This is great. I've been doing pretty much this same thing the past several days, using the same materials and approach. You've provided some very helpful tips here.

That is really good technique, and you have implemented it well. I am always looking at ways to make strong parts,

THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!! thank you so much!

Thanks for making this video! This is something I really wanted to try but wasn't sure on how to go about actually doing it.

Gel coat is a thicker resin with color in it. Production shops have spray guns that mix the thick resin with catalyst at the nozzle. It can be thinned with acetone, mixed with catalyst and sprayed with conventional paint spraying guns. You'll want to work in small batches, just enough to spray a couple of thin layers so you can clean the sprayer with acetone before it sets. Build up enough thickness of gel coat and you don't have to paint. Acetone is a far better solvent and cleaner for polyester resin than lacquer thinner.

that was a quality stuff.got to learn many things.finally my 3d printed parts can be used

Great video! Thanks for the idea!

SUBSCRIBED!! I am thinking of doing this for a custom helmet for facial performance capture, and most likely will do this from a two-part mould so I can cast it.

Fantastic! Was looking for an example of this.

you can use one sheet of fiberglass and just cut the corners, use fiberglass tow/strands in all the corners, and use a fiberglass roller to get all air bubbles out. acetone cleans polyester resin. looks good though.

Stumbled upon this vid, great information on how this all works

@DistractedArchitect

3 жыл бұрын

Thank You. I'm happy you found it helpful!

Great tutorial! Thanks so much.

Great video

Hi Michael. Thank you very much for this video, it's amazing!! I have been working for a while on a similar project. You gave me new ideas so, thank you!! I would like to ask you if you could provide me with some information about the creation of the 3D model of this mold. Specifically, it would be great for me to know how did you draw the flanges. Thank you!!

Awesome video man! I have a client I designed a pretry cool SuperBatman logo for to put in his trunk on a custom subwoofer enclosure. I think I am going to try this. Surely the finished product would hold up with the hot heat of Mississippi. Right? I was planning on using Petg. But I have tons of PLA I could use to make the mold. Either way I'm going to try it for more experience. Thanks man!

SUBSCRIBED! Thank you so much for the video. Can you share the 3D printing setting? What is the Recommend thickness of the 3D printed parts? What is 3D printing setting for fill factor, wall thickness and printing direction?

Thank you Sir

Well done! Your pacing was great and you explained the process very well. Out of curiosity, what is the final part you are printing the panels for?

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I love making this video's but get so little time to work on them. These parts were for the ride on atomic bomb i built for Maker Faire this year.

Woah, you sound a bit like Greg from Lofty Pursuit! You’d don’t happen to make candy on the side do you? Super cool mold technique! I took notes lol

subscribed/liked....good stuff. saw this on your post in 3d printing. This is one of my next ventures in 3d printing.

@DistractedArchitect

7 жыл бұрын

I can't wait to see what you make!

This is great. Thanks for the video. I wonder if it would be possible to build an even larger part by assembling multiple 3d printed parts. I imagine there would be a seam, but couldn't that later be sanded on the fiberglass part?

@DistractedArchitect

7 жыл бұрын

It is possible to seam multiple 3D prints together to make a larger mold. I avoided doing this by just making my largest part, the back of the mold, small enough to fit in my printer. The machine that made these parts is a Makerbot z-18, which has a larger then normal build volume. I was amazed by how easily the mold lines did sand away on these parts.

@davidr.massey419

6 жыл бұрын

Very into this read my reply to Richard Hughes on this topic. Yes almost ANY auto frame&body panels can be made using multiple printings using old school sandwich/finger joinery(usually woodworking joinery) and 1/32"half diameter zig-zag tunneling& exiting for gluing. I will lay out blind holes in each printing to accept Lamello Invis connectors(their 12mm pulls 260kg. of force to close joinery to achieve one body panel from two printings). No clamping difficult curved panel printings. Before carbon fibering both sides of a panel a attach or detach is a simple forward or reverse with any battery powered pistol drill. www.swissinvis.com just look at their videos. Plugin: "Invisable Detachable Joining" in KZread . This IS outside the box thinking that works for someone who is good with surface geometry in SolidWorks. Been eye ball to eyeball with that 3DP-Platform WorkBench#400 printer with print bed area 59"x39"x27&3/4" at about 40k$. With this gear i have stated with you&Richard Hughes a nationwide business is possible.

Goood.

If you don't care about being able to reuse the mold can you just leave the plastic in there or does this create issues.

are these the panels for the ride-able "bomb" I saw at the HammerSpace open house? Would you consider a 360 fusion class to teach that part of the process

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

Black Cloud these where for exactly that project! I teach fusion 360 class approximately ever 3 months!

was the mold painted before use?

Something called Diacetone should be able to clean the resin. You have to clean it before it starts to harden though; especially the brushes..

Is it MS sheet with colour coated applicable for mold???

Hello, Can you create a video tutorial on making a negative mold like yours from a solid in Fusion 360? Thanks

@superchargedkayaker

4 жыл бұрын

I second that!!

With what filament did you print the mold? Would PLA work?

Nice video! What brand of PLA filament did you use to print your molds?

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

Microcenter's Inland Brand... I go through so much PLA at this point, I just buy the cheapest stuff that works.

@eviljustalilbit

6 жыл бұрын

It doesn't ship to Canada :(

Hello, I tried this, but the fiberglass resin broke down the paint in my mold so I don't seem to have a good enough paint layer to hold up to the resin even with wax and pva. In your video you mention, "final top coat of clear gross seals all the layers of paint together". What is this gross?

How to get a such smooth surface for the mold with 3d printing?

@austntexan

5 жыл бұрын

He discusses this in the beginning of the video.

Observatory dome, here I come!

@Michael Curry isnt the curing temperature high enough to damage the PLA mold? Or is it saved by the first layer which is not resin, that shields the mold surface? Great video, well done

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

I worried about this, but the heat of curing didn't cause any real issue with the PLA. That said, this molds didn't have a long life. After casting the 8th panel the Filler Primer I'd used to smooth the 3D prints was visibly starting break down and bubble. I think that had more to do with the fiberglass resin interacting with the paint then the heat of curing.

@MidnightMarrow

5 жыл бұрын

@@DistractedArchitect Could try the ceramic paint used on engine blocks and the like. That way it's a smooth finish, impervious to any heat that may be generated and since ceramics are generally pretty rugged. It shouldn't chip, bubble or peel up and perhaps give much longer life to your molds.

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

@@MidnightMarrow That's a good thought

@rosswoolley2854

2 жыл бұрын

@@DistractedArchitect That's a bad idea!

Considering picking up a 3D printer and utilizing this method. I have a past in composites, but no experience in 3D printing. I am wondering what your settings were for the mold as far as infill. Thank you.

how did you accomplish the inverse surface in fusion 360?

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

I modeled the part I wanted to mold, then modeled the parts of the mold as separate objects. Finally i used the Modify > Combine operation to boolean cut the outer surface of the part into of the inner surface of the mold.

Do you have Facebook messenger or a way to chat with you? I have 3s printed some parts that I would like to do the same thing to. I'm lost on the prepping the 3d part

Which one I can use in fiberglass, first one or second?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

In the process shown in this video Polyvinyle Acetate glue is used as the as the barrier layer between the mold surface and the fiberglass

Does anyone know what the best infill percentage should be for molds like this that will be used for vacuum bagging carbon fiber?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

Harold,.3D Printed parts are surprisingly good under compression. My suggestion would be 20% to 30% infill, with standard wall thickness. Before you start printing the mold, you can test the strength of a a sample part by taking something you've 3D printed and putting it under vacuum in a bag. That will tell you right away if the part is strong enough for the process, or if you need to add more infill.

@thebuttnakedpodcast3006

5 жыл бұрын

@@DistractedArchitect Thank you, Michael I'll print a sample at 20% to test it. Thanks again.

So the mold wax is what you use to smooth out the 3d printer layer lines?

@DistractedArchitect

4 жыл бұрын

The mold wax is a final polish for the surface to make sure there is nothing for the resin to grab onto. The layer lines where filled and sanded using automotive filler primer, then the mold was given a final coat with gloss spray paint to make it a smooth as possible before we started

PVA stands for polyvinyl acetate or alcohal?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

Polyvinyl Acetate is the glue, Polyvinyl Alcohol is used in some 3D printers to make water dissolvable support structures.

What is PVA for fiberglass and why we need to use it?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

The PVA layer forms a barrier between the mold surface and the fiberglass to keep them from permanently sticking together.

what 3d printer are u using and how big are the parts it can make

@DistractedArchitect

7 жыл бұрын

Dustin Mcmanus I printed the part for this mold on my MakerBot Z-18. I've had it for years and it will do a build area of 12"×12"×18"

@dustinmcmanus23

7 жыл бұрын

cool do u think it would work to make a body kit mold for a 1975 280z

If I use an unpainted PLA mold, will the mold last several uses or will it deteriorate with the curing temperature?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

I panted the mold as part of a process to smooth its surface. You can use an unpainted mold, but the layer lines and any imperfections in the molds printed surface will show up on your final fiberglass parts

@Marcos-tj8nk

5 жыл бұрын

@@DistractedArchitect Thank u, and what is the best infill percentage and wall thickness for this mold size or larger?

Is the mold reusable?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

Yes it is. I made six parts from this mold to complete the outer shell

what filament did you use to make the mold?

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

Micro Center's Inland Brand of PLA. It's inexpensive and works well in my Z-18

@shoomaklovesemmy

6 жыл бұрын

would it be ok if I use generic PLA?

@DistractedArchitect

6 жыл бұрын

Absolutely.

Can this method be employed in making a Micro-hydro turbine with polyester resin and E-glass fibre? I am really worried about how to successfully make a mould using 3d printing. For making a mould, can I use PLA or ABS for this process using FDM type 3D printing?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

It depends on the size of what your building. Do you want to make the turbine housing from fiberglass? Or the turbine's impeller

@sanjheevramalingam3506

5 жыл бұрын

@@DistractedArchitect turbine impellar

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

@@sanjheevramalingam3506 Building an impeller with this method will be difficult. You may be better off directly 3D Printing the impeller with a very high infill, then using the fiberglass molding to build the housing and other components.

@sanjheevramalingam3506

5 жыл бұрын

​@@DistractedArchitect​ Can I use bristles of fibre instead of using sheets of fibre mat for compression moulding?

@DistractedArchitect

5 жыл бұрын

@@sanjheevramalingam3506 more than likely, but I'm not an expert in the subject and haven't personally done that before

Which type of material used for mold???

@DistractedArchitect

3 жыл бұрын

PLA that has been sanded and painted for a smooth finish, then waxed and coated with pva mold release

@kumarpatil6161

3 жыл бұрын

We also facing problem with mold...

box store fiberglass is folded that not good

You’re researched vocabulary doesn’t go with the not so quality work!! Hope you’ve learned more about materials not vocabulary to sound smart!!