Lost Wax and other updates

A silicon bronze cast of Yoda from Star Wars


Hi there again guys,

Even though I posted something yesterday, I thought I should post again to make it up to you guys. I wanted to talk about some new developments in technology and I'll attach a copy of my updated bill of materials right HERE.

And my source for the following info HERE, which is similar, but I'll try to make it simpler than the article.


So, my Dad pointed me in the direction for this piece. He shared a method for casting metal parts out of the plastic printed ones, which would significantly increase the cost of the printer, but make it more durable. I personally prefer the printed parts for the printer, because you can print an infinite amount of them as long as you have plastic, but having a metal structured part like the one above would be pretty awesome. The detail is stunning as well. Under a microscope, you can see where the strings from the printer were laid down. Here's how it works.


First, you take your printed parts and string them up on a tree-like structure made of wax. Wax can be melted easily, making it easy to remove. Then you want to take your investment, or the ceramic mix that, when fired, will create a mold. Then, the wax inside is melted, leaving only the cast behind. After that, the molten metal in poured into the cast, the cast is retrieved from within the metal, and the parts are cut off of the 'tree' and then you have your parts. You might wonder how you print the parts out of wax in the first place. There is the option of vaporizing the plastic with an extremely powerful heat source, but there's now a company that makes spools of wax filament for 3D printers specifically for lost wax castings. You can find the link Here.

As always, the link for my new blog can be found Here.

I'm pretty sure that's about it, so I hope you guys have a great day!