What do you know about casting materials?

[redhatman]

Ive been thinking for a while now of making prototypes out of something like clay, forming a mold of it, and then pouring some sort of casting material into it.

I went to Michaels Arts and Crafts Store and the lady didnt know anything, she answered 0/4 questions. I would want something that is cheap, yet strong for rc abuse (tough and flexible).

I found some "Insta-Mold" which is $9 for 12 ounces. It is supposedly a flexible mold material that works with resin and plaster without release agent. I looked at some Casting resin, its around $20 for a decent amount.

On HPI's website, it says the X cage is made of nylon. Any information on this?

Please let me know of any ideas you may have, whether its how to go about this, what material to use for casting, or feedback on if Casting resin would work? Let me know, again, any help is much appreciated.

-Pat

[CarterTG]

Take a look at Alumilite (http://www.alumilite.com). They've appeared at most of the Chicago Hobby Shows with their demos. It's a two-part system that hardens in 60 seconds into a fairly tough resin. Add a few calculated drops of their dyes and the resin takes on most of the primary colors.

The resulting cast objects are fairly dense and tough. Tough enough to make suspension arms with? No clue. For evaluation, it might be worthwhile to ask them if they'd mind sending you some finished samples if you pay postage.

Their super kit uses a room-temp silicone for making the negative mold. Convenient, but shrinks the original "plug" model by 10%.

The resin itself doesn't shrink and takes on a decent amount of detail from the negative mold.

As for creating the initial prototype model, use carving wax and work/file/carve it as if it were soft wood. Clay's too flimsy unless you're making Hummel figurines.

[CarterTG]

I haven't visited their site in a while, so these two gallery sections caught my eye:

http://www.alumilite.com/index.php?page=show_applications&id=51

http://www.alumilite.com/index.php?page=show_applications&id=45

[myqueace]

LOL. When I first read the subject for this thread I was like "OOO OOO, I know casting materials!!!" (like I broke my arm I need a cast). That's what I do for a career is casting at an all orthopedic hospital. Good luck getting the information you need!

[redhatman]

LOL. When I first read the subject for this thread I was like "OOO OOO, I know casting materials!!!" (like I broke my arm I need a cast). That's what I do for a career is casting at an all orthopedic hospital. Good luck getting the information you need!

hahhaha thats awsome.