EASY Solid Metal Casting from 3D Print with Matchplates

[@PaulsGarage]

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[@marblemarble7113]

you should do a video on reusable molds made of silicon carbide and water glass and 3d prints as forms. Its a cheap entry level way of making your own permanent and tough metal casting molds that doesnt require cnc.

[@PaulsGarage]

That's a really good idea! I'll check that out. I know what process you are talking about but I haven't actually tried it. I'll give it a shot at some point

[@robertkeyes258]

Maybe there's some CAD software that can automate the design of a match plate for a given design.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

I remember using matchplates in high school metal shop I was lucky our high school had beautiful gas furnace !

[@OffGridOverLander]

I’m actually going to have to make a match plate set for some tire spacers for my military truck, ironic that you spit this video out 😂

[@PaulsGarage]

@@OffGridOverLander perfect timing!

[@jmone3559]

Love my match plates. I do them a little differently, and glue the resin printed components to Film Faced Ply. One thing I've noticed is that the choice of resin makes a big difference in that some warp over time. Avoid Epoxy based resins. eg, I pulled out one of my earlier match plates out and things like the runners had curled (guess I'll just glue them back down).

[@PaulsGarage]

good tip! I've noticed some resins warp really bad over time, too. I honestly haven't had this stuff long enough to know what it will do, but heygears resin hasn't warped on me yet. sunlu ABS does, but it's also very cheap.

[@blazunlimited]

If I ever actually start metal casting, I think I might use match plates all the time.

[@PaulsGarage]

I want to use matchplates every time, but i don't want to MAKE them every time 🤣

[@OffGridOverLander]

@@PaulsGarageI don’t blame ya 😂 but for me casting 36 identical pieces is something I don’t feel like doing, but I’m also too cheap to pay for having it done by CNC.

[@roscoepatternworks3471]

I mount most of my patterns on matchplates. Why, 2 reasons. 1 there is almost no such thing as a one off casting. If something can go wrong it will. 2 friends say i like that can you make me one? But the best reason at all times you'll get a cleaner mold. Therefore a cleaner casting. If you have any offset parting, use a followboard. It can also be 3d printed.

[@PaulsGarage]

very good points! this one went wrong, so you got that right. Plus if i decide i want one in a different alloy, if something breaks, or if i lose the thing in my messy garage... all good reasons to use a match plate

[@technoe02]

Beautiful. I can't wait to try this.

[@PaulsGarage]

I hope you do!

[@brandonfrancey5592]

Heads up. You mentioned updating Chitubox. If you update the software, the sliced files may not be compatible with your printers anymore. You will need to do a firmware update on your printers before they can read the new files. Discovered that the hard way. It's not a big deal, download the files to a thumb drive and update the printer, it's just extra steps you may need to take and that always happens when you have a deadline and you might not be thinking straight trying to figure out why the printer won't print something.

[@PaulsGarage]

@brandonfrancey5592 wow thanks for the head up, that would have caused me a huge headache lol

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Paul thanks for the great video !

[@josephsmith601]

THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, SUBSCRIBED PERIOD!!! 👍👍👍

[@rembrantsworkshop]

I think a more appropriate villain name would be "The Zamak Prophet"

[@twinArmageddon2]

These would be soo cool to add to my toolkit, makes me wish I had a way of making prints larger than 180mm^2 at home

[@davidelang]

I've seen some people pack their 3d prints in sand by vibrating the sand to make it fluid and lowering the plastic/foam part into the sand, then stopping the vibration rather than packing the sand around the part. have you experimented with that approach?

[@awldune]

Wow, well this is something I never heard of, although I guess almost all metal casting you ever see on YT is one-off projects.

[@PaulsGarage]

that's true, almost everything i've cast has been one and done

[@blenderbuch]

Did you use the Solidify modifier in blender? If not. Try it. If you do try the even thickness setting?

[@jmone3559]

Looking forward to seeing how the Die Cast goes!

[@PaulsGarage]

me too! i still haven't poured it yet

[@fredio54]

Sick as, br0. I was sick as around the same time.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Clean Breathing Man: surviving in style since 2024, unbothered by ever worsening befouled air that lays low the common man. A comfortable 'stylish' filter actually seems like a reasonable idea - just got some air quality monitors and it has been quite enlightening.

[@PaulsGarage]

i'll have to get some air quality monitors! I have plenty of toxic stuff in this garage. The mask looks kinda goofy with the big pink filters on it, one day i want to adjust the design to have remote filters. This was just the fastest way I could pull it off

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

@@PaulsGarage I'd not worry about removing or hiding the filters myself. But perhaps bring them to your belt or something so you can have ominous tubes in that mask going wherever you hide the filter. Though If you are going to have fancy grills like that in the design you could go for just one filter in that spot, it would increase the flow restriction a bit and the filters wouldn't last as long, but they would still do the job, and hidden behind that cover concept it doesn't matter what the company decides to make the casing colour for whichever variety of filter you have slotted. Yeah air monitors have been pretty interesting to have. Not tested one in the real workshop yet though, that might be a bit too depressing! Being a fan of open source and cheapskate I went with the airgradent stuff in kit form - though really calling it a kit is almost insulting with how little there is to do. My minimal attempts so far to verify the sanity of the airgradent monitors selection of sensors says they are at least a good trend indicator, and might just be pretty good accuracy wise. (I suspect they really are about as good as these sort of sensors can get in the price range anyway - all the sensor modules inside look alright on the datasheet).

[@RogerGarrett]

Could this approach be used to create the two-part molds used for injection molding? I imagine the surfaces that have to press together during the injection would have to be processed afterwards to get a super smooth surface on each, but maybe the surfaces of the part to be injection molded wouldn't need that amount of accuracy. I'm building a new kind of 3D printer. Most such printers have plastic parts that are either injection molded or 3D printed. I'd prefer to have mine injection molded, but such molds can be very expensive. So wondering if this approach might suffice.

[@FlintStone-c3s]

Hmm, first pics of that high temp 3D resin, they sound like ceramic when you clanged them together. I want to do some batches of Bismuth alloys. Will be interesting to see how they go with Zamak. Giving me some useful ideas for when I get cough, cough healthy again.

[@lornablewettandlee504]

I recently watched a video by Myfordboy where I commented that the glowing crucible made me want to get back into casting. I had some bad fails, nuff said. The thing is, I don't think my metal was up to casting temp even though my temp readout said the foundry was. I didn't have a glowing crucible, and I dont think you did either. Is it important?

[@PaulsGarage]

the glowing is entirely dependent on temperature. My electric furnace tends to say it's up to temperature before the metal melts, thats because it takes time for the metal to heat up. the thermocouple is outside the crucible and heats up before the crucible, which heats up before the metal. In this case the crucible was never glowing because Za12 pours at 500C (or a little less). There was a short B-roll clip here that showed a glowing crucible pouring glowing metal, that was ancient bronze at 1100C. The glowing color is all down to the heat. I usually let the furnace sit at temperature for about 20 minutes or so to allow the metal in the crucible to actually start melting, then pour when i think it has equalized. You don't want it sitting there forever molten, especially some metals, but Za12 is super forgiving.

[@misterdecaro]

When I first saw match plates I thought that was the coolest thing since, well melting metal itself! I have a project that will be perfect for match plates: making balls for a ball mill. when I found out how many I'd need (40% volume of the mill itself) I was excited I'd finally have a project worth making matching plates for. So far, the plan is for 3 sized of balls at diameters of 1/2", 3/4" and 1". When I can get my oil burner built, I'd like to use steel from railroad spikes. Additionally I was thinking copper might work too as it can be hardened as well. An idea I'd like to explore is to make the balls in two stages: a core and a shell. Cast the cores out lead for it's density and weight and then cast the shell around it with steel or copper. Any thoughts? PS enjoyed your video, as always :)

[@PaulsGarage]

sounds fun! modelling a matchplate for balls would be pretty easy, you'll just have issues with shrinkage because of the shape of the balls. For a ball mill though i doubt it would be an issue. What might be an issue is the metal itself. Casting steel at home isn't really a doable thing. the temperatures are insane, and it will want to oxidize super fast like a weld puddle. Welders shield molten steel with argon gas, you can see how a crucible of that would be very tricky. You can melt a small amount of steel at home with oxy-acetylene, or an induction furnace, but if you are talking pounds of the stuff at once, you'll have an issue. same for lead core balls. if you cast a shell around a lead ball, whatever metal you use for the shell will melt the lead, because lead melts at such a low temp, and that will mess things up. that or the lead will act as a chill and cool off the shell metal before it fully encircles the lead ball. you CAN suspend a ball inside a shell in a sand mold, its just temps that are the issue. I think most metals you can cast with an oil burner are relatively soft compared to chrome ball bearings or ceramic balls like used in most ball mills. not to say you can't cast really hard metals at home (like aluminum bronze for example is super hard and can be made from mostly copper), but I would think firing ceramic balls would be better suited for a ball mill, or buying chrome ball bearings from a hardware store.

[@misterdecaro]

@PaulsGarage Holy Cow! Thank you for your thoughts! I didn't realize steel was so hard to do at home, I thought I just need a hotter furnace! But I can do aluminum bronze or ceramic! I wIll price out chrome bearings to get an idea of the their cost vs value of time and effort to make the balls with recycled material and go from there. Funny story: I thought a 24" long cylinder at 12" diameter 'should be big enough'. Then I thought I better find out roughly how many balls and what size they should be. After some maths, a 6" diameter x 6" long cylinder for the mill will be a good starting point for the material I want to crush.

[@PaulsGarage]

sounds good! most ball mills i've seen are closer to 6" than 24", though I have seen some gigantic ones. I supposed it depends what you want to mill with it

[@kateajurors8640]

Ohhh showing a "2nd player" method good ol super Mario bro style😂

[@kevinwatson5833]

3:01 you could also just print the match and attahe it to plywood

[@digital0785]

if you didnt actually do it totally unsubbed .. you're safe this time lol. but seriously sick

[@StripeyType]

I'm over here coughing in sympathy with the 'kids go to public school' situation... and for realsies, yeah, you can do a radio show. IDK whereabouts you are but I *guarantee* there's a hobby amateur group near you or doing it all online.

[@dustinbrosmer6164]

Paul you better cast that print hahahhaaha😂.

[@PaulsGarage]

that's what I thought!