Geek - Geeks are individuals who show a lot of creative outlet, generally are young, and are quick learners and intelligent. Geeks are in your school, workplace, church congregation, on your TV, in your magazines, and your next-door neighbors, and geeks are not limited strictly to computer-related endeavors, they don't even have to have ever touched a computer in their life. By modern definition, geeks are people who pursue a certain interest and have one or more creative outlet in their life. Concordantly, people have been labeled as or chosen to identify themselves as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks, comic book geeks, theatre geeks, history geeks, music geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, and roleplay geeks, and the list goes on. In the end, there is a little geek in all of us, even if we dont realize it.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

My New Pet Project. Silicone Rubber Molding

Well for my new post I've decided to recant my experiences on making this project of mine. As of the moment i don't have any pictures since i've only started.


Just a flashback here. This started when i decided to fix up my room. I had installed shelves on the far side of my wall so that i could organize my junk. I've finished that project and went on to my next, which was an enclosure to house all my figures. Made from acrylic sheets, i have also finished that project. All the figures are now displayed properly and are safe from dust and moisture. So i was thinking of making the poses for the figures a bit better. But in order for me to do that i would need a lot of Di:Stages from Figma. So heres the problem the stage itself is a 4"x4" surface area and what i need to cover is a 42" x 12" surface area. Making with the math i would need at least 36 pieces of those Di:Stages. Problem is that it cost 500php each. I'm not willing to spend that much so here in lies the project. Using a single Di:Stage, i will make a silicone mold and replicate the stage using resin. Its more economical that way. Sorry Figma, i would like to buy from you but economy wise, i dont have that kind of budget to spend.

So here we are, i've actually started on the project and unfortunately its strike 1. I made a few mistakes, so i would like to share with you some of the experiences i've gained thu this project. Rest assured when i do perfect this i will post a complete guide to it.

First off, i'm from the philippines and its very difficult to find a place that sells the ingredients for this project. I've actually spent a week trolling the internet and calling before i found a supplier that sells Silicone Rubber RTV and the resin used to make the items. I'm not going to tell you where to buy it so dont even email me. If i found it on the internet you should be able too. Just to help out on your search. If you google it you would find a lot of places in the philippines that sells these stuff but it took me a week to find the cheapest one. If your paying more than 1000php per one kilo of silicone Rubber then your being ripped off. I bought mine almost half that price.

So experience Number 1: Dont mix all the components at the same time. Here how this goes. I dont know what kind of silicone RTV you are using but the one i bought have 3 components. @ basic ones and the extra one is just to make the rubber a bit more thinner so that it will glide into the details a lot better. So the materials are the silicone rubber, the catalyst, and the silicone oil. I dont care what ratio you do, just as long as you mix the catalyst last. I waisted a batch since i measured all components altogether and the mixture hardened while i was mixing it. It wast hard, hard, but didn't flow nicely. I suggest that if your using the oil to make the silicone thiner mix that first and then add the catalyst when you are about to pour. So to get this straight, mix silicone rubber and oil until you ge the consistency you like then mix in the catalyst then pour.

Experience number 2: Say that you have poured in the silicone and there are still leftovers. Don't try to mix in a new batch and then mix the two together. By the time you mix the new batch. The catalyst would have already started on the fist batch and it would be hard to mix the two batches together. If you have some leftover, just throw it away. Its better to throw that away than having to mix anther batch and having to throw them both out.

Experience Number 3: Wear gloves. damm silicone is hard to get off your hands. I needed to wash my hands in oil then soap a few times before i could get it off mine. I dont care if their plastic gloves or surgical gloves, but as long as its gloves.

Experience Number 4: Pour slowly. If you have a lot of detail on the item your making a mold of and or have holes that needed to be filled, you will need to pour slowly. It helps of you mix the slilicone in a plastic cup or paper cup so that you can bend the lips to that you can have a small exit for the silicone to flow thru.

Experience Number 5: If you think theres not enough catalyst, there's more than enough already. In this case its the catalyst that hardens the silicone. More catalyst the faster it hardens. altho it would make things faster for you, its not all that good. Having a slow curing process helps a lot. It gives time for the air bubbles to rise to the surface giving you a better mold. It also helps that you have a thinner viscosity. Same reason, its easier for the bubbles to rise to the surface. So if your pouring the catalyst, follow the instructions on the ratio that you need. Even if it looks like its not enough.

So i guess this is it for now. I'll prob update this again when i finish this project or more life experiences show up.

My Return

Well its been 2 years since i've actually posted. I've decided to run the blog scene again. I'll prob make a lot of design changes since it has been 2 years. Funny thing is that people still come to the site. I'm guessing that is because of the AV girls i've listed on the pages. In anycase, heres to a new beginning.