PPot vs VAC

[djpnevans]

Would a vacuum chamber work as good as a pressure pot for making blanks ?
David

 

[Ankrom Exotics]

I have several vacuum chambers and they all rely on the forces of the vacuum to create the seal. They do not have any method for clamping the lid down to contain internal pressure.

I think it would be much easier to convert a pressure pot into a vacuum chamber.

 

[Daniel]

I have not done either but I have read tons of posts about both. My first thought when i read your question was that the pressure pot is used to reduce bubbles in castings. what I have ready in the past about vacuum (in regard to stabilizing) is that it creates bubbles, lots of them, as in foam.
from that my best informed guess is that vacuum is not a good idea for casting. but like I said I have never done either. and you woudl not be the first to set off down a road that seemed impossible only to prove otherwise.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Depends on what you are doing. If you will only be casting pure resin with nothing in embeded in it, then it works fine. If you are doing something such as "Worthless Wood" then vacuum will not get rid of air pockets as well as pressure. If you have a slight overhang in the embeded opbject, then vacuum will "enlarge" the air stuck in the pocket and it will "flow" out but the same size pocket will remain. Pressure will reduce the volume of air in the pocket and usually eleminate it completely.

 

[djpnevans]

I watched a video on you tube a guy was making a silicone mold he put it into a vacuum chamber to remove the air in the mold.
David