Volum3 from Romania made a tutorial on how to make large molds with several 3D printed parts acrylic plaster and silicone that can be used to cast relatively big objects from polyurethane foam.
OK, it's a skateboard wheel, but it is designed as a strange combination o cube and sphere and other stuff ... they were 3d printed and polyurethane casted
I'm not even sure how they work and I never rode a skateboard in my life :-) but they look cool!
From video description:
A fascinating interview with David Patrick from Shark Wheels. David explains how the latest techniques in Rapid Prototyping helped him in the process of developing his unique product; Shark Wheels. It's a wheel that comes from a cube: the Shark Wheel shape is a perfect cube and a perfect circle and a perfect sine wave! The Shark Wheel geometry is the intersection of a cube, a sphere, and a three-dimensional sine wave. It is based on the shape of shark jaws and is a pattern found all throughout nature. David M. Patrick discovered the shape while studying natural sciences, and has since been developing the Shark Wheel to be a more efficient wheel with superior performance in many ways. David's passion for skateboarding coupled with his interest of the natural world have led to the discovery of the Shark Wheel. BJB offers a complete line-up of Castable Polyurethanes, Epoxy Systems, Silicone Casting Rubbers, Polyurethane Foam Systems, Aliphatic Water Clear Urethanes, Sprayable Polyurethanes, Pigments and Release.
I was searching for water hardened polymers and I accidentally found this: the HydroSpan 100 Enlarging Polymer. It is a polymer that grows in water by absorbing it. It grows BIG!
Here is the HydroSpan description:
HydroSpan 100 is a unique two component, Flexible, 100% solids (contains no V.O.C.), polyurethane elastomeric compound. HydroSpan 100, when fully cured provides a simple method for expanding three dimensionally molded parts. Expanding parts is done by simply molding the part with HydroSpan 100 to from a rubber master. After curing 24 hours at room temperature the molded HydroSpan 100 part is soaked in room temperature water and allowed to expand. Full expansion is 161% larger than the original part. Full expansion of parts can be achieved in 5 to 14 days depending on cross section thickness of the part. Thicker cross sections take longer while thinner cross sections require less time.
The video of polymer being used:
So how is this connected to 3d printing? Imagine if we had similar material for 3d printed objects? You print them out, leave them in water and they grow several times. Hopefully someone will develop this concept :-) You have seen it mentioned here first :-) !
The Structur3d crew made a extensive attempts to 3d print with multi par polyurethane resin. They used custom print heads with mixed results. Mos tof the parts failed, but they are slowly moving towards success. If you want to experiment and see several techniques do check out their research.
Very detailed page with step-by-step process, extruder technology and g-code examples:
Discov3ry is new high end extruder designed for past extrusion of various materials like:
Silicone
Icing Sugar
Wood Filler
Drywall compound
Polyurethane
Latex
Clay
Many more ...
From company page:
The Discov3ry offers printing enthusiasts a simple, ingenious and affordable hardware add-on solution for printing a wide range of pastes. Now Makers can quickly and inexpensively experiment with easily sourced materials, like silicone, clay and cake frosting — allowing them to do more.
CARTRIDGE SYSTEM: The Discov3ry system uses a syringe based cartridge system which keeps your printing materials separate and makes for an easy clean up. Switching from silicone to icing sugar is safe and seamless.
HIGH VOLUME AND EASY CLEAN UP: Each cartridge holds over 60cc (cubic centimetres) of your printing material. This is enough material for several prints. Unused material can be capped and saved for later.
USE YOUR OWN PRINTER: Discov3ry works with any stepper based desktop 3D printer system. The printing tip is easily mountable and the device plugs into your existing electronics. Slicing and printing works with existing open-source software like Slic3r and Repetier.
It will soon be Kickstartered and probably priced at USD 350 range.
Interview with the creators:
Discov3ry paste extruder is on the table attached to the 3d printer
