Needs some math help with a mold and alumlite.

[hanau]

Made a mold to make a handle out of alumlite. But need some help figuring how much material to make up.


Inside length is 5.5 "
with a .75 " diameter aluminum rod.
The pvc pipe is 1.25

 

[ed4copies]

Fill the mold with water, empty into a glass and determine the amount needed.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

1.25" id on the mold.
0.75" on the aluminum rod in the middle of the cast.
Length = 5.5"

Doing the math gives around 2.5 oz.

You can check it by filling the mold with water (with your aluminum inserted) and then measuring the water. Make sure you get the mold absolutely dry before putting any alumilite in there.

Edit: Just looked at your picture and noticed you are using 1-1/4" pipe, which won't have an id of 1-1/4". The volume will probably be a little over 3 oz.

Ed

 

[mark james]

Fill with water (then will need to dry thoroughly!!! Alumilite doesn't like water). Divide by 2, that's your A & B.

i.e.... Need 60 grams of water. Then 30 Grams of A, 30 of B. Give yourself a margin over... say 32 + 32. If new to alumilite, read the instructions. on warming molds, which is added first, etc. Measure carefully. The seperate containers can sit a bit, but after mixing, proceed smoothly.

Others will have better instructions/suggestions I'm sure.

Make several molds/casts if new to this.

I'm assuming you do not want to get the aluminum rod out...

Have FUN!

 

[hanau]

Thanks I will give it a try filling it with water then measuring it.
I want to get the rod out going to try and cover it with a silicone mold release.
Don't know if it work or not but worth a try.

 

[wyone]

So I have a question.. will the alumilite adhere to the aluminum without any issues? does it need to be heated to help? Just curious

 

[hanau]

no idea got it sitting on top of my heater warming up.
Then going to spray it with mold release and then put it in a pressure pot and see what happens.

I'll post pictures when i take it out of the pot.

 

[mark james]

I love "Frankenstein" pictures!!!

 

[hanau]

looks like it not going to happen, part b has congealed new bottle
ordered it on DEC 10 just open the box started to mix and found it congealed.
Been in the house since it arrived.
Have the bottle soaking in hot water per instructions hope it works.

 

[BSea]

looks like it not going to happen, part b has congealed new bottle
ordered it on DEC 10 just open the box started to mix and found it congealed.
Been in the house since it arrived.
Have the bottle soaking in hot water per instructions hope it works.

This is typical with alumilite. Use a warm water bath to heat the bottle (be sure the bottle is tightly sealed). When it warms up, it will get back to a liquid state. Don't get in a hurry, otherwise you'll have some areas that are still a little congealed. Also, mixing with part A will help to give it a more liquid consistency.

 

[Brooks803]

I'm a bit confused (happens easily). Are you wanting to cast that piece of aluminum inside the alumilite OR cast the alumilite to make an exact replica of the aluminum rod?

If you're wanting an alumilite replica you need to make a silicone mold first. If you cast everything as is and take out the aluminum all you'll end up with is a cylinder with a hollow inside in the shape of the rod. If you take the PVC and aluminum just like you have it and spray a mold release (stoner brand comes to mind) then hot glue the PVC together you can pour silicone (mold max 30 from smooth on) up to the top and wait 24hrs to cure. Take it all apart and you'll have a mold that can replicate the aluminum rod exactly and cast as many as you want.

The water trick does work, but just remember by using it you're measuring the VOLUME of the container and Alumilite must be measured by WEIGHT! Plus alumilite is heavier than water so you can't take the weight of the water as an exact match. If you did it that way you would need a bit more alumilite than you had of water. It'll get you very close

Oh, and yeah the B side will congeal badly. You can heat up the whole bottle, or portion out the amount you need and heat that up. I got lucky and the bottle I just got in Friday was still liquid so I've been casting like crazy before it congeals bc it's a PITA!

 

[steve worcester]

Fill with water (then will need to dry thoroughly!!! Alumilite doesn't like water). Divide by 2, that's your A & B.

i.e.... Need 60 grams of water. Then 30 Grams of A, 30 of B. Give yourself a margin over... say 32 + 32. If new to alumilite, read the instructions. on warming molds, which is added first, etc. Measure carefully. The seperate containers can sit a bit, but after mixing, proceed smoothly.

Others will have better instructions/suggestions I'm sure.

Make several molds/casts if new to this.

I'm assuming you do not want to get the aluminum rod out...

Have FUN!

Assuming you are weighing out the product, wouldn't that only work if the specific gravity of water and the resin are the same?
You would have to make that calculation also.

 

[BSea]

Fill with water (then will need to dry thoroughly!!! Alumilite doesn't like water). Divide by 2, that's your A & B.

i.e.... Need 60 grams of water. Then 30 Grams of A, 30 of B. Give yourself a margin over... say 32 + 32. If new to alumilite, read the instructions. on warming molds, which is added first, etc. Measure carefully. The seperate containers can sit a bit, but after mixing, proceed smoothly.

Others will have better instructions/suggestions I'm sure.

Make several molds/casts if new to this.

I'm assuming you do not want to get the aluminum rod out...

Have FUN!

Assuming you are weighing out the product, wouldn't that only work if the specific gravity of water and the resin are the same?
You would have to make that calculation also.

That's true, but for our purposes, it will be close enough. Plus you're adding a margin of error, and waste. No matter what you do you'll end up with waste. If you don't have any waste, odds are that you won't have enough. If in doubt, a little extra is better than not enough.

 

[hcpens]

I use rice to measure for my part A&B

 

[steve worcester]

I use rice to measure for my part A&B

That is what I use for glass molds.

 

[efrulla]

Use the Alumilite Calculator

I use this page to answer such problems.

Volume Calculator