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