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3D Printed 22 Caliber Pellet Mold
I finished up my preliminary attempts at designing a simple platform for testing how well a 3D printed mold will hold up to extreme heat levels. This is being done on the heels of a recent experiment in which I used some 3D printed fishing lure molds into which I poured molten lead just to see if or how they held up. The results were reassuring.
Molten Lead will be used as the casting medium. The lead will be poured at a temperature of approximately 750 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
Information gathered from previous torture tests on existing, previously printed open-pour and injections molds showed that 3D printed molds of this type can indeed hold up to this kind of torture;
IF the molds are printed to a good thickness and IF the volume of molten lead being poured into them is small enough to solidify quickly thus mitigating the damaging effect of the extreme heat that the molten Lead would otherwise impart.
The weight of the Pellets I used to model this Mold is approximately 14 to 15 grains.
The thickness of the cavity walls at their thinnest points is about 5/16". However, there are four very small thinner sections of this mold design that may or may not succumb to the extreme heat.
These thinner cured resin sections are located on the Sprue-Cutter- Lid of the mold where they taper down to form the funnel which directs the flow of the molten Lead into the cavities.
And another section of possible overly thin cured resin is directly below where the Sprue-Cutter-Lid-Funnel forms the top of the pellets.
Overall dimensions of this small pellet mold are 1.125" tall. Main body of the mold is 1.5" in diameter. The Sprue-Cutter-Lid is 1.75" in diameter.
Only after initial testing will I know for sure if this is an area that needs further tweaking in order to get it to work safely and with repeat reliability.
Please be aware that this is Just a test platform. Changes will inevitably have to be made. This is just the initial step.
I'll be using my home made "Savage-Barrel-Nut-Wrench" to hold this little pellet mold while casting. The outside diameter of the mold corresponds to the inside diameter of my Barrel-Nut-Wrench.
Let me know what you think. I'll be interested to hear your views. This doesn't necessarily mean I'll change MY views but you never know. There are some pretty sharp minds in this group. I'm open to some 3D print wisdom.
HollowPoint
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A Couple More Design Changes
I could easily drive myself nuts over-thinking this project. My main goal was to make it as simple as possible in order to use it as a sort of proof-of-concept.
I was 99.9 percent sure it would work even before I started making changes to my original design but while I've been waiting for the resin to come back in stock I've had the chance to make some tweaks to that original design that I initially uploaded.
The resin came back in stock a couple of days ago so I ordered some. Now I await delivery of said resin.
The slight changes I made to the design seen in my initial CAD rendering were a result of suggestions made by some of the other 3D print people over on the FaceBook groups site where I'm a member of.
My resin should be here before next weekend so I'm real anxious to get to printing and testing to see how well they hold up.
I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get them to print out very well but all of that means nothing if I can't get them to cast some accurate pellets.
I'll just have to wait and see what kind of pellets I can get out of these little molds. I don't think I'd be to far of base to state that if I can get these tiny pellet molds to work then that would man that a single cavity bullet mold might also work.
Back when I first started hearing about 3D printing technology, I recall it being referred to as a, "Disruptive Technology." I see now why they called it, "Disruptive." Many of the things that a whole lot of us have been paying others to make for us can now be printed in the comfort of our own homes.
I've paid a fair amount for single cavity rifle bullet molds in the past. The cost of the small amount of resin needed to print one of these pellet molds is approximately two-dollars and forty-eight cents according to the slicer software I use to set up my prints. A single cavity bullet mold wouldn't take much more resin than this; just a bit of imagination and it seems like the sky's the limit.
HollowPoint