A CNC router can carve foam blanks for a mold very easily and quickly and very accurately too. Takes very little post carving work to make a useable plug to make a glass mold. The foam for this though is pretty expensive.
The 26.48 kg of abs plastic cost $27.95/kg for a total of $740 worth of plastic alone, not to mention over 6 pounds of screws and inserts they used. A foam block about the right size seems to go for about $800.
The advantage of the 3D printing is just about all the material you bought ends up in the product, where with the foam, a large percentage ends up in the dust collector.
And I suspect the router would make a serious mess routing it, foam dust goes everywhere, worse than plaster dust.
A dust collection system is not that big a deal. The 3D printing needs a fumes extraction system, so it is about the same.
BTW, some mold producers use a CNC machine to carve an oversize mold, then the come back with a dookie-schmutz dispenser on their CNC machine that coats the foam. When this cures, they mill the surface to its final shape. Not much left to be done to have a fully functional mold.
Messages In This Thread
- Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix" *PIC*
Sean Dawe -- 3/19/2014, 10:30 am- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
John Faas -- 3/19/2014, 12:33 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
ancient kayaker -- 3/19/2014, 2:01 pm
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Bill Mayberry -- 3/19/2014, 1:24 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Jeff Horton -- 3/19/2014, 2:16 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Sean Dawe -- 3/19/2014, 2:29 pm
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Marc Upchurch -- 3/19/2014, 9:20 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
ancient kayaker -- 3/20/2014, 10:47 am
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 3/20/2014, 12:50 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Etienne Muller -- 3/20/2014, 3:38 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Marc Upchurch -- 3/20/2014, 6:07 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 3/20/2014, 6:48 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Bill Hamm -- 3/21/2014, 9:31 am- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 3/21/2014, 5:38 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Bill Hamm -- 3/22/2014, 6:35 am
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Etienne Muller -- 3/20/2014, 3:42 pm - Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
Bill Hamm -- 3/20/2014, 4:59 pm- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
ancient kayaker -- 3/20/2014, 7:53 pm
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"
- Re: Other: Are we going to need another "Prefix"