Steve Clarkson
10-21-2009, 9:19 AM
OK, so of course I had to go buy some mold making material from Make Your Own Molds dot com. Delivery was expensive (about $16!) but relatively quick (3-4 working days).
I purchased 2lbs of the CopyFlex liquid ($22/lb) and the large (8oz) tub of Anchor-Dit ($8).
I have made three molds so far. They were all logos and I made two approximately 4"x4" and one 2"x2". I used 1/8" clear extruded acrylic and tried a few different things.
First, I engraved text deep into the acrylic (3 passes at 100p/50s) and although it didn't look good on the acrylic (very cloudy), it was relatively deep. I also vector cut a few images out, then used weld-on to glue them on top of another piece of acrylic, so in effect, my piece of acrylic was 1/4" thick. If you picture a circular logo with a heart in the middle, I vector cut the circle out, lightly engraved the heart on the circle for placement, vector cut the heart out and glued the heart on top of the circle.
Then I made a small box also out of the 1/8" clear.....5"x5" base and 1" high walls and no top. In the future, the box needs to be made stronger (I did not use any joints) and the weld on needs to cure for the full three days, since the box started to fall apart when I removed the mold.
I then made the mistake of using the Anchor-Dit. I thought I applied it correctly, but the liquid silicone still seeped under the acrylic. I wiped the Anchor-Dit on the bottom of the round circle logo and placed it in the center of the 5"x5" box that I had made. In the future, I will use weld on to glue the circle to the bottom of the box, thus guaranteeing that no liquid will seep under it. Basically, when I removed the mold from the box, there were very thin pieces of the mold that covered the back and needed to be removed.....it makes for a sloppy mold.
After attaching the circle logo to the bottom of the box, I painted the circle logo with the CopyFlex (recommended so that the details come out) and then just poured the rest of the CopyFlex into the box until the acrylic was covered (about 1/2" deep). I may have poured mine too deep, but I wanted to make sure the mold was strong, rather than trying to save a few bucks by making it too thin and having it break. What was nice about this is that the molds now have a nice flat bottom.
The engraved text came out perfect and the multi-layered acrylic also came out perfect.
I'm boiling the molds as I type this and then I need to actually melt some chocolate and pour it in and see how it looks. I'll give you a further update and some pictures when it's done. But after removing the molds (which was relatively easy if you have small, strong fingers), the detail looks good.
Now, for this product.......my first reaction and problem with it is the packaging. It is next to impossible to open!!! I think I cut my fingers on the hard plastic four or five times. It comes in a small tub (like for butter or whipped cream) but it has a seal around it that I had to use pliers and a screwdriver to break. If you don't have very strong hands, either don't buy this product or find someone else to open it for you. If you can't open a medicine bottle, you don't have a prayer opening this stuff. The guy who designed this packaging should start making safes. It really was so bad, I have thought about not buying the stuff again, and I will send him a note telling him why......because of the packaging.
Mixing was very easy.....it comes in two different compounds that need to be mixed together to activate it. It was relatively difficult to measure, but I just eyeballed it and it seemed to come out fine.
Next is coverage. I bought two pounds of the stuff and made two 5"x5"x1/2" molds and one 3"x3"x3/4" mold and the stuff is almost gone. I may have enough to make one more 5"x5"x1/2" mold. I estimate the coverage to be about 40-45 sq inches (1/2" deep) per pound or about $0.50 per square inch of mold (remember....a 4"x4" logo needs a 5"x5" box.....which is 25 sq inches or $12.50). In my opinion, this is very expensive. For all the work involved, I'm not sure you could get $30-40 for a 4" mold.
But overall, I do recommend the stuff if you want to make a mold.
I purchased 2lbs of the CopyFlex liquid ($22/lb) and the large (8oz) tub of Anchor-Dit ($8).
I have made three molds so far. They were all logos and I made two approximately 4"x4" and one 2"x2". I used 1/8" clear extruded acrylic and tried a few different things.
First, I engraved text deep into the acrylic (3 passes at 100p/50s) and although it didn't look good on the acrylic (very cloudy), it was relatively deep. I also vector cut a few images out, then used weld-on to glue them on top of another piece of acrylic, so in effect, my piece of acrylic was 1/4" thick. If you picture a circular logo with a heart in the middle, I vector cut the circle out, lightly engraved the heart on the circle for placement, vector cut the heart out and glued the heart on top of the circle.
Then I made a small box also out of the 1/8" clear.....5"x5" base and 1" high walls and no top. In the future, the box needs to be made stronger (I did not use any joints) and the weld on needs to cure for the full three days, since the box started to fall apart when I removed the mold.
I then made the mistake of using the Anchor-Dit. I thought I applied it correctly, but the liquid silicone still seeped under the acrylic. I wiped the Anchor-Dit on the bottom of the round circle logo and placed it in the center of the 5"x5" box that I had made. In the future, I will use weld on to glue the circle to the bottom of the box, thus guaranteeing that no liquid will seep under it. Basically, when I removed the mold from the box, there were very thin pieces of the mold that covered the back and needed to be removed.....it makes for a sloppy mold.
After attaching the circle logo to the bottom of the box, I painted the circle logo with the CopyFlex (recommended so that the details come out) and then just poured the rest of the CopyFlex into the box until the acrylic was covered (about 1/2" deep). I may have poured mine too deep, but I wanted to make sure the mold was strong, rather than trying to save a few bucks by making it too thin and having it break. What was nice about this is that the molds now have a nice flat bottom.
The engraved text came out perfect and the multi-layered acrylic also came out perfect.
I'm boiling the molds as I type this and then I need to actually melt some chocolate and pour it in and see how it looks. I'll give you a further update and some pictures when it's done. But after removing the molds (which was relatively easy if you have small, strong fingers), the detail looks good.
Now, for this product.......my first reaction and problem with it is the packaging. It is next to impossible to open!!! I think I cut my fingers on the hard plastic four or five times. It comes in a small tub (like for butter or whipped cream) but it has a seal around it that I had to use pliers and a screwdriver to break. If you don't have very strong hands, either don't buy this product or find someone else to open it for you. If you can't open a medicine bottle, you don't have a prayer opening this stuff. The guy who designed this packaging should start making safes. It really was so bad, I have thought about not buying the stuff again, and I will send him a note telling him why......because of the packaging.
Mixing was very easy.....it comes in two different compounds that need to be mixed together to activate it. It was relatively difficult to measure, but I just eyeballed it and it seemed to come out fine.
Next is coverage. I bought two pounds of the stuff and made two 5"x5"x1/2" molds and one 3"x3"x3/4" mold and the stuff is almost gone. I may have enough to make one more 5"x5"x1/2" mold. I estimate the coverage to be about 40-45 sq inches (1/2" deep) per pound or about $0.50 per square inch of mold (remember....a 4"x4" logo needs a 5"x5" box.....which is 25 sq inches or $12.50). In my opinion, this is very expensive. For all the work involved, I'm not sure you could get $30-40 for a 4" mold.
But overall, I do recommend the stuff if you want to make a mold.