An important method for low volume production of prototypes is urethane casting. In the process of prototype urethane casting, 3D printing technology is used to make molds. Make mold methods include package mold, brush mold (split mold, three-dimensional mold, flat mold), and injection mold, which are determined according to the size of the product.
The pouring mold is to pour the evenly stirred silica gel and curing agent into a container surrounded by the mold, and then vacuum to solidify the shape. Some molds that cannot be taken out directly must be demoulded with a knife for smooth production. The mold is made by 3D printing.
3D printing prototype urethane casting requires 3D printing to make a prototype, that is, a master mold is produced, and then a set of molds are copied through the urethane casting process, and finally the product is copied through this mold. This process can be used to produce the product. Small batch production.
The difference between urethane casting and CNC prototype processing:
- The difference in processing methods: the use of lathe processing requires one-by-one hand gongs, while vacuum urethane casting is to make an original version, and then make a silicone mold based on the original version and then copy it.
- Material difference: common ABS, PP, acrylic and other materials are used for the production of prototypes, but vacuum urethane casting does not interfere with ABS, PP, and acrylic materials.
- The difference in processing time: Vacuum urethane casting can be copied as long as the silicone mold is made. Generally, a silicone mold can produce 8-15 products, which is much faster than CNC processing.
- Precision difference: The precision of CNC machining will be much higher than that of vacuum urethane casting.
- The difference in surface treatment: The surface treatment of the prototype model is like spraying oil. Generally, the prototype produced by CNC can be sprayed and put into the oven to dry, while the vacuum urethane casting can only be air-dried naturally.