06 Cast a Last

OCT 26, 2015 ||| Skills: Rhino, ShopBot ||| Material: Foam, Hydrostone

Since my final project entails fabricating shoes, I decided to use this week as an opportunity to cast a shoe last that I can utilize later. After modeling a digital model after my size, I had to figure out how to divide the model to avoid undercuts. After I separated the shape into three parts I also embedded a funnel for pouring the hydrostone as well as holes to thread through 5/8” dowels. The only problem with milling was that the foam was a little thicker than 2 in, and certain places did not cut all the way through. After I waxed the inside surface of the mold I clamped them together and poured the hydrostone mix. Clamping doesn't damage the mold so if the pour were unsuccessful, I could repeat it again. After leaving it to dry for a day, I removed the mold and sanded the surface to reduce the traces of the seams.

STL File