Pressure pot

[Daddy1]

I am new to the casting game. Why is the pot used? Can you give me the quick scoop along with pro's and cons vs. just pouring resin into a mold?

 

[gketell]

When you mix/pour the resin you end up adding air to the mix to some degree or another. Using the pot to vacuum the blank will expand and pop many of those bubbles. Using the pressure will then compress the remain bubbles to invisibility.

Many people skip the vacuum step. Others replace it with a vibration table which helps to float the bubbles to the surface rather than popping them in-place. But almost everyone uses pressure.

Now, for stabilizing where you want the liquid to fill in every single nook and cranny and grain, then vacuum helps a lot. Suck the air out causing a vacuum within the blank. Release and that vacuum will suck the stabilizing fluid into itself. Repeat until you see no more bubbles. Now you are pretty sure that you are fully penetrated. Apply pressure to be positive.

GK

 

[sbell111]

For casting resin, the pot is used to put the resin under vacuum and/or pressure to remove or minimize any air bubbles.

The truth is, I've had good luck casting PR blanks without pressure or vacuum, but if I were to cast any items in the resin, I would definitely want to use a pressure vessel.

For stabilizing, vacuum and/or pressure is used to force the air out of a blank and the stabilizing material into it.

 

[gketell]

Heh, beat you by 46 seconds Steve!