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what material used for high temperture molds would like to make jewlery molds??

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    what material used for high temperture molds would like to make jewlery molds??

    I am very new to 3d printing I haven't even bought one yet. I am trying to find a way to make molds for silver jewelry. I want to print out two sides input silver let it dry then open the mold. Is this possible the melting point for silver is 962 degrees c. What kind of materials are available. If I cant make a 2 piece mold would a 1 piece mold with a small hole on top work to let it melt then break the plastic mold will the silver ring hold shape? At what price are these materials and how long would it take to print. Would I need a special printer. I would like the printer to be under $1500 us. Open to any suggestions.
    Thank you

    #2
    Hmm I don't think that there are any filaments that would meet your temperature needs, however what you could do would be to print your jewellery in something like PLA and then create a mold around your finding and use the lost wax method of casting.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFnfLsrSuAM

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      #3
      Lost wax casting is the key here. You could not print, on a conventional printer, one that does not cost less than £500,000 material to make a moold to withstand 900C temperatures.

      FDM printers work with plastics that are extruded at temperatures from 200-300C therefore they would not work. Using laser sintering you may be able to produce material with this sort of specification but we could not say for sure.

      Print in PLA or another material and then burn that out with the silver. I assume that the detail required is an issue with this method but we have no experience of lost wax casting so cannot comment for sure.

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        #4
        Originally posted by iDig3DPrinting View Post
        .........have no experience of lost wax casting so cannot comment for sure.
        You might not have any experience with lost wax casting, but some of us do!

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          #5
          Originally posted by BillC66 View Post
          You might not have any experience with lost wax casting, but some of us do!
          so can you get sufficient detail for jewellery with lost wax casting using pla as the mould?

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            #6
            lost wax casting is ONLY as good as the core that you use, produce a duff core and you'll get a duff cast!

            It's been many years since I did any investment casting, I might have to have another go sometime soon!

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              #7
              Originally posted by iDig3DPrinting View Post
              so can you get sufficient detail for jewellery with lost wax casting using pla as the mould?
              You can't use PLA as a mold for silver. As people here have been trying to explain to you, molten silver will just burn up the plastic. If you're asking about using the PLA as a model, not a mold, that's possible; it burns out fairly cleanly. But no, the models made by the fused deposition process (which is how PLA is extruded) won't be suitable for most jewelry projects due to the highly visible lamination lines. I've seen people do it anyway, but the results wouldn't please most jewelers. If you want to make models for jewelry, get a resin printer that uses the SLA or DLP printing methods.

              Andrew Werby
              www.computersculpture.com

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                #8
                Originally posted by Andrew Werby View Post
                You can't use PLA as a mold for silver. As people here have been trying to explain to you, molten silver will just burn up the plastic. If you're asking about using the PLA as a model, not a mold, that's possible; it burns out fairly cleanly. But no, the models made by the fused deposition process (which is how PLA is extruded) won't be suitable for most jewelry projects due to the highly visible lamination lines. I've seen people do it anyway, but the results wouldn't please most jewelers. If you want to make models for jewelry, get a resin printer that uses the SLA or DLP printing methods.

                Andrew Werby
                www.computersculpture.com
                Model is what we meant, sorry for the confusion. We haven't tried lost wax casting with PLA but are feeling was that it wouldn't work very well for jewellery, you are right SLA printing sounds a much better option.

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                  #9
                  PLA will actually burn out of the investment casting molds? I would have thought it would leave unwanted residue in the mold. That's very interesting to know, thanks.

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