## Molding
### Airpods sleeve
This week I had the idea of making a sleeve for my airpods. This is more functional than aesthetic because I have a habit of losing my airpods. I wanted to make a sleeve that would be easy to attach to my keys or my bag. I started by making a 3D model of the airpods sleeve in Fusion 360. I used the calipers to measure the dimensions of the airpods and made a model of the sleeve. I then used the Cut3D software to generate the toolpaths for the Shopbot. I used a 1/8" flat end mill to cut the sleeve. However, I didnt think the process through and had to go back to my CAD design and make a boolean negative of the model. I then used the Shopbot to cut the negative of the sleeve.
Here is the CAD model of the sleeve:
The Shopbot in action:
I decided to use OOMO for my sleeve since that is a flexible silicone material. Hindsight I should have used a softer more durable silicone material less prone to tearing. My intial thought was to 3D print a positive image of my airpods so I could use it to overmold with OOMO, however, I decided to take a risk and use the airpods case itself and see how it went. Turns out not so bad!
I used a 1:1 ratio of OOMO and mixed it well. I then poured the OOMO into the negative mold, up until a certain height and placed the airpods case in the center. I then came back in 30 minutes to finish pouring in the OOMO to completely cover my airpods. Turns out, I poured too much OOMO on the base of the airpods and now my airpods case did not fit entirely in the wax mold. I decided to proceed anyways and see how it went by creating a small moutain of OOMO on the top of the airpods case.
Here is the OOMO mold:
Here is the final product:
The sleeve turned out be quite chunky on the base and very thin on the top as expected. I think I could have done a better job with the OOMO mold by pouring less OOMO on the base and more on the top. I also think I could have used a softer silicone material to make the sleeve more durable as it started to rip on the edges.
I could cut the OOMO mold to be less clunky but I might just start again and make a new mold and also add a nicer design to the sleeve.