[navnav2006]

Hi

Can anyone tell me where I could find a pattern maker around Auckland.
I need to make a simple mold for casting aluminium.

Does anyone have a experiance in making mold from plaster.(refractory mastics)?????

[appicnc]

Hello navnav

Have a look on the casting forums, plaster is a dog, my experience is with Al', I have had some success with loast foam, I tried plaster over the foam but had problems with moisture, if you go to a site called buildyouridea ( do a googel - I'm not doing it all for you, and look around, if you need more than 1 try it your self, if not find a local foundry, they should have access to a pattern maker, good luck.

BTW, all molten metal is hot, if it get on you it won't hurt, much, but it will do a lot of damage and then it will HURT!! the stuff is dangerous, accidents have been know to kill so give it some thought.

Ed

[dearlovr]

try sand ! , hard-sand molds are best , use sodium silicate ( waterglass ) mixed with sand and expose to carbon dioxide to make hard or some special hardsand resins are available that go hard when mixed with hardner , you just need a male version of what you are trying to make ( slightly larger due to shrinkage ) . Am building a cnc router to make male patterns for experamental engine .

[tinalulu]

Hi

Can anyone tell me where I could find a pattern maker around Auckland.
I need to make a simple mold for casting aluminium.

Does anyone have a experiance in making mold from plaster.(refractory mastics)?????

We have experience in design and open mold for casting aluminium

[InMesh]

Yes plaster was kind of a disaster used a vacuum to pull the air out then it has to be very dry for a small mold I used car filler with a PVA release agent for fiberglass then I was only molding white metal,I was looking into the sand specific to casting it depends on how many you want .

[awerby]

Be careful about pouring molten metal into experimental molds. Even a solid steel mold can contain enough invisible moisture to cause a steam explosion that will send extremely hot stuff all over the place at high velocity. You don't want to be in its way when that happens. Plaster of Paris, even when apparently dry, contains chemically-bound water that can do the same thing. Watching You-Tube videos is enough to learn how to do many sorts of crafts projects, but foundry work is different. Get someone who really knows what they're doing to show you what to do - and what not to do, if you want to stay safe.