It was a relief to know about the Desktop ShopBot Machine because I found the giant ShopBot quite intimidating. Each of the students were allowed one block of blue wax (3 x 3.5 x 1.5") to make something small. At the time, I purchased a new MacBook Pro, so I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to make Apple logo just to celebrate it.

Procedure:
1. Place the wax block onto wood board
2. Use the glue gun to glue it as shown in the left image above (make sure to turn it off)
3. Drill at least 2 screws onto ShopBot printing board
4. Follow Jin Joo Lee's tutorial on print settings and configuraton

Although the finished wax piece looks rough on surface, it was actually very fine and smooth to my surprise. I could see why Neil preferred this method over 3D printing. It even inspired me to use this method to do my final project.

After the wax mold was ready, I put duct tape around its periphery to make walls so that I can pour the molding material, OOMOO. Mixing the two types of OOMOO (blue and yellow bottles) in 50:50 ratio allows the mixture to stiffen in about 2 hours. Stirring well is the key to getting a successful OOMOO mold. It was also critical to extract air bubbles trapped inside. The air suction device was very convenient in bringing up all the air bubbles and popping them on the surface.

I had some left over DryStone from the first try, so I made a second attempt. It was nice in that I could make as many replicas as I wanted in a couple minutes. I also inserted a thin wood piece to support the tip of the apple, but it was no use. It was a good lesson to be learned about the DryStone as a casting material: it is very fragile.

Two full hours was enough for OOMOO to stiffen into a solid mold that was more like rubber. I mixed DryStone Casting power with warm water in 80:20 ratio respectively and slowly poured it into the mold. After about 15-20 minutes, my 3D Apple Logo was born!

Unfortunately, the apple's tip broke soon after I took it out from the mold. DryStone was much more fragile and delicate than I thought. However, I had to admit that it was very fine and smooth. Compared to 3D printing, it was so much better both quality wise and time wise.

WEEK 7: MOLDING & CASTING

Part1: Printing Mold using Desktop ShopBot

Part 2: Casting