Beautiful handmade epoxy products. Do-it-yourself molds for pouring epoxy resin. DIY silicone molds for epoxy resin

Epoxy can be used to make various items, it is actively used in industry and construction. Unusual decorations are made from such material, they are poured into prepared forms, and after a day the material hardens due to the hardener.

Advantages of Epoxy

Epoxy products have a number of advantages, first of all, they are distinguished by good resistance to acidic environments and chemical compositions. After curing, the workpiece does not emit toxic substances, and also does not shrink. Items are durable, and low moisture absorption. The resin has a long service life, that is, increased wear resistance.
Hardening takes time, adding a larger portion of the hardener does not speed up the process. In order for the resin to quickly harden, the material is heated, increasing the temperature by 10 degrees of the prescribed indicator.
Some material may solidify without heating. The curing speed is affected by temperature, and the type of material with which you have to work.

Using epoxy to pour various objects?

In order for the composition to freeze, it is necessary to perform work at a certain temperature of -5, +190 degrees. That is, resins can be of two types, cold and hot curing. When doing do-it-yourself work, cold hardening material is usually used, this makes it possible to manufacture products if it is not possible to perform heating for some reason.
In order for the manufactured items to be resistant to aggressive substances, it is necessary to perform work by heating.
Epoxy resin is used in different directions, it is impregnated with fiberglass, which is used in mechanical engineering or radio electrics. The material can serve as an excellent waterproofing, so the resin can provide reliable protection for basements, pools or flooring. Resin is used to make various decorations for rooms to give originality to the interior.

Proper preparation of the composition

For the manufacture of resin products, it is necessary to prepare materials, that is, epoxy resin and hardener. When working, it must be taken into account that when a lot of resin is heated, a large amount of heat can be generated.
There are several types of resin that can cure instantly or after mixing with a hardener. When working with such material, it is necessary to follow the correct technology, otherwise the resin may boil and deteriorate. Therefore, when choosing a material, you need to consult with the seller about the method of preparing the resin. After hardening, a transparent uniform workpiece should be obtained.
To make large or bulky items, a plasticizer is added to the composition, and the temperature is increased by heating the material, the viscosity of the epoxy becomes lower. The resin is heated in a water bath, then the material is lowered into a bowl of water, and cooled to 50 degrees. This method of heating can increase the solidification of the resin. If the composition boils, foam will appear on top, and the liquid becomes cloudy. Such a mixture is not used, it is necessary to reduce the viscosity of the material, for this a solvent is added, but this will affect the quality of the product.

Water must not get into the resin or hardener, otherwise the composition will begin to become cloudy. A plasticizer is added to the resin, gradually heating the material. To thoroughly mix all the ingredients, use a special electric mixer or a drill with a nozzle. The plasticizer is added in an amount of up to 10 percent.
Then the hardener is poured, the resin is pre-cooled to 30 degrees. In this case, the ratio of substance and resin is 1 to 10. All components must be well mixed in order to obtain a high quality product. The hardener is poured in gradually to avoid boiling of the resin.

Self-pouring items

When performing work, it is necessary to act consistently, adhering to a certain technology. The manufactured object must be of high quality and be transparent, it must not contain air bubbles. It is necessary to achieve uniform solidification of the resin from the inside and outside.
The resin is poured into prepared molds, which are lubricated with petroleum jelly so that the workpiece can be easily removed. To give the workpiece a certain color, various dyes are used in powder form. Three hours after pouring the mold, the resin begins to harden. Full solidification of the product occurs within a week.
Then proceed to trimming and polishing the product. When using dyes, the powder in the composition must be thoroughly mixed so that the coloring is uniform. Coloring elements must be of high quality, otherwise the resin may become cloudy.

Resin Safety Rules

When working, it must be remembered that the resin releases toxic substances during heating, so all protective equipment should be used.

1. When performing work, do not use food utensils, which will later be used for food. Such containers are considered unsuitable for food purposes.
2. Hands must be protected with long gloves so that there are no burns or an allergic reaction. Goggles are worn to protect the eyes, and a respirator will ensure respiratory safety.
3. The resin is stored for about a year, and then it is considered unsuitable for the manufacture of products, so the material must be used within this period.
4. If the resin gets on the skin, it is abundantly washed off with soapy water. This must be done immediately so as not to get burned.
5. If the composition is prepared indoors, then it should be well ventilated.
6. All components must be at hand in order to quickly complete the necessary work. Forms can be made independently or purchased in stores.

How to make resin jewelry?

To make earrings, you need resin and dried flowers of forest grass. First, the epoxy composition is prepared, using the instructions, all the ingredients are mixed, after which the material is left to make the necessary viscosity appear, this takes about 2 hours. After this time, air bubbles will disappear from the mixture.

1. Stencils of any arbitrary shape are drawn on paper, they can be round, oval or unusual.
2. Then it is necessary to prepare the surface, it is covered with oilcloth. There should be no grains or dust particles on the surface. And its structure should be smooth without differences, and flaws.
3. Stencils are laid on the film, ordinary files are placed on top. Resin is poured onto the file, and distributed over the entire stencil, the edges are formed with a toothpick. The filling is made up to 3 centimeters high, and covered with an oilcloth dome on top to prevent dust from entering the surface of the product.
4. Then the molds are left for a day to harden. After that, the blanks are removed from the film, and they are shaped with a nail file or sandpaper. Thus, the processing of the edges of the product is performed.
5. Now you need to prepare a new portion of the composition, and decompose the dried flowers. To do this, a little resin is applied to the product and dry blades of grass are glued to it, left to dry, and again covered with epoxy. Give the product its final shape with sandpaper.
6. At the tip of the product, a hole is drilled into which the ear is threaded. After that, the product is considered ready.

To make a bracelet out of resin, you need to use a special mold, mold. At the same time, the filling is performed slowly, the more accurately the work is done, the less grinding needs to be done. Sprigs are laid in a circle, and the leaves of dried flowers are straightened with a toothpick. To remove air from the product, the mold is placed in the oven for 15 minutes, while the temperature should not exceed 80 degrees. Then the form is taken out, and the product is left to solidify.

When the bracelet is completely frozen, it is removed from the mold, all uneven areas are polished with sandpaper. To add shine to the surface of the product, it is coated with acrylic-based varnish. Tabletops are also made from epoxy resin, for this it is necessary to prepare the old surface, build formwork along the edges, and evenly pour the composition. Dried flowers, coins or other decorative elements can be placed inside the resin. With the help of resin, they make an original floor in the bathroom with shells, starfish or other unusual decorations. For a beautiful picture, prints are used. You can also make unusual decorative decorations for the room, which will emphasize the interior.

When working with epoxy resin, it is very important what forms (moldings) the master uses. Of course, you can buy them, but what to do in a situation where you need to get the form quickly, but there is no time to search and wait for delivery?

There is only one way out. Namely - to make a mold with your own hands. Today's collection of lessons will help you learn how to make molds for filling with your own hands.

Those who are seriously engaged in the manufacture of costume jewelry and women's jewelry also treat the search for the best tools, fixtures and materials very responsibly. After all, quality is the guarantee of success.

And it often happens that at the stage from the birth of an idea to the birth of a result, too much time passes. Or even an interesting and original project gets on the back burner. And the only reason is that the necessary and ideally suited materials and accessories cannot be obtained in any way or they are too expensive.

In such a situation, one master will literally "dig the ground with his nose" in order to find a more or less adequate replacement for what is needed, and maybe even take on the manufacture of everything necessary himself. And this is right, because even though "your" instrument appears "in pain", it always turns out to be the most convenient.

It's not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to understand what exactly needs to be done. For example, you can simply use the knowledge of those who have already gained experience in this matter.

The craftswoman under the nickname Lida Floral Beauty offers you a master class on making molds for pouring epoxy resin. With it, you can make spherical and hemispherical parts for jewelry.

For work you will need: special silicone for making molds (molds), a hardener for it, plastic cups and jars of the right sizes - clean and dry, glass beads of different diameters, moment-crystal glue. A description of the entire process can be found at the link below:

In addition to the photo master class, we offer you a selection of lessons in video format.

How to make molds with your own hands. Video master classes

How to make molds for epoxy resin:

Do-it-yourself molds for epoxy resin:

Molds for epoxy resin at the lowest cost with your own hands:

DIY silicone molds:

Silicone and starch molds for epoxy resin:

Discussion of the article

Jewelry and paraphernalia that are not made at the factory are becoming more and more popular. Such a product is called

Epoxy resin is an excellent material for making various items at home. We will talk about this in this article.

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What you need to know about resin

What is epoxy resin? This is a substance consisting of several components: the resin itself and the hardener, with the help of which it acquires a solid state. When both components are mixed, hardening and subsequent polymerization occurs. . Epoxy resin cannot be use without hardener, it is as important a component as the first one.

The two substances are mixed in different ways, depending on the brand. To learn how to mix the components correctly, you need to read the instructions that are in the package. The resin becomes very hard. And also it is unique in that it retains its transparency in any state. It is harder than plastic, and outwardly very similar to organic glass, sometimes even real glass, but such that it will not break when dropped.

Epoxy potting resin is often used in crafts because it is very hard, resists wear and tear, and crafters love it because it is initially liquid, which means it can be poured into any shape.

So, when you figured out the properties of the substance, you can proceed to the creation of jewelry from epoxy resin. Epoxy resin is great!

Required Ingredients

To create any decoration from epoxy resin, you will need:

• Silicone molds;
• various natural materials such as pebbles, shells, flowers and the like;
• epoxy itself;
• a container in which the substance will be stirred, as well as sticks or an unnecessary spoon.

To understand how resin jewelry is made, we can take a closer look at the creation of this multifunctional liquid. First you need to wash and dry the silicone mold.

By the way, you can create a silicone mold yourself or buy a ready-made one. But it is worth noting that when making a silicone mold yourself, you will have to spend a lot of effort and patience, so in order to avoid wasting time, you can also purchase a ready-made mold. Next, you need to start mixing the resin with the hardener.

As mentioned earlier, mixing instructions can be found in any product packaging. It is necessary to stir both components very well so that they become homogeneous, after stirring it is better to put the composition aside for a minute. It will take this time for unnecessary air bubbles to come out of the resin.

Next, you need to prepare the necessary accessories in the form of dried leaves or pebbles, which will be placed inside the resin and serve as decorative elements. When a few minutes pass and the epoxy gets rid of unnecessary bubbles, you need to very carefully pour it into a silicone mold.

This process must be done very slowly and carefully, because if there are overflows, you will have to grind the product later. After pouring, you need to take the prepared decorative elements, and very carefully place them inside the resin, which is already in the silicone mold. It is very important to ensure that all these elements do not stick out of the epoxy, but are completely immersed in it.

After the operation is completed, you can put the silicone mold in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The temperature should be 80 degrees. The silicone mold should be placed in the oven exactly at the moment when it is already fully heated to the desired temperature. As soon as 80 degrees are reached, turn off the oven. It is at this point that you need to place the silicone mold in the oven. Thus, the product will dry and harden faster, and at the same time the last bubbles will come out of the resin.

Now you can put the products to dry for 24 hours. After that, she will be completely ready. And now the bracelet can be removed from the silicone mold. If the product turned out to be sloppy in some places, then you can walk on it with fine sandpaper. Now the bracelet can be varnished. Actually, everything, the transparent bracelet is ready. By the same principle, you can make various souvenirs from epoxy resin.

This was a brief instruction that will give you an idea of ​​exactly how to make various epoxy resin products. But epoxy makes it possible to make not only small items like a bracelet. Once the manufacturing technique is mastered, you can move on to more complex products.

Beautiful epoxy resin table

As mentioned above, the epoxy composition includes truly unique properties that will help to realize the craziest design ideas. With the help of this resin, you can even make a beautiful decorative table. And depending on the craftsmanship, it can be either a very simple table or a real work of art with a striking shape.

Epoxy resin countertop very hard, it will not be afraid of external damage, deform, and you should not be afraid of cracks when used.

Some precautions should be taken during manufacture:

• it is necessary to work only in a special painting suit;
• do not forget about the use of gloves and a headgear.

Thanks to these precautions, some negative consequences can be avoided, in the form of resin getting on the skin and hair.

For making epoxy resin countertops it is necessary to have a blank form that will be located exactly horizontally, otherwise the table will turn out to be an uneven surface. And also there will be ugly influxes. The form in which the filling will be made should be dried very well, moisture should not be allowed to enter.

A glass base template is ideal as a form. Of course, the glass must be washed well before pouring. And also the form should be detachable, this will allow you to easily remove the finished table from it.

When the form is ready, you can fill it in required amount of epoxy. While it will be in a liquid state for some time, various decorative elements can be added to it. It can be wood, stones or whatever comes to the mind of an enterprising craftsman.

Single color or multicolor table

Epoxy itself is colorless. Therefore, the countertop from it will be transparent. That is why needlewomen love her. Therefore, all decorative elements that will be added inside will be clearly visible if the table is transparent. However, various pigments are made specifically for coloring epoxy resin, which will allow you to get almost any shade.

And you can also achieve such an effect that the table was combined colors. In this case, it is necessary to use resin with dyes of different shades.

After the form is filled, you need to wait 10-15 minutes, and then you need to remove unwanted bubbles, of course, if they appear on the surface. Large items, like a table, are best left to harden for two days, after which you can start grinding and polishing. After a week, the table will be completely ready and it can be used for its intended purpose.

Paintings

But this is not limited to the use of epoxy resin for decorative purposes. In addition to decorations and tables, resin can be used to make beautiful paintings.

materials

To make a painting from epoxy resin you will need:

When you have decided on all the necessary components, you can start mixing the resin. You need to do this in the same way as it has been repeatedly written earlier. And do not forget about the use of protective suits and gloves. Of course, as in any case of using resin as a needlework, it is necessary to prepare molds for pouring.

To make a picture, you will need a frame, bought or made by yourself. Ordinary glass should be glued to its inner side. Epoxy will now be poured onto the glass inside the frame. Filling is done in the same way., as in previous cases, slowly and carefully. Care should be taken to ensure that unnecessary bubbles do not appear. On finished products, this will not look too beautiful, so it is better to avoid bubbles. You need to pour a small layer to start and wait until the substance hardens.

Now you can move on to drawing on this surface. Of course, you will need some artistic talent. Drawing on a resin surface is very different from ordinary drawing on a piece of paper. After all, the surface of the resin is very smooth, which means that the paint will not cling to the surface well. In this there is a slight difficulty in applying strokes to the picture.

There are some advantages to painting with epoxy. The main one is that if the drawing does not work out the first time, then it will be possible to simply wipe off the paint with a cloth. Of course this can only be done if if the paint is still wet. Well, even if this happened, then you can just scrape it off the surface of the resin.

As you can see, you can not be afraid of mistakes. To begin with, you can conduct some experiments, make sketches and see how the drawing will look, and only after that apply the final strokes. And if you don’t like something, then you can easily delete the drawing and start all over again. To get clear and even edges of the picture, you can use electrical tape. In this case, everything will be very smooth after removing the adhesive tape.

This is followed by pouring the next layer of epoxy onto the finished drawing. After the drawing is completed, and the second layer of resin is poured, you can lightly clean the surface with sandpaper, of course, if there are some irregularities. If the surface is smooth, then you don't have to worry about it.

Surface protection

To protect your painting from UV radiation and yellowing from the sun, you can cover it with a special spray that will do a great job of protecting the surface. Such tools are easy to find in hardware stores at a very reasonable price. That's all, the picture is ready.

It is worth noting that the product will turn out to be quite weighty, so you should not try to hang it on an ordinary carnation in the wall. The surface should be significantly strengthened and everything should be thought out before hanging the picture on the wall. Epoxy resin gives such wonderful possibilities. This is a real find for creative people who can create paintings or decorations that will amaze everyone around.

Price

As for the price of epoxy resin, it is not too expensive. If you plan to make small bracelets, then you can go to any hardware store and buy epoxy resin for about 100-150 rubles. If it is planned to manufacture dimensional objects, such as tables or epoxy paintings, it is best to go online and find sites that sell epoxy in bulk. It will be much more profitable than buying small jars.

Good luck and success in your work!

My next form, this time from just such a building silicone. , but it was mainly intended as a one-time use, since only one clone was needed. If desired, of course, you can squeeze a couple of copies out of it, protecting the gypsum with all sorts of impregnations and using a variety of separating lubricants. But even with these measures, after the first use, it began to collapse with me.

This time you need to get about 70 copies of shells, again for this Tiger tank, so I had to abandon the plaster mold and try using building silicone. On the Internet they write that building silicone can withstand about 5-8 castings from Epoxy resin (EDP), then it begins to collapse. Therefore, it is advised to use aspic, which is capable of producing several times more copies. But something confuses the price of filling silicones, so for the test I decided to buy the cheapest coating silicone and, as it were, to probe the very process of creating molds from silicone, and there it will already be clear which way to dig further.

To begin with, I made a bed for the silicone itself, so that the silicone holds the desired shape when pouring epoxy into it. I acted almost according to the same scheme as when creating the form for this radiator. An ordinary lighter fit perfectly under the size of the shells, so I built a plastic formwork around it.

I sculpted in a hurry, so when pouring, a lot of leaks were revealed.

Actually one half is already done. I poured a little gypsum, because of this, the radii of the form go into the "minus" and do not let go of the lighter, so I had to disassemble the formwork and grind off everything superfluous to remove the lighter.

I dug out the grooves for the locks, reassembled everything again, generously smeared it with solid oil so that I didn’t have to hammer anything out like the first time, and besides, the quality of the print is not required here.

Poured alabaster.

This time, the halves of the mold came apart like clockwork, it was not even necessary to knock on them.

He grinded off the burrs, smeared the halves with PVA glue and sent them to dry on the battery.

Then, to be sure, covered them with paraffin.

As a separating lubricant, ordinary shoe polish showed the best results, apparently due to the fact that it contains the same wax.

I lightly smeared prototype shells with this shoe polish so that the silicone itself would not stick to the shells.

I thoroughly coated the shells with silicone so that there were no air bubbles on them. I also filled both halves of the stock with silicone, then put the shells into the half and closed the lid, squeezing out the excess silicone. I did all this with dry hands, they write on the Internet that it is better to moisten my hands, but I did not do this, because I did not want to get rid of water droplets later. By the way, the smell at the same time is indescribable because silicone is acidic, it feels like she spilled a bottle of vinegar. So it's better to make silicone molds with an open window or even on the street.

I pulled the block with rubber bands and left it to dry for a couple of days.

Two days later I decided to disassemble the form and see what happened. At first glance, everything seems to be normal, only the sharp acidic smell was embarrassing when removing the silicone mold from gypsum.

I was impatient to make an autopsy, so I armed myself with piercing and cutting tools and set about the operation. As it turned out, the stench of the form was not without reason, somewhere in the depths the knife began to get dirty on the silicone that had not dried. Therefore, the operation had to be postponed for another couple of days. But this time he put the form into the bed, but did not close the lid, so that it would be better weathered and dry faster. So if you make a very thick shape, then feel free to dry it for a week.

Two days later, the shells were already cut out. I decided to cut not in the middle, but closer to the edge, so that it would form a kind of bowl with a lid, through which then fill the mold with resin. It's hard to see here in the photo, but the silicone adhered very well to the shells in several places. Therefore, when removing the silicone, it was torn and remained on the shells in small spools.

So you need to look for a separating lubricant or smear more shoe polish. But here is a double-edged sword, you will smear a lot of lubricant, you will lose the detail of the part, besides, it will be difficult to apply silicone itself to the lubricant, since it is thick and will stick anywhere, but not on the part.

Lubricated the bed and at the same time the form, mixed resins, prepared a couple of nails for a more solid weight of shells at the exit. In theory, a bed of gypsum can be completely abandoned because it is an extra hemorrhoid. Unless, of course, initially create a silicone mold on something even, so as not to get bananas at the exit. However, there is a chance that without a snug fit, the epoxy will leak out through the cut in the silicone mold.

I laid the mold at a slight angle so that the resin would fill the mold by gravity, put in the nails and gradually filled the mold with epoxy. As filling with resin, the form was closed, but so that no air bubbles remained inside.

After filling, closed the lid and threw it on the battery. After 2-3 hours, the resin has already solidified. Then he pulled the shells out of the form, at first glance everything turned out great. A little sandpaper and you can paint.

As it turned out, I rejoiced early, with each subsequent casting, the shells were more and more difficult to remove from the mold. The epoxy stuck more and more strongly, to the point that the form began to tear when the projectile was removed. It was just as difficult to clean the mold itself from resin drips every time. In general, closer to the seventh approach, the form ceased to close tightly, due to which the marriage on the details became more and more. So if you need several copies of something, then this method can be used, otherwise, look for a separator or pour something less aggressive (Gypsum).

It seems that another separating lubricant is needed, without having one, the process of cloning the ammunition load in this way was suspended. After some time, I made just such a composite mold of epoxy resin and, with its help, cast plaster copies of shells.

Afterword 1

Recently I came across an interesting way to make pseudo-silicone from improvised means (gelatin, glycerin). So, if you need to quickly take a mold from some small part and cast a copy of it from epoxy. That's it. It is dumb to pour massive parts into it, since the form is afraid of heating (if an excessive reaction in the epoxy suddenly occurs), but casting small things is just right.

Silicone is a quality material for making flexible molds. The technology of independent production of silicone molds

How to make silicone molds yourself and how to make epoxy resin products yourself

Silicone cures without shrinkage at room temperature to form silicone rubber. Two-component liquid silicone for mold production, silicone molds are suitable for epoxy resin casting production. How to make a silicone mold yourself for casting an epoxy resin product at home. How to make a mold for gypsum or for casting epoxy resin from pour molding silicone at home with no experience in mold production.

The technology of independent production of silicone molds from elastic two-component silicone.

Making silicone molds at home, followed by pouring epoxy into a silicone mold. In this topic, the production of silicone molds for the manufacture of epoxy resin products, we will try to master the simplest technology for independently producing silicone molds for pouring epoxy products. Two-component silicone is used for casting molds and making impressions. I offer you a free master class on the manufacture of products from epoxy resin. Technology for the manufacture of silicone molds and methods for the manufacture of products from epoxy resin.

All about raw materials for self-production of molds at home.

How to choose the material for making molds and castings from gypsum, concrete, polymer concrete, polymer resins. In addition, the production of molds and sculptures can become an independent profitable business. How to choose a material for making an elastic mold for castings from plaster or other materials. Casting into silicone molds using the example of making a simple epoxy resin product.

Silicone compounds and rubbers are easily processed into molds even at home and do not require any additional equipment, as they have the ability for self-filling. After carefully reading the step-by-step instructions, you can easily make injection molds from silicone yourself. The same forms, made on your own, will cost about half as much as you can buy them, in addition, you can make any form yourself and will not depend on the manufacturers of forms and on the range that the manufacturers of forms offer you and you will be able to make that range of forms for products that are not on the market, so you will have absolutely no competition in your assortment.

Copying products, self-producing silicone molds and pouring epoxy resin into a mold is something that you can do yourself at home or in an industrial environment by carefully studying my step-by-step lesson on making silicone molds and mastering the methods and technology of pouring epoxy resin.

The technique brought to your attention is a detailed description of this technology for copying products.

Step 1. As an example, consider copying a simple product. We will cast this part from epoxy resin into a detachable silicone mold, consisting of two parts.

Step 2. To apply the described silicone mold manufacturing technology, we need the following materials, two-component silicone for self-production of the mold and epoxy resin for pouring into the mold for the manufacture of the product.

Action 3. Silicone. This is the material from which the mold will be made. Although a common and inexpensive silicone sealant will work well for this purpose, it is much easier and more convenient to use a two-component silicone specifically designed for mold making. In the example below, we will use just such Pentasil silicone, any other two-component potting silicone will do.

Step 4. Epoxy resin. There are a lot of such resins on the market, and most likely many of them will be suitable for our casting. The main requirement for the resin is that the polymerization time should not be too short. I, in particular, stopped for manufacturing on the example of our product on a product called Finishing Resin. This resin after polymerization is quite elastic, and in physical properties resembles polyurethane resin.

Action 5. Release agent. If two-component silicone or two-component polyurethane acts as a mold material, a separating layer is only needed to separate the halves of the mold. There are many release products specifically designed for this purpose, usually in the form of wax-based aerosols, but if you can't find one yet, regular petroleum jelly or melted candle wax will do just fine.

Action 6. Clay. It will serve as our main building material. Before proceeding with the manufacture of the form, it is worth checking the selected materials for compliance with each other. If you neglect this stage, you can not only not get a copy, but also lose the original. First, make sure that the selected silicone, after curing, can be easily removed from a surface made of the same material as the part to be copied. If this is not the case, the part to be copied will have to be covered with a release layer, or another silicone should be used. Second, make sure that the cured epoxy separates well from the silicone and that the physical properties of the cured resin are to your satisfaction.

Step 7. Making silicone molds. To begin with, on a flat solid base (I use a CD for this purpose), we will apply an even layer of plasticine and lightly press the copied part into it.

Action 8. If the part is relatively flat, it can be pressed into the plasticine to the level where the border of the half of the future shape will pass. In the case of a more voluminous part, instead of pressing the part to its full depth, we will apply another layer of plasticine around the perimeter of the part.

Action 9. After that, it is necessary to walk around the perimeter of the part and press the plasticine against its wall, thus forming a clear border. To do this, I use improvised devices made from matches and toothpicks coated with silicone sealant. Since plasticine absolutely does not stick to silicone, it is very convenient to process it with this particular material. Please note that on the future casting, a small seam will form at the place where the junction of the halves of the mold will pass, so the location of the border must be chosen in such a way that this seam can be removed without damaging the parts around it.

Step 10 It is important to make sure that the plasticine is firmly attached to the part to be copied everywhere, so that the silicone cannot leak under it when casting the mold.

Action 11. Now we will make the walls of the future container, for which it is easiest to use the same plasticine. The distance between the wall and the part should be 5-7 mm, and by the same amount the wall should exceed the highest point of the copied part. The junction of the wall with the floor of the container is leveled using all the same devices coated with silicone.

Action 12. After that, it is worth making several small indentations in the floor of our container. They will serve as locks to prevent the halves of the future shape from moving.

Step 13. So, the container is ready for pouring silicone. The silicone we are currently working with when creating our product consists of two components of a thick white mass resembling condensed milk in consistency and a dark blue liquid catalyst, there are catalysts of different colors that need to be mixed in a ratio of 10: 1 (in the instructions not stated, by weight or volume; I use scales for dosing). The bright color of the catalyst helps to achieve complete mixing of the components - the finished mixture should have an absolutely uniform blue color. Avoid skin contact with silicone and especially catalyst. It is advisable to work with gloves (this, by the way, also applies to epoxy resin).

Action 14. Pour the resulting mixture into a plasticine container with a copied part. This should be done slowly, in a thin stream, and try to pour the silicone into the far corner of the container, and not onto the part, so that the silicone flows around it gradually, from below, without forming voids and the air has time to escape, otherwise I will be in the form of a hole. There is no hurry - this silicone remains fluid for almost an hour, but we must remember that silicones generally have fluidity, that is, a lifetime of 10 minutes. After pouring, the container should be left alone until the silicone has completely cured.

Action 15. After the silicone has hardened, remove all the plasticine. This must be done very carefully, so that the copied part remains in the silicone, from which it very readily separates. First, carefully remove the side walls, then remove the floor.

Step 16 As a result, we have the finished first half of the form with the copied part in it. If traces of plasticine remain on the form or part, they must be carefully removed, again not allowing the part to separate from the silicone.

Action 17. Place the finished half on the same disk and build plasticine walls around it, 5 mm higher than the highest point of the part.

Step 18. Using the above method and tools, we will achieve a more or less tight joint between the mold and the plasticine walls (this is not so simple, because the plasticine is reluctant to stick to the silicone mold, but absolute tightness is not so important here).

Action 19. Be sure to cover the surface of the first half of the form with a separating layer of petroleum jelly, or apply a separator or paraffin in order to prevent the halves of the form from sticking together (silicone sticks to itself tightly). To do this, you can use a brush, applying Vaseline in a very thin layer, and only on silicone, and not on the part to be copied.

Step 20. The container for the second half of the form is ready. The preparation and pouring of silicone is carried out in the same way as for the first half. It remains to be patient.

Step 21. After the silicone has cured, remove the mold from the disk and remove the plasticine walls.

Step 22 Now we have to separate the two halves of the finished silicone mold. Despite the separating layer, the halves may be stuck together at some points, so it will take some force to separate them. It is important not to damage the copied part inside.

Step 23. So, our self-made two-component silicone mold is ready!

Action 24.Casting an epoxy resin part
First, let's prepare the epoxy. Epoxy resin components are usually mixed in a 1:1 ratio, and it is desirable to adhere to this ratio as closely as possible. For resin, at least the one that we took for production training, the scales will not work, the components have different densities, so it is better to use special measuring cups. Lately, I've been adding a third ingredient to the resin: a small drop of a special coloring pigment (a mixture of black and white). In this case, the casting is not translucent, but has a more familiar gray color.

Step 25 Mix the epoxy carefully, not only in the center, but also along the edges of the container, but at the same time carefully, trying to introduce as few air bubbles as possible. Alas, the formation of these air bubbles is almost inevitable, while it is impossible to put up with them, where the bubble is close to the surface of the part, a hole is formed in the product. There are several ways to deal with bubbles using vacuum and high pressure, but we will use a simpler method. The resin, already mixed in the tank, should be heated, for which an ordinary hair dryer will do. After heating the resin, it should be left for a couple of minutes, during which time most of the bubbles will come out. Pay attention to the following photos. At the first resin, immediately after heating, the bubbles rapidly rise to the surface. In the second photo, most of the bubbles came out.

Step 26 Of course, this method is only applicable to resins with long polymerization times. The fast-setting epoxy resin that experienced manufacturers are working with will most likely harden before we have time to finish all these manipulations, especially since heating accelerates polymerization. Now we will apply the resin to both halves of the silicone mold. For this, I usually use a toothpick or a match. The resin is laid out on a silicone surface in a thin layer, while again, you need to try not to make bubbles and not create voids.

Step 27 Epoxy is applied to each half of the mold with a slight excess with a crust. At this stage, you can heat the resin once more, already in the mold, forcing most of the remaining bubbles out and making it thinner, which will reduce the thickness of the future flash.

Action 28. Put the halves of the form together. In this case, excess resin will simply squeeze out. It is sometimes recommended to provide channels or cavities in the form to drain excess resin, but I did not notice much of their advantage and eventually stopped making them.

Action 29. Press the halves of the mold firmly together, for example, between two hard plates fastened with rubber rings, or put under a load. This is important, because if the mold halves do not fit snugly, the flash will be thicker, not to mention the resin may simply leak out. On the other hand, one should not be too zealous either, since the form is elastic, and strong compression can deform it and the future casting.

Step 30 When choosing the position in which we will leave the mold with liquid resin inside, it makes sense to take into account the following consideration. Despite our efforts to control air bubbles, the one or two most stubborn bubbles are likely to remain in the resin. What will happen to them next? Most likely, they will rise up and remain on the surface, forming tiny holes in the finished casting. But where the casting will have the top is up to us. It makes sense to arrange the form so that the top is the part on which the bubbles will be less noticeable, or where it will be easier to repair them.

Now it remains only to wait. By squeezing out the resin, one can judge the readiness of the casting. Do not hurry! If the resin has not yet fully cured, the casting may be damaged when it is separated from the mold. In my case, I do not touch the mold with resin during the day. After this time, the mold halves can be carefully separated and removed.

Action 31. Dried streaks are carefully removed with a match or a toothpick, after which the remaining minor seam can be processed with fine sandpaper.

Action 33. That's all. Our epoxy resin casting, absolutely identical to the original, is ready.

As you can see, everything is quite simple and modern, having gained experience on such small products, you will be able to produce serious products that are in demand on the market, and you will also be able to independently produce silicone molds to expand your activities and expand the range, and most importantly, you will be able to make silicone molds and not depend on that assortment which is offered today.

Here is an example of pouring silicone into open matrices

An example of a silicone mold and a finished product from silicone molds. silicone molds

Removing the silicone mold from the finished product. How to remove the silicone mold from the finished product

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