Never have tried any of the foaming/expanding products but I saw that Stonehouse Miniatures uses them for certain things so I thought I should try it. Got a sample from the folks at Reynolds Advanced Materials of FoamIt 5 (even though FoamIt 15 is what I'd really need).
You need to understand that this is originally in liquid form and then expands once mixed to fill in gaps, holes, etc. In my first test pour, I used maybe 20 grams each of Part A and B to use in one of our island molds that requires 100 grams of both parts of SmoothCast 320 resin. Here's a blow-by-blow description (but times are approximate...):
before the pour - hmm... both parts have the consistency of
syrup, doesn't pour badly, however
stir, stir, stir, now it's the color of month old newspaper
pour in the deeper places of the mold and fill up only 1/3 of the mold (it expands, you see)
1 minute later - wow, neat, it just puffs itself up and moves all around the mold, hmm... look, I found the data sheet
2-3 minutes later - uh, it expands to *10 times* the original volume? ohmigosh I thought it doubled in size... I'll put 5 lbs on the plexiglass cover to the mold instead of 2.5
3- 4 minutes oops... starting to expand out from the places where I want it to go, but it's still squishy so I'll just press down on the plexiglass and add another 2.5 pound weight
4-5 minutes phone call
6-8 minutes - yikes! One side is now sticking about 1/2 inch above the mold, won't compress either, oh well, it's a test casting....
7-8 minutes now it's no longer tacky but boy did it expand, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the mold.... definitely have to rethink amounts!
15 minutes later - nice and solidified, comes out of the mold easily but sticks a little to the plexiglass (I used Universal Mold Release for the plexiglass spray)
It was nice and light and seemed to capture the texture with no errors and did expand into the mold where I wanted it to with no air bubbles. On the down side, it had a consistency of the hobby styrofoam balls you can pickup in Michael's or any craft store. It will break apart by just using my hands so it's not what I want to use for comercial products. I think I will try the FoamIt 15 and get it from SmoothOn directly as it has a smaller cell size and should make a more durable casting.
I guess it's great for a party joke drink, but I'm not sure what *I* can use it for.... ;-)
You need to understand that this is originally in liquid form and then expands once mixed to fill in gaps, holes, etc. In my first test pour, I used maybe 20 grams each of Part A and B to use in one of our island molds that requires 100 grams of both parts of SmoothCast 320 resin. Here's a blow-by-blow description (but times are approximate...):
before the pour - hmm... both parts have the consistency of
syrup, doesn't pour badly, however
stir, stir, stir, now it's the color of month old newspaper
pour in the deeper places of the mold and fill up only 1/3 of the mold (it expands, you see)
1 minute later - wow, neat, it just puffs itself up and moves all around the mold, hmm... look, I found the data sheet
2-3 minutes later - uh, it expands to *10 times* the original volume? ohmigosh I thought it doubled in size... I'll put 5 lbs on the plexiglass cover to the mold instead of 2.5
3- 4 minutes oops... starting to expand out from the places where I want it to go, but it's still squishy so I'll just press down on the plexiglass and add another 2.5 pound weight
4-5 minutes phone call
6-8 minutes - yikes! One side is now sticking about 1/2 inch above the mold, won't compress either, oh well, it's a test casting....
7-8 minutes now it's no longer tacky but boy did it expand, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the mold.... definitely have to rethink amounts!
15 minutes later - nice and solidified, comes out of the mold easily but sticks a little to the plexiglass (I used Universal Mold Release for the plexiglass spray)
It was nice and light and seemed to capture the texture with no errors and did expand into the mold where I wanted it to with no air bubbles. On the down side, it had a consistency of the hobby styrofoam balls you can pickup in Michael's or any craft store. It will break apart by just using my hands so it's not what I want to use for comercial products. I think I will try the FoamIt 15 and get it from SmoothOn directly as it has a smaller cell size and should make a more durable casting.
I guess it's great for a party joke drink, but I'm not sure what *I* can use it for.... ;-)
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The Wizard's Workshop
Terrain worth fighting for...
http://www.Wizards-Workshop.com
The Wizard's Workshop
Terrain worth fighting for...
http://www.Wizards-Workshop.com
