Pics https://ibb.co/album/sbjqwT (the weird triangle on the lower piece was fixed afterwards)
I’ve been messing around with a press mold so I can make hex tiles using paper mache, or something else that is easily and cheaply available.
The problem I’ve been having is with the sides, which rarely get properly pressed. What should I do to possibly fix this, regarding the model?
Right now, I’ve only experimented with minced paper and water, which led to satisfying results. What other things could I add or try for this kind of press? What could I apply on the mold to make the paper less likely to stick? Vaseline doesn’t make a difference.
Two options in my opinion.
First one is to redesign the mold to have only 2 parts that are 2 semi shells, the way you desing it currently need to have a very strict tolerance in the parts which I don’t think are doable with a 3d printer (also, the wall seems too little thick). With a 2 part mold, you do some holes for the water on what will be the back side of your tile and you should be good.
Another option is to use something different, like white wall gypsum and maybe adding some acrylic color it needed, and somewhat copy the way the real tile are done.
If what you are doing is for model and/or some game, white gypsum is great, I did some nice diorama for aircraft with them. And it is more durable in my opinion.
With a 2 part mold, you do some holes for the water on what will be the back side of your tile and you should be good.
I made 3 part because I need some details on what will be the top of the piece, little seams to show the separation of each hex, as well as the thinner walls on the bottom. I did try 2 part molds before, but getting it off the mold was near impossible most of the time. Like this, I can just push the piece off. Currently, only the presser has holes for the water, should I add it to the bottom piece, too?
The thick walls are to endure the pressure and reduce warping, though maybe they could be thinner? I tested adding some gypsum to the mixture, waiting for one piece to dry further and already figured that I have to remove from the mold before it hardens too much, otherwise it’ll end up stuck (that or I have to properly sand/fill the pieces like bluewing said above)
I made 3 part because I need some details on what will be the top of the piece, little seams to show the separation of each hex, as well as the thinner walls on the bottom. I did try 2 part molds before, but getting it off the mold was near impossible most of the time. Like this, I can just push the piece off.
Got it. I did’t consider the extraction.
Currently, only the presser has holes for the water, should I add it to the bottom piece, too?
Not if it work well.
The thick walls are to endure the pressure and reduce warping, though maybe they could be thinner? I tested adding some gypsum to the mixture, waiting for one piece to dry further and already figured that I have to remove from the mold before it hardens too much, otherwise it’ll end up stuck (that or I have to properly sand/fill the pieces like bluewing said above)
If they endure the pressure they are ok. I would have done them thicker but just to be sure.
For the gypsym it seems strange, every time that I did something with it I had no problem to remove from the mold, expecially if it was made with some sort of plastic. Probably more than the pieces you need to sand the mold to have smooth surfaces, so that the gypsum does not adhere to it.
I’ve done traditional DIY mold casting using ProCreate putty and found it suitable, if that material is in your budget. I have used a little bit of mineral oil inside the mold as a release agent. For me the most success has come from letting the material sit in the mold two or three times longer than you think it should take to be fully dry.
Not american, so I don’t know what would be a local alternative to procreate. Seems like epoxy putty? Wouldn’t make much economic sense to me, those are more expensive than modelling clays and even more so than me recycling used paper and carboard into that thing.
Have you tried DAS clay? If you’re British, you can buy it pretty cheap from The Works, Hobbycraft or The Range.
It seems like it’d be exactly the right consistency to fill out these molds - a smidge firmer than playdoh, but much softer than plasticine.
Edit: just remembered, you can even get stone effect DAS clay for the same price, so no painting needed!
