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Outcome


The objective of this project was to create a silicone mould using the clay Flashlight-saber I created in a previous project. Using this silicone mould, I was then tasked with creating three versions of the flashlight-saber out of resin. 

To create the silicone mould, I needed to use my clay model from last project. I set the model in soft, water based clay and glued a foam-core box around it. To make enough space between the edge of the mould and the space where the resin would take shape, I had to leave about an inch and a half of clay. I also poked holes in the clay that would later be filled in by the silicone. These would help the silicone mould stay together while the resin cured. 

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After pouring the silicone into the box, it then cured over 6 hours. 


Pulling the box apart was like opening presents on Christmas morning. The first half of my mould was complete. To finish the second, I simply needed to pull the clay off of the silicone, flip it around, and build another box to contain the other half. 

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When the second half was finished curing, I split the block of silicone apart along my parting line, revealing the inner chamber where the resin would cure. I cut a hole at the top of the mould so I could pour resin into the mould.  

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I added orange dye to my first resin pour. However, my flashlight-saber came out pink. This was a no go, so I figuring sticking to the cooler side of the color spectrum would be a good choice. 

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The blue flashlight-saber came out of the mould in decent shape. There was quite a bit of mess on the parting line that I needed to sand off. In fact, much of the handle needed to be sanded down. However, due to time constraints I was unable to sand the amount I wanted. I was trying to explore how to depict different textures on the handle using different mounts of sanding; however, I had to continue with my third model.

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Concluding Thoughts:

My resin model wasn't perfect and still needs some sanding. To be quite honest, a better use of my effort would be to recreate the silicone mould so that I could redo the parting line. That way I would eliminate the need to sand as much surface area in the future. 

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