Building Brick (The Great Circular Wall)
by hancircularlab in Workshop > Molds & Casting
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Building Brick (The Great Circular Wall)
These instructables explain step by step how to make a mould and the building brick.
Have fun!
Supplies
Materials:
- Plastic granules;
- Aluminium block 120x120x240mm;
- Aluminium block 100x100x85mm;
Bolts:
- 25x M6x20 socket countersunk head;
- 15x M6x30 socket countersunk head;
- 8x M6x40 socket countersunk head;
Machines/devices:
- Milling machine (manual or CNC);
- Drilling machine;
- Band saw;
- Oven;
- Extruder;
Download STL Files
Download all STL files
Producing Parts
The parts can be made in different ways. The easiest way is to have everything made on a CNC milling machine. Another option is to mill each part yourself on a conventional milling machine.
Assemble the Parts
The mould consists of 3 main parts: the bottom, the cover, and zijplaat.
The bottom:
- 1x Bodemplaat;
- 2x Bak kort;
- 1x Bak lang;
- 2x Vierkant blok;
- 4x M6x20 socket countersunk head;
- 15x M6x30 socket countersunk head;
The cover:
- 1x Deksel mal;
- 2x Staaf;
- 2x Deelblok;
- 2x Deelblok mirror;
- 15x M6x30 socket countersunk head;
- 8x M6x40 socket countersunk head;
Zijplaat
(Total assembly: 21x M6x20 socket countersunk head)
Weighing the Quantity of Plastic
The weight of the quantity of plastic that goes into the block can be calculated using the following formula: m=ρ×V
The volume (V) of the block is 527.17 cm^3.
The density (ρ) is different for each type of plastic.
Below are a few examples of densities of different plastics:
- PETG: ρ=1,250 g/cm^3
- HDPE: ρ=0,955 g/cm^3
- PP: ρ=0,902 g/cm^3
- PS: ρ=1,045 g/cm^3
Preparation
Preparation:
- Coat the inside of the mould completely with petroleum jelly before the mould goes into the oven;
- Heat the mould half an hour in the oven at 230°C;
- Let the extruder heat up for half an hour at about 240°C;
- Connect the mould to the extruder;
- Make sure that the part ''bak lang'' with the air holes is at the top;
Extruding
- Fill the extruder with the weighed quantity of plastic;
- Switch on the extruder;
- Make sure that the mould remains warm during extrusion, for example by using a hot air gun;
- Extruding is finished as soon as the plastic comes out of the air holes in the 'bak lang';
Cooling Down
- After the plastic has been extruded into the mould, it must cool down slowly.
- Remove the mould from the extruder and leave it to cool in a room at about 22°C for about 2 hours.
- The slow cooling ensures that the plastic block does not shrink extremely.
Open the Mould
- Loosen the bolts connecting the cover to the bottom;
- The cover will not immediately come off the base. This can be made easy by screwing four M8 bolts into the lid;
- The cover will now slowly be pushed away from the base;
- Finally, remove the plastic block from the lid;
Give the Block a Finishing Touch
The plastic block has some edges and thin layers that can easily be removed with a peeler.
Your first plastic block is now ready!!!!!