3D printing molds/plugs

hydrostyler

hydrostyler

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Location
Central Illinois
Guy on here by the name Dalton 3d printed an entire top deck, glued it together and made a plug. Not a lot of details were given, but I'd imagine it still took a bit of effort to sand and prime before making the mold. The 3d prints I've seen are pretty porous and would definitely not release a part or be released from a mold very well.
 
Kyle Chandler

Kyle Chandler

Location
Lake Wisconsin & Louisville Ky
hydrostyler said:
Guy on here by the name Dalton 3d printed an entire top deck, glued it together and made a plug. Not a lot of details were given, but I'd imagine it still took a bit of effort to sand and prime before making the mold. The 3d prints I've seen are pretty porous and would definitely not release a part or be released from a mold very well.
Click to expand...
Man! Must have been a very large printer lol.

LimitedSlip7 said:
Ask Nate_D, I'm pretty sure that's how he makes a lot of his molds and his stuff turns out incredible.
Click to expand...
Oh ok cool. Im gonna start designing a lowered nose piece. Ill update the thread with pics if/when I get something made.

Anyone else got any ideas on some parts to make? Maybe a front foothold...
 
Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Kyle Chandler said:
Man! Must have been a very large printer lol.


Oh ok cool. Im gonna start designing a lowered nose piece. Ill update the thread with pics if/when I get something made.

Anyone else got any ideas on some parts to make? Maybe a front foothold...
Click to expand...

I don't have a 3d printer or the 3d design skills, but a major part of building a plug goes into getting it symmetric. A lot of "splashes" such as those who have made carbon fiber X2 hoods or steering cowlings simply have to make minor modifications and the body work. Other parts such as lowered hoods or nose pieces require a lot of work for symmetry. If you can remove that work with your printer, then that is a major advantage. The size of the printer isn't going to be the issue as much as your patience into breaking your 3d design down from a full piece to various puzzle pieces to be glued together into one part. Might I suggest including some sort of pins into the pieces so they maintain proper alignment when glued.

@hydrostyler is absolutely correct about the surface. 3D parts I have seen are not anywhere smooth enough to be a plug. I haven't worked with any 3D printed pieces to make plugs but I would try to cover the 3d part in drywall mud or plaster. I like working with drywall mud as it works like clay that doesn't need to be fired. Just mix the mud to the consistency you like and work it into the part like clay. The mud is available in 5, 15 and 60 minutes so you get to pick your working time. Sometimes I use a tool, but I usually work the mud with my hands like clay. Once it's setup, but not completely dry, you can still scrape it with a drywall knife or work the surface with wet hands. It's a cheap material that is easy to work.

The drywall mud will fill all the imperfections in your print. The drywall mud is also softer than the plastic so you can sand the mud with 80 grit until you reach the plastic but you shouldnt go through unless you are being overly aggressive.

You now have a smooth surface, but it is still porous, so you need to coat the entire part with a sealer. You can use high quality high build primers like @Nate_D does, all of the products he has used are documented in his build thread. I have used cheap primers like rustolium, which does work, but unless it is given a long time to cure you mold gelcoat can get into your cheap paints and then you have mold repair to do. It's acceptable to use if you put it on thin and your deadlines work with your drying times. If you time is worth money, use the better 2-part primers.

I have to seal my parts with something epoxy based because my plug base is made from pink foam which melts with other products. It takes me a long time to build the base from pink foam. The pink foam is as soft as the drywall so I have to reshape the shape. It's extremely time consuming. 3d printing would vastly improve my ability to work, but I'm not in much a position to buy a new computer, printer, design software and learn how to use it all, or to otherwise pay someone to do that much design and print.

Good luck. 3d printing is, in my opinion as a hobbiest, the future of hobby composites.
 
BrightE's

BrightE's

Paul
Location
Seattle, WA
For all the print material you're going to print. You're better off paying a large scale CNC house to cut a hull size foam block into a plug, and finish that.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 
Nate_D

Nate_D

Location
Houston, TX
LimitedSlip7 said:
Ask Nate_D, I'm pretty sure that's how he makes a lot of his molds and his stuff turns out incredible.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I 3d print a lot of my plugs now. All of the molds for the twin tube adjustable poles I make were made from a 3d printed plug. I've also tried to 3d print molds. These have not been successful. Even if you can get a surface smooth enough, the plastic has too low of a tg and deforms when the part cures.

As for prepping the plug, it really doesn't require much work. Especially if the plug can be printed in one piece. It helps when designing the plug to design a small flange on it. This helps when you go to glue it down to your flange board, as you don't have to worry about making a fine seam between the two. Without the small flange, you have to be very careful to get a small and smooth transition from your plug to your board.

As for prep, I take a 3/4" plywood board and hit it with a poly high build primer while the plug is printing. Once cured and the plug is printed, I'll smooth the board with 80 grit DA and then lay down body filler to the base of the plug, gluing it to the board. After that, I'll fill the gap between the board and the flange on the plug, hit the plug with 120 grit lightly, then spray the whole thing with poly high build. Sand with 180 smooth and then duratec surfacing primer. From there it's wet sanding and compound/polish.

Here's some pics if you are interested.

05cce9493e96f5969c20e58a62d5263c.jpg


6573a8c4dab855e28bb24c729dd890d0.jpg
77bdcaae0c887d52b5a512bd6dddc90e.jpg

62c9fd4004d8320b050b9e5076328a93.jpg

0695da50b1e3f0d2e82a9659b6c04034.jpg



Here's the finished product from the molds

02eef28439eae3d20cb14263b8bc01ee.jpg



There's definitely a limit to the cost effectiveness of this approach. The larger the part and the more sections you have to cut your part into, the more time involved in getting the plug ready to be molded. At a certain point, you are better off having a shop cut your plug from high density foam or mdf. Unless you have an industrial size printer.

Another downfall is that the tolerances with this method are about +/- 1mm. While that is fine for a lot of parts, there are times when that simply won't do (the tubes in the pole for example).
 
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Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Nate_D said:
Thanks!

I 3d print a lot of my plugs now. All of the molds for the twin tube adjustable poles I make were made from a 3d printed plug. I've also tried to 3d print molds. These have not been successful. Even if you can get a surface smooth enough, the plastic has too low of a tg and deforms when the part cures.

As for prepping the plug, it really doesn't require much work. Especially if the plug can be printed in one piece. It helps when designing the plug to design a small flange on it. This helps when you go to glue it down to your flange board, as you don't have to worry about making a fine seam between the two. Without the small flange, you have to be very careful to get a small and smooth transition from your plug to your board.

As for prep, I take a 3/4" plywood board and hit it with a poly high build primer while the plug is printing. Once cured and the plug is printed, I'll smooth the board with 80 grit DA and then lay down body filler to the base of the plug, gluing it to the board. After that, I'll fill the gap between the board and the flange on the plug, hit the plug with 120 grit lightly, then spray the whole thing with poly high build. Sand with 180 smooth and then duratec surfacing primer. From there it's wet sanding and compound/polish.

Here's some pics if you are interested.

05cce9493e96f5969c20e58a62d5263c.jpg


6573a8c4dab855e28bb24c729dd890d0.jpg
77bdcaae0c887d52b5a512bd6dddc90e.jpg

62c9fd4004d8320b050b9e5076328a93.jpg

0695da50b1e3f0d2e82a9659b6c04034.jpg



Here's the finished product from the molds

02eef28439eae3d20cb14263b8bc01ee.jpg



There's definitely a limit to the cost effectiveness of this approach. The larger the part and the more sections you have to cut your part into, the more time involved in getting the plug ready to be molded. At a certain point, you are better off having a shop cut your plug from high density foam or mdf. Unless you have an industrial size printer.

Another downfall is that the tolerances with this method are about +/- 1mm. While that is fine for a lot of parts, there are times when that simply won't do (the tubes in the pole for example).
Click to expand...

I love the example you use to explain this. It's like watching a magician do tricks. Your like here's a 3D print, abrakadaba here's a plug, then you're like, here's a mold and presto magico here's a picture of a little thing I slapped together. No biggy. Meanwhile I over here like...

hulk%20flour.jpg
 
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