Make Molds of 3D Printed Dice - Avoiding Cure Inhibition (Inhibit-x, Ease Release)

Testing out Inhibit-x and Ease Release 200 to prevent platinum silicone cure inhibition. Is it worth the cost?
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Inhibit-x: www.smooth-on.com/products/in...
Ease Release: www.smooth-on.com/products/ea...

[@DigitalOsmosis]

Thank you so much for not editing out your failure! I was having exactly the same issue with my dice masters sticking to the mold after using Inhibi-X and was disappointed but going to try again and was trying to find another guide on KZbin when I found this video. Seeing someone else with exactly the same problem solve it is so encouraging, totally made my day!

[@karlh6692]

I have had good platinum silicon molds come out after curing the resin print normally and letting the model surfaces dry overnight. The next day I coated the model in vasoline petrolium jelly with a paint brush. Getting the clumps out of fine details as I go but leaving a smear all over the part. You would think that it would be covered in brush marks afterwards but the exothermic reaction of the rubber curing makes the rubber iron out flush to the faces. Maybe I was just lucky.

[@jamesnicholls2741]

Worth mentioning that you can with some resin, just leave your printed & sanded masters to off-gas for 2 weeks, then mould them using a Plat cure without having to worry about cure inhibition. I do this and it works for Elegoo Mars ABS like grey resin. The two weeks can likely be cut shorter but I don't need to rush new masters. Rev Chumley, has some good videos around this also.

[@geek-happens]

Excellent point, thanks for sharing. I think I've mentioned it in another video, but for me, time waited after printing before making molds didn't make a difference for me, even after waiting a couple weeks. In my experience, it is more to do with the resin and silicone used regardless of time curing. Tin cure silicones didn't work with any resins I tried, but platinum cure silicones have as long as it's a standard resin. Water washables and urethane/flexible additives (Siraya Tech Tenacious, Monocure Flex) don't seem to work as well. Nova3d standard and SirayaTech ABS-like fast resins have worked fine for me so far whether it be the same day or weeks later without any sealants or mold release. I will also mention that smooth-on recommends curing your print for a minimum of 6 hours on all sides.

[@johnburrell1568]

Ah, why yes! Let them come to a “chemical equilibrium” while pressure and temperature usually influence this process on platinum-base RTV-2 silicones, for those willing to experiment, accelerating the noted 2-week off-gassing period for this purpose of casting parts. I also think this works out to be more affordable for those looking to make RTV masters or casting molds via SLA photopolymer resins. Also, tin-cure via tin salts (also known as condensation cure) silicones are less prone to cure inhibition than platinum-cure silicones. Tin-base silicones are good for prototyping functional parts (e.g., electronics cover, some over-mold applications, seals, valves, etc.). One main downfall of these is the shorter life of the silicone properties before the silicone becomes less pliable and losses some of its viscoelastic behavior (essentially gets stiffer). So molds don’t have as long of a shelf life as a master RTV as platinum-based silicones, typically, do. Platinum silicones are good for their longer stability and have usually nil shrinkage that is good for precision casting. Hope this helps! (I am a professional amateur, who is preparing to produce my very first SLA mold to cast RTV-2 castings.)

[@Loucfr]

You can fast forward this by curing the prints for 4 hours inside of water and then 4 hours in the oven at 180 F.

[@coffeeoutlaws7783]

if you are just using the inhibit x to make coppies, so you can make new molds without it,,, just make your first molds using a decent tin silicon, without the inhibit x , then make plat molds off them

[@RichardThompsonCA]

Personally, I had nothing but problems with platinum cure silicone. It would inhibit against almost any surface. I now use Sirayatech blu printer resin with mold max 30 (tin cure) and have zero problems. No need to seal it, paint it, bake it, let it out gas, etc. Just print your part, cure it, dry it, and coat it with silicone. I did find that you have to bake your molds afterwards, as per Smooth-On's recommendation. Tin cure gives off moisture and alcohol while curing and if you don't bake that stuff out urethane rubbers/resins may inhibit when you cast them. I had no problems with epoxy though.

[@crazylegsmurphy]

How do you find the Mold Max for air bubbles. Do you feel it needs a chamber to be viable?

[@RichardThompsonCA]

@@crazylegsmurphy I do use a vacuum chamber for all my silicone. The first time I didn't and I got a bubble that showed as a lump on the casting. Never did that again. Smooth-on makes a tin cure mold max NV29 (which I haven't tried yet) the NV stands for "no vacuum". It's much thinnner in viscosity, so it's not supposed to have bubbles. I think having a vacuum chamber and pressure pot is essential if you are at all serious about casting.

[@firepower03]

Thanks for this vid

[@Loucfr]

Instead of ease release you can use Vaseline and they will peal right off. The problem with spraying is that you may miss a spot or not get even coverage throughout.

[@waterdonkey]

Glad I didn't waste my money on Inhibit x. Cured print for 20 minutes then put it in the air fryer 270 degrees for 8 minutes, let cool, and no inhibition. This using Anycubic clear resin.

[@tracyhunt4753]

Ok I used inhibit x on my first piece last night , and after watching this video I was surprised to find that it air dried in a matter of seconds after brushing almost as fast as isopropyl alcohol I did several coats then a few layers of release and everything went swimmingly, maybe you had a bad batch of ix?

[@yun514]

my inhibit x was dry after 30sec ?

[@imdeaded]

Spray the mold container with the mold release . It will come off easier .

[@darrelsomoza2927]

I think you meant that you should use Tin-cure, not Platinum. Platinum (additive cure) is the one that is extremely sensitive and will be inhibited easily. Tin-cure will not be inhibited by any sla resin. I use my 3d printer for mold masters.

[@geek-happens]

I've heard both ways, but all I know is that tin cure didn't work for me with any of my resins and platinum cure did before I tried any sealants or mold releases. Smooth-on also says platinum cure is more sensitive, just odd that my experience has been the opposite, but maybe this link will be helpful for others as well. Thanks for bringing it up. I'd be interested to know what resin/silicone combos you have used successfully. www.smooth-on.com/support/faq/210/

[@SamChaneyProductions]

@@geek-happens I found that 3D printed resin doesn't inhibit tin-cure silicone from curing, but unfortunately, tin-cure silicone does inhibit 2-part epoxy from curing lol. I found that it just took a lot longer for my resin to fully cure, almost a week rather than the 24 or 48 hours it should

[@xeraoh]

the problem with ease release it is too oily and make marks (dots) on the surface you sprayed on especially visible on a polished surface, it is much better to use ultra/micro-thin film sprays like ultralease (old name ultra4)

[@karenwoolley4279]

Is there a tape that inhibit x dice will stick to?

[@geek-happens]

I assume it would be for a cap mold, in which case I would stick the die to the tape first, then coat it with the inhibit x, trying not to get under where it is stuck to the tape. Make the mold of that side and then coat the final side before making the cap after you remove the tape. I used gorilla tape for my cap molds, but it can be a bit sticky, though I'm not sure how much it matters what tape you use

[@karenwoolley4279]

@@geek-happens thanks. I cleaned off the surface with isopropyl alcohol and a Quetip. The 3d print is over a month old so it might not inhibit anyway, but I do have new masters coming in so I want to figure this out

[@angelalewis3645]

Woot

[@CybeastFalzer]

I never thought about using 3D printed dice mold containers. Did you design these yourself, or find them somewhere? And where could I get the files for it? They look like they work really well.

[@geek-happens]

Yes, I have various models for sprue mold and cap mold tools available. You can get access to those and several other models by making a membership donation on ko-fi through the link in the description :)

[@CybeastFalzer]

@geek-happens That's awesome thank you, I'll definitely do that. The video was a great lesson on a new style and I'm thankful for you bringing this about. Thank you again!