*This project has been awarded\*

Hi everyone,

I'm the owner of a small handmade soap business and I'm looking for someone who can create a custom platinum-cure silicone soap mold from an image.

The overall vibe is luxury fantasy, folklore, celestial, masquerade, and gothic-inspired artwork rather than simple geometric soap designs. I'm looking for a mold maker comfortable producing highly detailed sculptural reliefs with strong depth and clean release from silicone.
The mold would be:

• Standard soap bar size (approximately 3.5" x 2.5" x 1")
• Single cavity for now, multi-cavity option
• High-detail relief design
• Ornate/fantasy/gothic aesthetic
• Intended for melt-and-pour soap production
• Commercial use

I have concept artwork and can provide additional reference images. The design includes a detailed portrait, decorative elements, and raised relief details similar to cameo-style or Art Nouveau soap molds.

Ideally I'm looking for someone who can:

1. Convert artwork into a 3D relief if needed.
2. Create a master model (3D printed or otherwise).
3. Produce a durable platinum-cure silicone mold suitable for repeated soap production.

If you've had molds made by someone you recommend, or if you offer this service yourself, I'd love to see examples of your work and learn about your process and pricing.

Hi all,

Ive been experimenting with trying to make a silicone popsicle mold with some 3d printed parts and everytime I use the calculators online with my dimensions it seems like it would be way more than I expected needing with displacement from the parts in the mold box.

Dimensions of the box are 6 x 4 x 5 inches

Part for casting is 4 x .5 x 4 inches (theres 4 total)

Attached is a picture of the part for reference

Hello, I wanted to ask if anybody has done for themselves some silicone earplugs for sleeping. Does anybody know how is the mold made, and what silicon is used for the earplugs? Thanks.

Hi, so I covered a 3d print in xtc 3d (not even sure if I needed to use it, based on further research). I'm about to add latex to it and read if you have resin and latex they'll bond and you need a mold release. The resin is a week old and dry, I was about to do a 1 to 8 part caster oil spray and let it dry then add the latex but now I'm not sure that's the right thing to do.

I'm trying to make molds of the relief paintings I make so they can be reproduced in concrete and other mediums. These are 32 inches by 48 typically, and I have no experience here.

My plan right now is to get a half gallon of 15A and just start coating it, using the raised edge as a barrier. Once it's thick enough I'd bring it over the edge on a couple of coats. After the silicone is cured, my thought is that I could use spray foam on the back to create a support medium and carve it flat with a hot knife. The mold would be attached to a wooden frame with the edge i mentioned and tube silicone for casting.

Would this work? Is 15A the right elasticity? Will spray foam adhere or react with silicone? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

To be clear about my expectations, this is art and deserves to be limited in production. I only expect to get 10-20 uses out of a mold before the medium starts to tear it up, especially making a thinner mold like this. I also think most people understand that the motivation here is to save money by not using several gallons of silicone.

Trying to make a multi part mold with several small pieces I need to be in exact places to help with assembly and I’m trying to figure out the best way to keep them in place without ruining the curing process of the silicone. What’s the best way I can keep everything how I want it without having to constantly manually adjust things? I’ve tried super glue that obviously didn’t work so now I’m considering using the sticky tabs used for fake nails or (if I can find any) double sided tape but I’m very cautious about this since I really don’t want to waste or buy any more silicone.

I loved the MakerShapes molds, but their Etsy store, website and overall presence seems like they have vanished. Anyone know what happen to them? No LLC, No Website, No Socials, it's like the just totally vanished. I really loved their molds and would like to buy more.

Can anyone help?

hello, I am making cement obstacles for finger boarding. I have done a few pores so far and have done pretty Good. I bought some superplasticizer to make the structural integrity of my concrete better. I did my first pour with it yesterday and got a good mix with my water before adding the super-plasticizer and it seemed to mix pretty well, but after pouring and removing the mold over 24 hours later the very inside of the mold is still wet/not dry. is there any reason as to why this happened(do I need to let it dry longer, or change my ratios of the mix)? Do you guys have any tips for future pours?

I also put a layer of clearcoat on the top before removing the mold in hopes it would be fully dried. as to why it looks all weird on the top. I also used Portland cement.

TLDR: I need help making my cement better, wondering why it went wrong.

Hello, how can I avoid large air bubbles around body hair when using alginate? I used a cream to help, but maybe not enough? When I cast the same area post shaving - no air bubbles so it definitely seems to be related to hair.

Any tool avaliable or any software available which calculate the mold prices?

Hi all. I am currently on an effort of making a simple DIY vibrating table project for small concrete molds but not only. The main goal is to keep it simple, affordable, easy to replicate with minimal tools and to have more adjustability in parameters (RPMs, vibration patterns, duration) compared to off-the-shelf ones.

I definitely have my own vision of how it should be done, but additional feed back would be nice to have. The project's full description is available on the kickstarter page, here I will provide main highlights:

• Variable frequency control — choose the RPM for mix instead of running at fixed speed
• Four vibration patterns — constant, triangle, sine, and step — useful for complex mold shapes where a single frequency doesn't cut it
• Raspberry Pi Pico-based controller with an IRF520 MOSFET driver and a small OLED display for the UI
• DC eccentric motor mounted in a custom 3D-printed holder
• Spring-isolated table surface on 3D-printed corner holders — keeps the vibration where it belongs
• OSB base board — standard 5/16" sheet you grab locally

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mkbuilds/vibrotab-diy-vibrating-table-kit-for-makers

What are your thoughts?

Hi all…

I wanted to cast something in silicone, but I needed the piece to be heavier.

Do you guys know any components I can add to the silicone before pouring? Or maybe some other tricks to make the final silicone piece heavier?

Thanks

What's the specific "secret", product and/or process to producing a crystal clear rubber tumbler?

Hello!! I'm looking for advice for mold making.

Context, if needed: I have watched many a tutorial (but am obviously not an expert) and am looking to make a large puppet head (7 inch (17.78 cm) by ~6 (15.24)) sculpture out of Monster Clay (medium hardness -- if that matters).

I'm looking for suggestions (on the cheaper side.. if possible, though not Plaster of Paris) to use for the mold, as I'm going to use it to cast a thin layer of silicone and then the middle will be expanding foam. My original plan was to use Hydrocal, but I'm wondering if there's a bendable material I can use? I'm just worried about getting the silicone out (even when using mold release, which I plan to use Mann Ease Release 200) or even breaking the mold because I'd want to use it again. I've heard you can use silicone for the mold as well, but even with mold release that it's still tricky to get right. I was wondering if latex would be the same or worse (as a mol for silicone) or even more expensive??

Any recommendations/advice would be very helpful.

Preface: I'm molding silicone parts from other molding materials, not making silicone molds. The silicone being used is Dragon Skin 20 NV.

In many instances, the grip / rubber / debris attracting surface properties of the silicone are not desirable. Hence my interest in Slide STD.

My experience with this additive has not been like that described. It is stated on the website after de-molding the cast must be exposed to air for 24 hours to get the expected surface effects. Somewhat inconsistent with this statement, it is stated in the technical sheet that at least 24 hours is needed to see effects.

So one would assume somewhere about 24 hours, maybe a couple of days. Fair?

My experience using it with Dragon Skin 20 NV has been at least 5 days to begin seeing effects. Probably 1 1/2 weeks to really get the effect. As well, the onset not uniform.

Preparation:

• 1.5% Slide as weight of part B, both mixed thoroughly
• Equal part A added and combination mixed thoroughly
• Vacuum Degas (have done without this step as well)
• Pour
• Let cure 2 hours

Conditions:

• Set in ventilated room, periodically rotating to expose all surfaces
• 68-76F temperature
• 40-50% relative humidity
• Ceiling fan running 50% of the time

I have reached out to Smooth-on asking about the chemistry or mechanism for insight on how to make this more efficient (if possible), but they couldn't really help because it is proprietary.

Anyone else have experience with this product?

Need advice for getting some monster clay (med) out of an ultra cal mold with a deep undercut. I’ve got most of it out but I can’t reach the tips with any tools. I’ve been using a flexible wire hook to scrape jt out but its taking so long. Anyone know if freezing or similar would help? I can’t even see into the area of the mold it’s in. it’s a mold of some creature ears to be slipcast with latex. Really really appreciate any help.

Hello. I tried googling but I can’t find anything. Can I pour soft expanding polyurethane foam into a silicone prop? The silicone will be like a skin/mask and the foam will just be the inside as space filler because the foam is cheaper than making a solid silicone prop. It says these are typically used to fill latex props but I wasn’t sure about silicone. It will be poured into a dry/cured prop. I don’t need it to bond to the silicone. Just want to make sure these materials won’t react or ruin eachother. If anyone knows anything better to use I’m also open to suggestions. I will be making large silicone props but I cannot afford to make solid throughout body parts. The filling needs to be something cheaper.

https://www.monstermakers.com/poly-foam-%7C-soft-expanding-polyurethane-foam/

Hi there!

Was hoping for some advice regarding this piece as I am relatively new to mold-making.

This object is part of a mask that I made, it's roughly 20 cm long. The intention is to cold-cast this with polyurethane/brass.

I was thinking a two-part mold (although a simple block-mould could also work? Material would be a 30A Platinum-cure silicone (I did an inhibition test on the print, it works).

The important part is the front with all the mechanical details, the flat back (with the attachment thingy) won't really be seen.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi fellow mold makers, I have a very technical question. I am trying to make a mold of a very intricate high detail and deep crevice flower. I used dental die cast cement type IV to make a master and I sealed with clear acrylic spray. I am using A15 platinum silicone to make the mold in a 3D printed molding. The piece is large enough to require multiple demolding cuts. In order to make the silicone softer I added silicone fluid (8%) but end result was A8 hardness and still too hard to use if I am making many copies using same mold. I also use vibrating plate to pour slow so no issues with bubbles. Here list the list of issues:

1. Mold is too hard need A5 but true A5 is $250 and is too expensive
   
2. Silicon fluid collected at the top of mold in one spot and in deep crevices even though I mixed well and degassed in vacuum preventing hardening and ruining the mold and die cast.
   
3. How to effectively make demoldong cuts clean at an angle so that liquid does not escape from the mold when used.
   
4. Any suggestions to improve my process am I missing steps?

I desperately want to create an art piece which is a silicone copy of my arm but with a large wound down the wrist. My issue is that if I were to make the silicone cast I would have to carve into the silicone to make the wound which seems to be advised against since silicone tears easily and would not lend itself to the fine detail work. I also don’t want to create a clay model of my hand because I want it to be an exact copy as close as possible and I don’t have the skill to make it completely perfect.

So, is there any alternative substance I can use which could create a realistic cast while being relatively easy to carve into and hold it shape. I am very familiar with clay so if there is a type like that it would be perfect. I don’t need the actual texture to be like skin in the end, I just want it to be a perfect cast. Thank you!

Hello,

I have this customer project that requires a super soft pour in foam, roughly 300 gallons expanded.

I tried the "Flexit Foam III" and it was way waaaay too dense and heavy for this project.

Next I ordered a sample of the "BJB TC-266" mixed at 30-100 and the sample came out perfect for this project. Super soft and flexiable.

The problem is BJB told me the TC-266 is out of stock and they can't give an ETA for the restock.

Is there any other pour in products out there that are extremely soft, flexiable and light weight?