Justin W.H. Yuen
Resin Casted Figures
Casting plastic with resin in a 2-part mold
Goal
Become acquainted with resin casting plastic by making resin casted figures with a 2 part mold.
Method
I started with making a design out of Monster clay. Then I placed the figure into a container so I could make a mold out of it. I poured liquid silicone into the container and allowed it to cure and solidify over night. After the mold was finished, I cut the silicone mold in half to make it into a 2-part mold. I removed the clay model and poured a liquid resin into the mold. After the liquid resin solidified within 2 hours, I had my resin casted figures!
Light Box Photoshoots
I decided to try to make my own DIY light box so I could take nicer pictures of my projects.
Iterations and Latest Results
I first started with a figure about 5 inches tall. I noticed the surface finish wasn't great and some features were missing (the left arm). I realized the cause of these problems were air bubbles.
I did some research online and learned some ways to get rid of air bubbles were using vibration tables and baby powder. I wanted to test these methods without using up all of my resin inventory. So I decided to switch my focus to the smaller 2 inch figure.
First iteration of the smaller model
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I didn't make any changes to my process for the first iteration so I could have a control sample for comparison. Air bubbles prevented the resin from filling in the lower lips of the mouth.
Second iteration of the smaller model
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I added an extra step to the manufacturing process to vibrate the liquid resin before and after pouring it into the mold. Overall surface finish was a lot smoother and denser! However, big air bubbles still prevented the resin from filling in the lower lip.
Third iteration of the smaller model
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I added an extra step to coat the silicone mold with baby powder. This helps break the surface tension of the air bubbles and allows them to escape the mold easier. This combined with vibrating the liquid resin helped remove most of the air bubbles. The lips of the lower mouth were finally completely filled.
