Today I will lead you to teach you step by step how to make complex silicone molds. Such complex molds are usually divided into two halves to make, which is what we often call male and female silicone molds. Today I'm using the mushroom cloud model, which is an atomic bomb-like explosion effect model.
Production process principle: Cover half of the master pattern with plasticine, and fill the other half with rtv-2 silicone rubber, remove the plasticine after curing, and pour the rtv-2 silicone into the other half of the master mold again.
Tools & Materials:
1. RTV-2 Silicone Rubber (Tin cured silicone)
2. Vaseline release agent
3. Smooth wood
4. Screwdrivers and screws
5. Knife
6. Pliers
7. Plastic bottle caps
8. Plasticine
Production process
Step 1: Make a Suitable Box
According to the master pattern model, the thickness of the silicone mold should be 2.5-3 cm is more appropriate. According to this size target, we use wooden boards to build a suitable mold frame. The gaps around it must be sealed with plasticine, otherwise it will leak. Of course, you can also use hot melt glue to seal.
Step 2: Transform the Box
In order to save cost and minimize the amount of silicone, I added wooden blocks on both sides of the wider part of the upper part of the master pattern to reduce the volume.
Step 3: Apply mold release agent
In order to make it easier to separate the silicone from the board after curing, we apply Vaseline release agent on both the master pattern and the board.
Step 4: Mark the Parting Line
The parting line is usually drawn at half the height of the model according to the master pattern, and the line is drawn with a marker, so as to correspond to the marked line when pouring liquid silicone.
Step 5: Prepare the rtv-2 silicone
Weigh an appropriate amount of silicone according to the correct ratio of rtv-2 silicone and curing agent. The silicone and curing agent should be mixed and stirred evenly. Due to the high viscosity of the tin-cured silicone, bubbles will be generated during stirring, so after stirring, a vacuum pump is used for defoaming treatment.
Step 6: Pour in the silicone
Pour the prepared liquid silicone into the mold box. Note that the operation time after mixing the silicone and curing agent is only about 15-20 minutes, so the silicone must be poured into the mold box within this time.
Step 7: Preset positioning holes
In order to better combine the two parts of the silicone mold in the later stage, we need to pre-set positioning holes on one half of them in advance, and the positioning holes are set on the periphery of the master pattern.
Step 8: Pull out the plastic tube
After the liquid silicone is cured, pull out the plastic tube with the preset positioning hole.
Step 9: Apply Vaseline
Since the silicone and the silicone are hard to be separated together, the mold release agent must be applied in place in this step, as well as the fixed holes.
Step 10: Continue to pour the silicone
After applying the mold release agent, continue to pour the silicone into the other half of the silicone mold, which can be shaken slightly to make the air bubbles disappear.
Step 11: Wait for curing
Tin-cured silicone rubber raw materials are usually cured at room temperature for about ten hours, and the longest is not more than 24 hours. If it has not cured within 24 hours, it is necessary to investigate the reason why the silicone does not cure.
Step 12: Demolition and Separation
Remove the box, separate it one by one, and trim the excess corners of the silicone mold.
Step 13: Finish the Effect
The final effect is displayed.
