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Blog EasyConfigure - Electrolube PU Resin
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  • Author Author: tomaja
  • Date Created: 8 May 2015 10:50 AM Date Created
  • Views 1262 views
  • Likes 6 likes
  • Comments 6 comments
  • mold
  • easy_configure
  • casting
  • electrolube
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EasyConfigure - Electrolube PU Resin

tomaja
tomaja
8 May 2015

Previous posts:

EasyConfigure - Modular/Configurable System Intro

EasyConfigure - Hardware Components

EasyConfigure - BASH scripting

EasyConfigure - MQTT test setup

EasyConfigure - Remote sensor unit preparation

EasyConfigure - Configurator

EasyConfigure - Sudden Impact Monitor

 

 

Intro

We all received Electrolube PU Resin as part of the challenge kit so I decided to try it out (It's probably not intended for casting hard plastic casings - looks more like it should be used to pour directly over the electronics components to protect them)

Since I don't own and have no access to 3D printer I decided to try making a mold and then casting some kind of housing for my Sudden Impact remote device. This is not looking nice but I'll share it anyway image Please note that this was the very first casting for me.

This is just a test and it will probably fail but this resin should be used before June 2015 so it seemed worth trying. I will probably end up using a strengthen TicTac box - it fits very nicely.

 

Making the mold

I started out with some school clay. It was used to make a mold. This kind of white clay dries very quickly, especially if you put your mold into oven for a couple of hours (I set it to heat up to 50C). I made a hole inside this peace of clay that should fit my remote sensor unit easily.

image

With a sawing thread I split this blob into two pieces.

image

Two pieces are then placed in the oven to dry and become solid. I didn't make a horizontal cut evenly so it looks like the holes are skew - they should be fine when put back together.

image

 

Casting the PU resin

I placed the TicTac boxes to make the inner bound for PU resin. Small spacers are visible through these boxes. These spacers will define the wall thickness. Spacers will leave holes in final PU case.

image

Then I carefully mixed the two PU components and poured the resin into molds. I should end up with two halves of my sensor unit casing after PU resin cures completely and I remove the extra PU.

image

I did this step late in the evening (or very early in the morning) so I will see the result and continue writing this post in the morning.

 

Removing the mold and extra PU

 

After I removed the clay mold and TicTac boxes I was a bit disappointed. It turned out that resin pulled the TicTac boxes up so I ended up with too tick castings and too shallow to place my board + battery image

However, I do like the Electrolube Resin very much. Too bad it comes in bag and not in two separate bottles, this way I had to throw away the rest of resin.

image

My intention was to make it look similar to this but much prettier and with enough space inside image

image

I also made a photo of leftover resin just to show how fine this resin is (click the image to enlarge). If only I had a proper mold, I think that it would have turned great.

Please note that small scratches all over the resin are from a plastic pot where it cured. These scratch marks are really, really fine.

image

 

Conclusion

Electrolube PU resin is great (if you have a proper mold)! I will use TicTac box instead...

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Top Comments

  • ravi_butani
    ravi_butani over 10 years ago +1
    I need to check expiry date of mine electrolube resin too....
  • shabaz
    shabaz over 10 years ago +1
    Hi Dragan, Not bad at all for a first attempt! I've tried resin casting in the past too, and had worse (DEFCON-1 level) disasters, like leaky molds : ) I don't have an optimum solution for it yet either…
  • tomaja
    tomaja over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz +1
    Haha, thanks! I think that some silicon/rubber based mold would do a great job. Some youtube videos suggest that it's a good idea to have a nice positive that you use to create the mold. Rubbery mold makes…
  • tomaja
    tomaja over 10 years ago in reply to mcb1

    Thanks Mark.

    Yes, I guessed so but wasn't sure.

    It was a fun experience anyway!

     

    Dragan

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  • mcb1
    mcb1 over 10 years ago

    Excellent review.

    Shame it didn't work for you.

     

    As you said it is usually poured over the components to prevent damage from movement, and with smd this is as necessary.

     

    Mark

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  • tomaja
    tomaja over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Haha, thanks! image

    I think that some silicon/rubber based mold would do a great job. Some youtube videos suggest that it's a good idea to have a nice positive that you use to create the mold. Rubbery mold makes it easy to remove the casting when it's done. Specifications for this resin states that it cures after 36hrs but I think that it was faster (maybe 18hrs) - it greatly depends on the temperature and these last few days were very hot here image

    And yes, I'm amazed by the details that got transferred from my plastic pot, I would like to try it out again one time.

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  • shabaz
    shabaz over 10 years ago

    Hi Dragan,

     

    Not bad at all for a first attempt!

    I've tried resin casting in the past too, and had worse (DEFCON-1 level)  disasters, like leaky molds : )

    I don't have an optimum solution for it yet either. Good to see the resin is water-thin for detail as you show in your photo, I'd like to try it sometime (I've used some alternate product in the past). How long was the cure time?

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  • tomaja
    tomaja over 10 years ago in reply to ravi_butani

    Yes, it's probably the same.

    I hope my experience helps. I think this resin is really great if used properly - unlike in my example.

     

    Dragan

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