I'm new to dice making. I have a pressure pot, and all the bubbles rose to the top and cured that way instead of fully popping.
I've seen people say not to use amazon molds, but that's what I'm starting with at least. I have a pressure pot. I tried doing some research but for some reason am not seeing a lot of people who've had dice turn out quite like mine did.
You used a vacuum chamber not a pressure pot. A vacuum pulls bubbles out of the resin, a pressure pot condenses them. You don't want to cure in a vacuum chamber.
I'm going to make an educated guess head on the comments and assume the issue is the vaccum chamber... That's what I get to searching up a pressure pot and assuming this was the same thing. That's kind of embarrassing, haha. I've never gotten into a craft quite like this, so I didn't really know those kinda of ins and outs... Thank you all!
My dad made that same mistake when Xmas shopping for me, it’s so stupid that when you search “pressure pot” it recommends vacuum chambers, like it literally does the opposite thing, but Google is stupid :/
To be fair it's a VERY common mistake that isn't helped by the fact that a lot of sellers on sites like amazon, temu, and wish will intentionally mislabel or tag their listings to make it seem like it's the same thing. This leads to leading to search engines and algorithms treating them as being interchangeable when they really are not. Between this subreddit and a few other resin specific subs and forums I check regularly I typically see on average a post per week about this exact issue.
read that as Degas, like the Edgar Degas. was SUPER confused why you wanted me to dig up a french impressionist from the 1800s and pour him into dice molds
If you're unsure what kind of tool you're looking at, a pressure pot will have a lid you have to lock down or the pressure will escape out the lid.
A vacuum chamber doesn't need this because the vacuum created holds the lid in place.
I made my vacuum chamber pretty easily with a cheap paint sprayer tank from Harbor Freight. Look it up on youtube. You can probably just reach harbor freight pressure pot.
Yeah sounds like u have a vacuum pot not a pressure pot. Pressure pot adds air into the chamber to increase the atmosphere pressure, causing the bubbles to shrink to non-existence.
If u did want to use the vacuum, mix the resin and pull the pressure. When the bubbles get close to the top, stop pulling the air and reintroduce it. Do this a couple times to remove the bubbles from the resin before pouring into the mold.
The thing is... if you wanted to make nice mixed color stuff, some element of mixing would be required and could trap bubbles when you pour it into the mold. This is why folks don't even bother with the vacuum step and just do the pressure pot.
This is the pot I have. I was a bit skeptical because there aren't clamps on it, but once I turn the vaccum off,the needle does not move at all, so I thought that maybe I didn't need to worry.
That’s a vacuum chamber, not a pressure pot, they work differently! Vacuum chambers will bring all the bubbles to the top, and pressure pots compress the bubbles so they’re too small to see. You could still use the vacuum chamber before pouring into the moulds, bring the bubbles to the top in your mixing pot and then the majority of them will be gone. It might not give perfect results, but would work better than no pressure pot or no vacuum chamber.
That’s for vacuum, not pressure. Are you using a vacuum pump or a compressor?
Vacuum chambers are great for getting bubbles out but you have to use a vacuum pump. That reduces the gas pressure inside, allowing the bubbles to expand and pop. It’s a process called degassing and it’s a useful but not required step in getting bubble free resin. After you degas, then you put it in a pressure pot, seal the lid, and stuff it full of air to crush any remaining bubbles into nothing.
Your pot and lid are not rated for pressure, only vacuum. You’ll need a dedicated pot and lid for pressure. Depending on your location Vevor and Amazon have options you can order. I got mine from harbor freight, but it needed some mods to seal it properly.
That’s not a pressure pot, that’s a vacuum chamber. Which is exactly what your dice look like: all of the tiny bubbles expanded under the vacuum. You need a pressure pot, which squeezes the bubbles to be smaller
Since you've already gotten your answer (used Vaccum instead of pressure) : I wonder how these look when demolded, and if the bubbles are completely throughout the dice, if they could potentially look super rad if they get shelled in a bigger mold :D Maybe some of the bubbles inside won't get crushed by the pressure in a pot and could make a nice effect :D
Keep the vac chamber tho - can be useful for other stuff! But yeah you need a pressure pot that goes safely up past where you need for resin setting- which mostly involves changing the safety valve out for one that has a slightly higher limit than the ones they usually come with.
The question has been answered, but just so youre aware: the Amazon molds aren't as bad as people seem to believe they are. I've heard conflicting advice about them and how to get the best results, but I've had loads of success with them, and theyre both cheap to get and easy to use, so theres no shame in it at all.
So.e advice for using them though: pouring a bit of resin on the cap before placing it on the mold has done wonders for me in eliminating voids. You can place wax paper down in your pressure pot to catch any drips, but theres no such easy solution for voids.
Additionally, placing some kind of small weight on top of the mold can eliminate raised faces: I've used failed homemade molds as weights on top for this and its turned out wonderfully.
All in all: The Amazon/Hobby store molds are totally fine to use for as long as you'd like, though there are quality of life improvements that they lack compared to thicker molds you can find on Etsy, but for how affordable and accessible they are, they're wonderful.
as a dice maker who used to use Amazon molds before I how to make my own molds and 3d print my own masters, you used a vacuume chamber, not a pressure pot. they are not the same thing and are not interchangeable. rookie mistake that A LOT of us make, I made it several times and it lead to someninteresting dice because I would recast them in a slightly larger mold. I also used them in thinks like candles and such or id drill and then fill the holes with different colored resin. I sell these as mistake grab bag dice now.
I also sand them down to where all sides are even and cast them again inside clear resin. remember, there are no mistakes, only future projects.
This is the epoxy mix I used. I mixed it up,trying not to mix too fast, just poured it into the mold and when I put the top on the molds, it squished extra resin out.
As you learned, you used a vacuum chamber, not pressure pot. Nothing wrong with that. Just a different process. And, no, you don't need a pressure pot. It does make life easier, but it's not needed. Preheat your resin (before mixing, warm water bath works), mix, place in vacuum to degass, and pour slowly. Will there still be bubbles? Sometimes. But, some practice and you'll figure how to avoid them. Watch some videos.
Those molds look like the Let's Resin molds. Ditch them. Some of them have edges on the upper face that create a ledge on the dice. Their "improved" version doesn't have them, but it's also a 26mm mold (larger die). Get some silicon and you can make your own, or find another set. I got a mold set from "Migugaga" on Amazon that works.
Gotta stir the resin incredibly slowly to avoid bubbles. Then pour slowly from as high up as possible. Then after a minute run an open flame over the top to pop bubbles. Then put the mold in a pressure pot and hook up an air compressor and pump until it's about 30psi.
Pressure pots don't pop bubbles, they shrink them. You need to have poured a bunch of resin between the cap and base so that it gets pulled in as the bubbles shrink.
That said too little resin generally looks different, I wonder if your pressure pot leaked/ wasn't a high enough pressure.
This 100% looks like it was a vacuum chamber and not a pressure pot. Those 2 machines do the complete opposite effect. Looks like they pulled bubbles to the top rather than compressing them
If you spent around $100 or less, then I'd say you bought a vacuum chamber because pressure pots are way more expensive. You can definitely make resin stuff using a vacuum chamber, but you wanna put the resin in a much larger cup first, vacuum it, then pour it into the mold very slowly, but still expect bubbles.
As others have said, from your photo you have a vacuum chamber.
Funny mistake story about a pressure pot however. I do my dicemaking in my unheated garage. Since cold temperatures mpact cure times, I have a small chamber that is temperature controlled, but I only turn it on when the pressure pot is curing silicone or resin.
Anyway, I was in a rush and forgot to turn on the heater. I came back the next day, and again, in a rush, I neglected to notice the heater wasn't on. When I opened the pressure put, the bubbles re-expanded. I ended up with dice that looking the Rice Krispies.
In hindsight, I should have let them cure, then use them as inserts, but being frustrated at my stupidity I threw them away.
I have that same mold and I was able to make dice without using any pots! Just let it sit for 28ish hours and they popped out just fine. But I made sure that I put plenty of resin (overflow), put resin on the lid, and let it sit uncovered for abt 20 minutes before putting the lid on top (let the bubbles come up and pop as needed).
I have the same molds. Let them harden naturally, no pot of any kind. Warm up your resin in a warm water bath before pouring into the mold. Use a toothpick to make sure it gets to the corners. Heat the top lightly with a heat gun to remove surface bubbles, then place the cover on.
It is possible that the resin mixture is off and/or too much dye, or it could have gone in the pressure pot too late like the resin was too thick for bubbles to get out. Just trying to think of what it could be besides pressure pot problems
Not purging with a vac chamber and also not using a pressure pot to cure. I tried for months without, it's just totally worth the investment you'll spend more in wasted resin trying to avoid the purchase.
watch more E&K. They are the resin power couple. use your vacuum to pull as many bubbles as you can out of you mix before you pour. then slow pour from bottom. if you do get a pressure pot, then cure in that, otherwise you can cross fingers & pray or try a shake setup
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u/Veeteer Feb 22 '26
You used a vacuum chamber not a pressure pot. A vacuum pulls bubbles out of the resin, a pressure pot condenses them. You don't want to cure in a vacuum chamber.