Molding & Casting

Related MakeHaven Badges for the unit:

Minimum: Pressure Casting Pot
All options: Pressure Casting Pot, Vacuum Former

For the course, we recommend that you get as many of the badges above as is practical. Also, it can be really helpful if you have earned them before the needed unit, so their acquisition does not eat in to your time to finish assignments. Coordinate with facilitators to complete badges.

Fab Academy:

These are in-depth discussions of topics related to this unit, borrowed with love from the Fab Academy archives. The videos linked here (and on the rest of the webpage) are intended to deepen your knowledge on the topics. They are not required for the Foundations of Fabrication course, but they are often good to watch for more perspectives on the same ideas. We love 🎧 listening to videos while doing the repetitive tasks of making; 👀peeking over whenever they've got something good on screen.

Fab Academy 2020:
Fab Academy 2019:
Fab Academy 2017:

Many Updates Pending on this page

Unit 16.1 =====

Make a Mold

Extreme detail capture
Soft & hard components
Enclosures and set times
Multiple-part molds & registration dots
Pouring access and evacuation vents
Degassing with vacuum & collapsing bubbles with pressure

Assignment [Unit 16.1]

- Make a mold from a found or made object. Suggestions:
  - Something for your final project
  - The ESC key from your mechanical keyboard (...if you have one of those)
  - Items you need copied for a series (such as chess pawns or checkers pieces)

Unit 16.2 =====

Casting Something in the Mold

- Vacuum forming as a way to make a quick mold (using that separate machine)
- Food-safe molding for making chocolate open castings
- open casting (without a top on the mold)
- Injection molding (crude versions + industrial versions)
  1. two (or more) part molds
  2. air evacuation channels
  3. injection inlet

Assignment [Unit 16.2]

Cast something from the previous week’s mold