Getting fine detail raised text in wax mold to fill

Which you can use on its own as a jewelry element? Or not THAT
durable? 

typical cured photopolymer, which means plastic. Not the most
durable plastic around, but a lot better than injection or other
casting wax. You could use it as a jewelry element if you like,
especially if the orangey red color appeals to you. I don’t know
about it’s long term stability though. Probably good for at least a
few years, but I dunno.

This whole thing sounds so cool, it makes me want to do it, even
though I seldom use castings, and have Dan Grandi do them for me.
Is the burnout especially toxic? 

Not sure, but most plastics burn out with more fumes that injection
wax, so ventillate.

Peter

Hi Noel. The patterns are not durable enough to use as a jewelry
element, but they are defineitly a unique color. I have not noticed
the burnout to be any worse than wax, however my ovens are well
vented. It is like using plastic patterns and the burnout cycle
needs to be a bit longer and hotter.

Dave

I agree Dave the HD pattern material is a neat innovation and will
allow you to do this kind of project. 

Oh, boy… You guys have shown me a new toy to lust after…I
Googled this HD stuff and found this review of the HiDef resin in the
Orchid articles:

Then I found the product brochure.

http://www.freemanwax.com/HD-brochure.pdf

Me want!!! I can think of about a dozen uses for this stuff
other than just for molding antique buttons! Now if I only had the
$… Things are picking up for my little business lately. Maybe, just
maybe, I will be able to buy myself a HD kit for Christmas!

In the meantime, I will be playing with alternate methods of getting
good models from this button mold.

Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry

Oh, boy... You guys have shown me a new toy to lust after...I
Googled this HD stuff and found this review of the HiDef resin in
the Orchid articles 

What is the cost and where is it available? I guess I missed that
part.

KPK

What is the cost and where is it available? I guess I missed that
part. 

I found it several places online. Google “Hidef resin” and you’ll
find it. The starter kits all seemed to be around $400(US) for the
clear silicone mold material, a mold frame, two UV lights and the
resin material. For refills, the resin alone was about $150 for
approx. 180ml. Pricey stuff but it still looks like fun!

Now that I know what it is, I may be able to come up with my own
substitutions cheaper. Liquid photopolymer is also used to make
stamps for craft stamping, and those supplies are a lot less
expensive
than the HD kit. I’ve seen that liquid photopolymer sold by the
gallon for less than $150! I’m not sure if there are varying types of
liquid photopolymer, but it’s worth investigating.

Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry

The sock centrifuge by contrast forces resin down, and forces
bubbles to float out, so they don’t remain in the mold. It’s the
centrifugal force working there, not just pressure.

I like the whole idea. What about mounting the mold frame with resin
in a motorized centrifuge? Work better than grannies sock?

Mark

The HD stuff is great, but more expensive than the others, and
there’s a bit of a learning curve because it’s totally different from
other mold making procedures, and can be a bit messy until you get
the hang of it. I have some very thin and intricate pieces that
cannot afford shrinkage or warping. The Hi Def mold material is not
only fantastic for this, but the only thing that accomplishes the
precision that I need.

The resulting pieces (I can’t call them waxes, I think they’re photo
polymers) are very tough and do not warp. It even passed the purse
test. I actually carried one around loose in my purse, and forgot
that it was there for a few weeks. It was still in tact and looking
good when I discovered it.

You can order it from Gesswein and Stuller, and other suppliers too
I would imagine.

You can watch video demonstrations of the process on the website at
Freeman Wax:

http://www.freemanwax.com/hd.htm

Good luck and let us know.

Tess

I like the whole idea. What about mounting the mold frame with
resin in a motorized centrifuge? Work better than grannies sock? 

maybe not. With the sock, the mold ends up at the bottom, sprue up,
with gravity continuing to hold the resin in place. With your
motorized machine, it remains in the horizontal. Remembering that
the resin remains liquid until you cure it, a seperate step, I’d
think in some cases, as the motorized centrifuge slowed to a stop,
some of the resin could even pour back out again… You certainly
could generate more intense and prolonged pressure in the mold with
your centrifuge, but I’d guess it seldom really is necessary.

Peter