To celebrate their grand opening, the folks at the QC Co-Lab hackerspace in Davenport, Iowa decided to cast some bronze coins with their logo on them. They started by printing the design on a Makerbot, then used the plastic prints to form sand molds for the pour. Looks like fun! [via Makerbot]
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It’s in Davenport, Iowa, guys. Iowa.
Right, thanks.
I tried a bit of lost-wax bronze casting using a Makerbot-printed part in ABS, with promising results. In a ‘this will be great when I learn how to do it properly’ kind of a way.
Unlike sand casting, the process destroys the master, but it does allow parts to have undercuts and so on which would be impossible to sand-cast. The resolution should be better, too.
Here’s a few pictures and process notes:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jarkman/100923_lost_abs_casting#
Isn’t it easier to cast things in zinc, due to its lower melting temperature?
Nahh, 3d-printers let you print in incredible fidelity in plastic. See the Objet Alaris30 (http://bit.ly/aJBtDs) for an example.
What I meant was isn’t it easier to use zinc instead of bronze?
It would be easier to use zinc, and even easier to use pewter or one of the low-melt alloys sold for casting model soldiers. You can cast pewter and cooler alloys into silicone moulds, which give you great resolution.
But bronze does make a much nicer thing.