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Vacuum pump

Aug 8, 2019

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    1. So I’ve got a couple dolls that I 3d printed, cleaned up, epoxy sculpted, sanded a thousand times, polished and finally got nice and smooth.

      No matter what I manage with the surface finish, a 3d printed doll will always feel too light to me. I want to cast them in resin, and have been trying for a couple weeks now.

      Problem is, bubbles. Bubbles in the silicon molds, and bubbles in the urethane resin. So I’m considering taking the dive in and buying a vacuum chamber.

      I cannot afford a vacuum chamber AND a pressure pot. It’s one or the other.

      The vacuum pump and chamber will help with the silicon molds, but do you think it’ll do much about the resin end of the problem? I know that a pressure chamber is generally used for that step, but like I said - it’s one or the other for now. So what are your opinions?

      Anyone have much experience with these things?

      I’m using smooth on products. I’m thinking of trying one of the slower cure resins, so I could put that into the vacuum chamber before pouring. Is that a thing? Will that make a difference?

      Do you think a pressure pot would be more useful? Or stick with the vacuum chamber? I got $100 Amazon money for my birthday, so that’s gonna cover the bulk of the purchase. I can’t justify spending too awful much right now, so I’m aiming for one of the $150 options. Still want some opinions before I pull the trigger.

      Any and all advice welcome! Thanks
       
      #1 Athy, Aug 8, 2019
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    2. I can help! Kind of. I spent quite a bit of time in July struggling with Smooth-On resin. I was using Smooth-Cast 326, and you can see my adventures here, as well as some casting photos from people who had success without fancy equipment: /threads/what-is-a-realistic-result-for-home-casting.806487/
      (Please note that I accidentally damaged my mold where one of the magnet holes should be, which is what the mess at the top of the head is. That isn't the resin's fault. I really need to repair the mold.)

      I think the trick is to not use Smooth-On resin. I mean, it must work for some people, considering it's so popular, but I couldn't get 326 to work, and their tech support person was completely unhelpful. I ended up going to Michael's and buying Amazing Casting Resin. It's still not completely bubble-free, but the improvement was still remarkable. The only downside is that color matching is very difficult (unless you buy their special pigments, presumably) because this resin starts clear and cures white.

      The mold silicone though, I didn't really have trouble with. I used Mold Max 14NV from Smooth-On. I ended up with a few bubbles on the inside of each ear that show up as small bulges on the casts, but other than that, it worked beautifully.
       
      #2 Zardi, Aug 9, 2019
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    3. If you can only do one... I’d get the pressure pot. The silicone can be poured bubble free without a vacuum chamber. It’s tricky, but it’s a technique and can be done. Creating bubble free casts without a pressure pot is very difficult. You can get decent junk casts, but for a really perfect finish you will need the pressure pot. That’s my opinion on it, although I have both.

      As an aside: please make sure it’s a proper resin casting tank. There’s lots of YouTube ‘how to modify a paint tank/pressure cooker’ tutorials - it’s potentially dangerous, so please don’t! :whee:
       
      #3 Spuggey, Aug 9, 2019
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      • x 3
    4. #4 FenrirWolf, Jan 2, 2020
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