HW/Weihrauch Anybody on here do 3d printing?

[zrman27500]

You can see how it's flat on one side, and convex on the other.

 

[zrman27500]

I think it's put away in the empire of dirt somewhere, but i learned intricate silicone mold making in highschool and made a mold for a small anatomic skeleton model skull with lower jaw and teeth (which won 1st place in ca state) .

As a gag my buddies and I poured urethane into it relentlessly all year and and made hundreds of 1.5" urethane skulls and a couple metal ones with perfect accuracy replication till somebody put too hot a metal pour in it. There were so many skulls they were still finding them hidden around the school when my brother graduated 8 years after me.

I tell that story to reassure you of the parts accuracy capability and durability of it.

If you can make a basic dimensioned drawing that shows all the features and machine plate size reqts, i might be willing to take a crack at machining some aluminum injection mold halves for you because I enjoy hobby machining if it fits in my 4 jaw chuck.

I think it's something you have to actually hold in your hand to get proper dimensions...they are shaped weird.

 

[6gun]

I think it's something you have to actually hold in your hand to get proper dimensions...they are shaped weird.

View attachment 545631

Well, i can see why you say that. For some of us making and reading those sort of prints is relatively normal. Holding one would help, but that almost looks machine able from ptfe, delrin, hdpe or many other options depending on durometer needs.

If you had a solid print of these and had the market you could sub contract it to a cnc lathe shop with a bar feeder. I almost did this for the aea hp series, and I'm glad I didn't. The market was too limited for me to make 2500 units. Watch the minimum part count at some of these places. A mold might still fly, it's a really simple part for the procedure I probably ineefectively described.

 

[6gun]

Also, 3d printing I think is out the window other than tpu Imho. I just don't find it precise enough unless the layer height is incredibly thin.

 

[zrman27500]

Also, 3d printing I think is out the window other than tpu Imho. I just don't find it precise enough unless the layer height is incredibly thin.

I really appreciate the input, as this is all experimental for me....maybe casting my own mold might be the only option...I thought about machining, but they are too soft of a material.

 

[Loren]

Reach out to AOA and see if they would cut you a deal on a volume purchase of seals. IMHO you will burn through $700 pretty quick in tooling/process development and probably end up with a sub-par quality part compared to the OEM seal that does last for years.