Building Brick (The Great Circular Wall)

by hancircularlab in Workshop > Molds & Casting

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Building Brick (The Great Circular Wall)

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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

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Download all STL files

Producing Parts

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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

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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

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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

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Preparation:

  1. Coat the inside of the mould completely with petroleum jelly before the mould goes into the oven;
  2. Heat the mould half an hour in the oven at 230°C;
  3. Let the extruder heat up for half an hour at about 240°C;
  4. Connect the mould to the extruder;
  5. Make sure that the part ''bak lang'' with the air holes is at the top;

Extruding

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  1. Fill the extruder with the weighed quantity of plastic;
  2. Switch on the extruder;
  3. Make sure that the mould remains warm during extrusion, for example by using a hot air gun;
  4. Extruding is finished as soon as the plastic comes out of the air holes in the 'bak lang';

Cooling Down

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  1. After the plastic has been extruded into the mould, it must cool down slowly. 
  2. Remove the mould from the extruder and leave it to cool in a room at about 22°C for about 2 hours.
  3. The slow cooling ensures that the plastic block does not shrink extremely.

Open the Mould

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  1. Loosen the bolts connecting the cover to the bottom;
  2. The cover will not immediately come off the base. This can be made easy by screwing four M8 bolts into the lid;
  3. The cover will now slowly be pushed away from the base;
  4. Finally, remove the plastic block from the lid;

Give the Block a Finishing Touch

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The plastic block has some edges and thin layers that can easily be removed with a peeler.


Your first plastic block is now ready!!!!!