Known Glaucus Issues and Fixes

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XYZAidan
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Joined:Sat Jan 24, 2015 9:50 pm
Known Glaucus Issues and Fixes

Post by XYZAidan » Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:07 pm

These are some common problems that we have heard from people who have made Glaucuses and possible solutions to said problems.

Smooth-sil 935 is mixed by weight and not by volume
-Overly thick smooth-sil causes uneven castings for the bathtub tooling, making even clamping pressure difficult
The molds should be made out of Smooth-Sil, not EcoFlex
-The EcoFlex is too soft for casting in, and will stick to itself during casting
Waxes need to be thoroughly cleaned
-Better instructions needed for truing the waxes
-Go/no go gauge for the wax is needed to determine if the deformation of the wax or shrinkage of the wax is appropriate or not
-Using hot oil to dewax the cast is easier
-Preheating the wax molds
-Using a noncontact temperature sensor for consistent heating
Detailed information on volumes of molds is necessary for mixing
-Body bathtub castings total 1600g
-Wax bathtub castings total 1600g
Casting must be free from large voids or bubbles
-The first casting can be repaired by opening up the mold after the first EcoFlex casting, using scissors to open up any bubbles that are near the surface, and pouring newly mixed eco-flex to seal them. After this layer has gelled the mold can be assembled with the final half of the glaucus and re-poured.
-Vacuum chamber is necessary
-Bubble displacement with limited cure time can be difficult
-Vibration is an option instead of vacuum for degassing
Eco-Flex is curing before displacing all bubbles
-Working in a cold place will increase cure times
-Cure retardant can also help
Molds are filling slowly
-Silicone oil or silicone thinner can be added in up to 10% by weight to reduce viscosity
Print ears on mold 3D print, and clip them down to keep them flat on the printer’s bed
No description of how to control it to make it walk is in the existing instruction
Luer fitting link is missing
Total cost of materials is high

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