that they are zinc alloys designed for die casting. Melting point is fairly low, and the metal is very fluid so it fills details in the mould well. Hence your nice cast (except for the damage from early opening).
Zamak is actually so good that it's worth setting up just to cast it; it has reasonable mechanical properties (superior to cast iron, for example) and easily produces good castings. However it cannot tolerate even the slightest contamination with lead, inclusion of lead in the alloy will cause a form of corrosion which makes the metal break with a strange 'crystalline' appearance or worse crumble into little bits. In fact manufacturers go so far as to distill the zinc to obtain sufficient purity to make good Zamak.
This would be a problem if you used the same crucible and tools for Zamak as for brass, as brass often contains 0.5% or so of lead as a machinability aid.
Thanks! That's some good info. I'll need to buy some zamak ingots and explore it a bit more. Cheers!
Excellent work. 👍
Thank You!
Excellent as usual!
Thank You!
Using a glass bed, seems all my stuff popped up, lol.... a little bit of spilling but spilled plaster remained in the bed, be careful with how its adhered, and go for a runnier plaster vs a more solid one, also create vents
Crazy idea, throw on some ultrasound sensors/speakers. You can use clicks to precisely measure top of fluids you add with another tool, then you can use the ultrasound to probe the plaster.
I was going to try to use an ultrasonic cleaner with plaster and metal, so your suggestion is not crazy. I just need to get it first. Cheers!
Great video. Very interesting methods.
Thank You!
Hello
Just wanted to say your ideas and videos are absolute genius, thank you for showing great results. I wanted to ask if you could test an idea which is also very interesting and could be a game changer for ceramic molds using desktop 3d printers. If possible can you use water soluble filament, create any complex geometry and then dissolve the filament so that you are left with an intricate ceramic mold. I think this can work both with the ceramic mold poured surrounding the water soluble mold or if the ceramic slurry is poured inside the water soluble mold. Similar to your method, no burnout would be required. The mold would then need to be dried out to remove any moisture and be ready for casting, would be great to see if this is possible. I have attached a video for reference which will help clarify what I mean but I think can be used for casting very complex shapes. Would be great to see what you think of this.
Ceramic pour printing
ua-cam.com/video/KeQFBX5JFoI/v-deo.htmlsi=rHQaBYmi7Zv1Hgfn
Lost pva casting would be a suitable name
That's a great idea. I might try it out in the future. Cheers!
Interesting. I'll stick to my old way, but this way is interesting and opens things up for people who prefer or are more familiar with different tools.
Cheers!
Great video. Thanks for making it.
Thank You Marc!
anyone have a gcode file for shaking the bed? Big thanks for sharing your knowledge, this video blew my mind and made my day.
Thanks! Here is the gcode I use for Prusa MK4 (without the image)
__________
G1 Y5 F12000 ; Move bed forward 5mm at 12000mm/min
G1 Y-5 F12000 ; Move bed backward 5mm at 12000mm/min
M400 ; Ensure no other movements are pending
__________
Then I just copy paste those lines and change the movement distance.
Cheers!
Now I am wondering if this could be used for some kind of injection molding of plastics.
I am sure there is a way it can be used. I also do the same method for making silicone molds. Instead of pouring investment, I pour silicone.
Innovative as always.
Thank You!
Deserves attention! 💯
Cheers!
I'm thinking of building a custom microwave so that I can make it larger and have custom controls- such as built in burnout schedules, etc. I had thought that building it with multiple magnetrons might be a fool's errand since the complications due to microwave interference would be difficult to overcome... but it just hit me. What if I made separate microwave chambers that were isolated with aluminum shielding (or built the shielding into the kaowool when I built the furnace) so that there were effectively two or more different microwave chambers that were thermally connected to the main chamber and could contribute heat flow to the main chamber without having to send their microwave radiation there. Perhaps such a scheme could allow for more reliable heating at temperatures required for steel or even titanium.
I would make blocks of silicon carbide that are connected by hallways of silicon carbide to the rings of silicon carbide that heat up the central chamber. Essentially, a thermal circuit. The silicon carbide blocks and hallways would be thermally insulated from the exterior as usual by kaowool and kapton tape. Inside the kaowool around the middle of the hallways (separated far enough from the silicon carbide to not melt), I would place aluminum reflectors that would achieve separating the magentrons' EM waves.
I guess the whole point of such an elaborate setup would be to ensure that the microwave can run for a long time without overheating the magnetrons. Distributing the load across the magnetrons could allow the microwave to get to a similar temperature with less duty cycle per magnetron. This would make it more reliable overall. Or you could more quickly reach high temperatures. That could be nice too.
LOL. Now I'm probably going to have dreams of distributing a thermal circuit in a sphere around the central chamber and pumping in energy from 16 magnetrons. The real problem is plugging them all in. Hahaha.
Well, it's definitely possible. Industrial microwaves have 2 magnetrons. I've never tried them out, but they should melt metals way faster.
Microwaving an object like this will create hots spots and cold spots - the EM waves in a microwave oven are about ~10cm, so you'll get 5cm of very hot plaster and 5cm of cold plaster - the heat from the hot areas with spread, so the cold areas will receive some heat, but it's less than ideal or efficient . . you also set up stresses in the plaster than make it much more likely to break, crack and crumble . . . . this is why pretty much all microwaves have a rotating turntable so areas of the food are not just stuck in a cold spot . . . . if you can find some easy way of moving the plaster around, up and down or rotating (or any movement) you will get better, more consistent, results.
_"LOL. Now I'm probably going to have dreams of distributing a thermal circuit in a sphere around the central chamber and pumping in energy from 16 magnetrons. The real problem is plugging them all in. Hahaha."_
Lol, you'd need to get all 16 in phase, otherwise there would be a ton of destructive interference.
You, sir, are awesome.
Thank You!
Excellent and informative. Well done sir.
Thank you!
In investment casting, the "investment" is the carved(or printed) part which is lost in the mold making process, not the plaster mold.
This is not investment casting and there is no investment in this process.
Nice video! If you haven't done so yet, try with RTV silicone molds and Pewter casting. Molds can be reused many times.
Cheers!
Your content is always fantastic, thank you !
Have you tried to anneal you printed object with your microwave ?
It should be really fast and efficient.
Thanks! I have not done that. That's something I should probably explore. Cheers!
I'm super excited to see people doing this, but actually it's nothing new. GE has been doing this for over a decade (man that really dates me) to make disposable core dies for jet engine blades. The typical process uses a metal mold to form the ceramic core that blades are then cast around. Once cast, the ceramic is dissolved with a caustic solution to leave cooling passages. The problem with this process is your 3D geometries are limited by the two piece die, so now they're casting the dies with 3D printed molds.
Thanks for the comment. I don't quite see the similarities, but maybe it's just me 😊
that metal is likely zamak, a zinc alloy. try zamak 3 some time for a nice low temp casting metal.
I Love your creativity. Perhaps you could add someething to your investment that would allow you to bring it up to vitrification temperature in the microwave. Some of the silicon carbide that you use for crucibles perhaps?
I have tried it, but not enough times to draw any conclusions. I think the time I tried it, nothing happened. Maybe I needed to add more silicon carbide. There is also a possibility that the mold will crack because of the microwaves.
There might be a way to do it in a controlled environment. I did not continue experimenting because it's also an extra cost to add silicon carbide to the investment. That said, I do make molds out of silicon carbide. Smaller molds can be burned out without using any kilns; only microwaving them is enough.
Cheers
@@ShakeTheFuture many microwaves have a "popcorn" or a "smart defrost" mode; the actual behaviour varies, but on certain models these modes will "feather" the microwave emissions (you don't want frozen food to explode after all) and use humidity sensors to detect if the object is steaming and automatically stop early.
I totally didn't know you could just melt any pla in a microwave like that. Very cool. Any caveats I should know about?
Thanks! I'll be making another video with more examples of this method. I'll demonstrate how it's possible to do a bit more complicated casts.
I love that youve got your 2-part with sprues and gates and all -- nice! Much shrinkage factor?
When I do Lost PLA casting with the burnout, I usually print my parts around 3% bigger to compensate for the shrinkage. I have not checked whether not the shrinkage is the same by using this method. Cheers!
I wish i could super like this video
Thank You! You already did, just by taking time to comment. Much appreciated.
you should try a mold releasing on the printer bed, you could use a thick one like Vaseline petroleum jelly away from the parts. then close to the part you could use none or maybe a really thin oil with a paint brush on the parts.
I do use some mold release sometimes. In the dice video (not the footage from this video, it was a test piece), I had to use a mold release. I tried Vaseline, but what worked best was castor oil. I am still looking for other mold release options. Cheers!
Would it be possible to freeze dry the mold to get rid of the moisture? I wonder if that would be more efficient.
I don't know anything about freeze-drying, so I wouldn't know. Cheers!
@@ShakeTheFuture I honestly don't know much either, but I know people use it to dry food completely very efficiently and make it stable at room temperature for like months. I think there might be something here... or not, idk lol
Pretty clever. I was like what kind of microwave is that, than melt brass?? Then i realized its a regular household model on its head. Very cool. Im still skeptical a microwave can melt brass. 😮
Yes, just an ordinary microwave indeed 😀Cheers!
With the first star you cast, I don't think the sprue was too short but rather too thin. There isn't much of a depression on the top side of the pouring funnel indicating that the sprue solidified before the casting was done solidifying.
That's great to know. Thanks You!
The metal is zamak 12, an alloy of zinc, magnesium and copper, used in bathroom fixtures, door handles and other items that require very accurate details. It is known to be one of the best flowing alloys, next to silicon bronze. Also, mold should not be close to pouring temperature, it should be 500F lower than the pouring temp.
Thank you for the correction. I think saying close to pouring temperature was not a good word choice.
@@ShakeTheFuture No foul done, I enjoy the innovative content. You should try casting some stuff with that zinc alloy too and explore its capabilities, I would love to see that.
Can you use metal powder so you do not have to pour hot metal. Like sintering.
Yes, you can sinter using the microwave, but I have not done it myself. There are some people doing it on UA-cam.
I really like your videos 👊
Cheers!
At 11:11, it seems like Zamak - a zinc alloy
Interesting idea but it will only work for a pattern that can be withdrawn with the necessary draft so I see no advantage over sand casting which is much quicker and an indefinite number of castings can be made from one pattern.
I agree that sand casting is much quicker and less wasteful, but there are some advantages to other methods that I'll demonstrate in future projects, such as the dice example at the end of the video. That said, I have never done sand casting, so I might not know what I am talking about 😊 Thanks for the comment!
With the pattern softened for removal I don't see this method limited to sand casting draft requirements. On the other hand, if drafting is satisfied a pattern might be reused.
Very neat. Can you use this same method with plaster as the "investment" and concrete as the thing being cast?
I have never tried it, so I would not know. Cheers!
Woah, this is incredible
Cheers!