Print-Wave Metal Casting: Aluminium Mug 

Cheers!

Love your videos, try chasing some sponsorships. Wouldn't mind a 30 sec segment for these videos. Should fix your adsense issue 😂

This is really innovative - thanks for sharing and caring! I wonder if resin printing - with its much finer detail, and a resin that is relative soft, is your next thing to try out? - it shouldn't matter if the build plate is up-side-down, it can always be turned up-side-right and put in a holder to shake out the bubbles on an 'ordinary' 3D printer later on :ø)

@@gothikaboy Thanks! Yes, I'll need to do more sponsors indeed 😊

@@EgonSorensen It's on my list to try out. I think with some mold release and simple casts like coins it might work.

I agree. I must say I do enjoy it.

That!😊

Thanks! It's indeed "magical" in a way. It can be very satisfying which is always a nice thing to have in any hobby.

Oh yes, it's pretty satisfying!

Oh, that's nice to know. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I would do it in my backyard, but I don't have one 😊

Cheers!

Thank You very much!

Thanks, that's some great info.

Thanks!

Do you know if it's possible to dry the filament in the microwave? It would be much faster than any other method, non ?

​@@chatroux399I have never tried it. I would think that if the filament contains a lot of water, the microwaves could deform it. Maybe on low power and in a controlled environment, it's possible. One would need to try it out. Cheers!

Thank You very much!

Thank You very much!

I have tried it, but not enough of times to draw any conclusions. Cheers!

I do use reciprocating saw before shaking the plaster with the printer on some occasions. I suppose I could get dedicated equipment. Thanks!

Cheers!

Heh, no, it was a true test cast 😊. Like I said in the comments, this could have been done by only using the big mold, but I realized it later. I thought I wouldn’t have access to the handle and wouldn’t be able to pull it out easily, but I did have space to access it. If this had been a repeated attempt, I would not have made a two-part mold. Instead, I would glue the handle to the mug and pull it out after removing the mug. When I do the final cast, that’s the plan... then again, I might add a pattern to the mug. In that case, I might need to do it differently. Cheers!

@@ShakeTheFuture The fit of the slide-in (and the nondestructive plastic pullout (which type of plastic?)) was perfect for an early try. Still to me it seems easier and mold-damage-safer to pull out plastic from such a separate part due to no need to go around corners with pliers. Did the gas evolution in second attempt leave artifacts looking from closeup? Or did the boiling die of in time before solidification? Anyway nice work and video. Keep it up 👍

Disappointment 😢

Whether or not it's worth to do it will depend on individual. You can get very cheap and functional 3D printer these days. For some creators it might be a very good option. Squeeze out more money/value from a 3D printer. It's not for everyone, that's for sure 😊

accelerometer gcode, for example

@@klausbrinck2137 Elaborate please?

I shared the g-code in the comments of the other video about the butter knife. Honestly, I don't know much about g-codes. I put it together with the help of ChatGPT. Yeah, I know... but it works 😂. In my case, it was a simple g-code telling the printer to move the bed. The most time-consuming part was adding the thumbnail, which took some inspecting of a g-code generated by PrusaSlicer. Obviously, the thumbnail is not needed, but it's cool. I am sure people in communities with the same printer you own will be able to help you with the g-code.

I turn it off, but I don't always wait until it's cold.

I use translucent PLA whenever I do lost PLA casting. It burns out very well. As for special filaments made for that purpose, I have only tried wax filament. It was so difficult to print that I just don't use it. I get very good results with translucent PLA, so I don't see a point paying more for special filaments other than ability to carve them easily if it's wax based. Cheers!

Must be something to do with the -Orinoco- flow of the metal. 😂

Well, it's different. Whether or not it is more complicated will depend on the individual. I personally like this method because I don't need to deal with molten plastic. I can also make a lot of molds in advance and dry them in the oven. Cheers!

Microwaves heat the silicon carbide crucible in result of microwave absorption. I have a detailed video about it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P1VmIYheuU4.html

Thanks for the detailed explanation 👍

@@ShakeTheFuture welcome. I watched a few other ofbyour videos. I suspect your dehydration phase might be making anhydrous calcium sulphate which is as I said before, dificult to rehydrate. But one can still grap some old sheet rock and make plaster of Paris.

That's what I wrote in comments. In this case it would be possible to pull it out without using the second mold, but depending on design or hight of the handle, 2 part mold can be used. Cheers!

It's true that graphite also absorbs microwaves, but I have never tried to make a crucible out of it. I have tried to buy graphite crucibles, but they did not heat up in the microwave. Microwaving times depend on the power of the microwave, the size of the crucible, and the quantity of metal. The state of the melting chamber also matters. New chambers are much more efficient than used ones. A chamber that has been used a lot will start to absorb microwaves more than a new chamber, making it less efficient. In other words, it will take longer to melt metal. To melt small quantities of aluminum only takes minutes. Melting aluminum in this video probably took around 10 to 15 minutes for the first mug. The second melt took longer as the crucible was bigger and thicker, taking probably around 20 minutes. Cheers!

You can make copies of keys for sure. It's possible to melt steel or iron in the microwave, but you will need to use a different kind of mold, like one made out of silicon carbide. It will be much easier to use softer metals like brass or copper. Pouring molten iron or steel into a plaster mold not only will not work, it's also super dangerous. Cheers!

@@ShakeTheFuture for the steel I was worried that aluminium wouldn't be strong enough for turning the lock, but actually having it in different alloys could be nice

It's easier to understand it in the first video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0kxfDN4cKTk.htmlsi=2dDyDjTe__0CqFWp Here are the main differences. Plaster is poured onto the 3D printer, Plaster mold is microwaved, PLA part is removed without melting the plastic. Cheers!

@@ShakeTheFuture So, yeah, nothing really special. Just using the materials you have to hand.

Is not hydrogen produced by aluminium coming into contact with water, that is wet mold? Cheers!

@@ShakeTheFuture Aluminum boats that are not painted or coated with anything at all don't produce hydrogen when they are in the water (not even saltwater). I think you might be thinking about aluminum and hydrogen peroxide.

@@ShakeTheFuture The commenter is right. That is steam from the plaster, not hydrogen. It takes a lot of heat and drying time to remove moisture from plaster. Mostly that thick. Much higher temperature than a home oven can produce.

That's a great idea. Thanks!

The y axis is a belt. But it might be a good idea to check tension every now and then. I guess when you start seeing y artifacts you know you need to check your belt and stepper motor.

I have 2 pairs of the same gloves, so I just alternate between the 4 gloves. Sometimes I grab the worst, other times the best. That said, I need to get more gloves, that's true 😊

@@ShakeTheFuture I didn't think about that! Considering your RU-vid revenue, better get the most out of the gloves you have!

Yes and no. There is no melting. In lost wax/PLA casting, the object is typically lost by melting it. In this case, however, the object is pulled out and sometimes can be reused, so it's not truly lost. It is removed from the mold, but not destroyed. It depends on your perspective. We can also say that sand casting using a 3d printed object (like a Gear) is Lost Pla casting, but we don't unless we burn it out. So that's what I mean. We have different names for different methods, so we are on the same page. Cheers!

@@ShakeTheFuture word new is used too often

@@ShakeTheFuture candle paraffin wax is a nice lost-casting medium too. melts easily in oven, etc, re-usable fully etc.

Yes, I do use microwave to melt metals. I have a video describing the process in detail: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P1VmIYheuU4.html Cheers!

I'm not sure if you watched the first video. It might make it clearer why the method has that name. I am aware of lost PLA casting, and I have demonstrated it in my videos. However, this is not the same process. Every metal melting method needs a name to distinguish one process from another. This way, when people in places like forums describe the method they used to cast something, it is clear which method was used. In lost PLA casting, we burn out the plastic using a kiln or a burnout oven. The reason it’s called Print-Wave casting is because we use the printer to make our molds and pour the plaster onto the printed model. This process is better understood with the first video I published, where the mold is in two parts, making it more obvious why a 3D printer plays an important role. With this method, there is no burnout. We don’t lose the PLA; it's pulled out of the mold and, in some cases, can even be reused. We achieve this by microwaving or using microwaves. We print, we wave or use waves (microwaves), and we cast. Hence, Print-Wave Casting. In the metal melting community, many people ask for advice on forums or Reddit. If I were to share my cast on Reddit and people asked how it was made, I would not say I used lost PLA casting because it's not the same thing. I hope this makes sense. Thanks for the comment!

Interesting. I might try it out. Thanks!