Porous aluminum

[mafitch7479]

Anyone have any experience with porous aluminum for vacuum forming molds? Is it really worth the cost? Does it leave a perfectly smooth finish on the plastic?

[svenakela]

It's working very well, at a sky-high price. If someone pays for a production volume, I would maybe choose it. Otherwise i think it's too expensive.

[mafitch7479]

Originally Posted by svenakela It's working very well, at a sky-high price. If someone pays for a production volume, I would maybe choose it. Otherwise i think it's too expensive.

well, price doesn't usually seem to be an option with the company I work for...yet.

Does it leave any marks on the plastic on either side? And are there any problems of any sort I should know about before we start messing with this stuff?

[svenakela]

The kind I've used was very easy milled and didn't leave traces on the plastic. It's also very dimension stable and the moulds we made were running in production for years. And - it was very expensive.
Brand and name, is something I forgot long time ago.

[mafitch7479]

Originally Posted by svenakela The kind I've used was very easy milled and didn't leave traces on the plastic. It's also very dimension stable and the moulds we made were running in production for years. And - it was very expensive. Brand and name, is something I forgot long time ago.

that's good to know.

It looks like it's about 2-3 times the cost compared to a similar sized block of 6061 or mold quality aluminum. Which really isn't bad considering it's supposed to machine quicker and we won't have to worry about drilling all those damn holes

[svenakela]

What's the brand?
The price doesn't sound that bad, seems like a price way better than 15 years ago.
I had contact with a Swiss company recently that makes moulding material and their version was far more expensive than the price you have.

[Frantic Fab]

hello,

I am Garrett Gordon, i work for a company called masterpiece models. please check us out at Masterpiece Models

i saw your post and i would love to give you any help i can! if you could tell me a little more about your form you are trying to pull i can help point you in the right direction for material selection.

we do alot of vacuum forming each year for the past 15 years now, it sounds like you work for a company fairly similar.

let me know if i could lend any useful advice!

Thanks again,
Garrett Gordon
garrett.gordon@masterpiecemodels.com

[mafitch7479]

Originally Posted by svenakela What's the brand? The price doesn't sound that bad, seems like a price way better than 15 years ago. I had contact with a Swiss company recently that makes moulding material and their version was far more expensive than the price you have.

It looks like the brand is "Metapor", and we usually order the majority of our stuff from McMaster-Carr due to the quick shipping.

Originally Posted by Frantic Fab hello, I am Garrett Gordon, i work for a company called masterpiece models. please check us out at Masterpiece Models i saw your post and i would love to give you any help i can! if you could tell me a little more about your form you are trying to pull i can help point you in the right direction for material selection. we do alot of vacuum forming each year for the past 15 years now, it sounds like you work for a company fairly similar. let me know if i could lend any useful advice! Thanks again, Garrett Gordon garrett.gordon@masterpiecemodels.com

Garrett, we're not a big vacuum forming company at all. In fact, we've got one small former, and that's it. What I plan to use this material for is to form paint samples. Well, the first thing we plan to use it for is paint samples anyway, there's likely to be many more projects involving the stuff if we like it.

We also very rarely outsource anything. If we've got the machines to do it, we'll do it. If not, chances are we'll buy the machine to do it

[Frantic Fab]

very nice! i wish my company had that problem well we have a few larger vacuum forming machines and plenty of other neat tools to keep us fabricating.

well we have used the stuff, and we bought it from McMaster-Carr as well! it works great. the heat dicipation from the large heaters is unrivaled! stong, durable, easily machined, i am sure you guys will be looking for more of it soon! the only thing you may have to worry about is the vacuum equipped on your machine. but i am sure it wont be an issue, this stuff is pretty amazing.

well it sounds like you guys know enough about the processes at work here. if theres anything i can help you with dont hesitate to ask!

Thanks,
Garrett

[mafitch7479]

Originally Posted by Frantic Fab very nice! i wish my company had that problem well we have a few larger vacuum forming machines and plenty of other neat tools to keep us fabricating. well we have used the stuff, and we bought it from McMaster-Carr as well! it works great. the heat dicipation from the large heaters is unrivaled! stong, durable, easily machined, i am sure you guys will be looking for more of it soon! the only thing you may have to worry about is the vacuum equipped on your machine. but i am sure it wont be an issue, this stuff is pretty amazing. well it sounds like you guys know enough about the processes at work here. if theres anything i can help you with dont hesitate to ask! Thanks, Garrett

what do you mean by worrying about the vacuum on the machine?

And honestly, no, we don't know much about the processes we need to use. So far we've been pretty much playing it by ear and improving things as we go along and improving the way we do it each time. It's certainly a fun place to work

[Frantic Fab]

Originally Posted by mafitch7479 what do you mean by worrying about the vacuum on the machine? And honestly, no, we don't know much about the processes we need to use. So far we've been pretty much playing it by ear and improving things as we go along and improving the way we do it each time. It's certainly a fun place to work

So the vacuum on the machine should not pose a problem as long as it a sufficent resivor to draw from. it will not be a problem unless the mold is too big for your machine, or your machine has been custom built without an ample vacuum. honestly you shouldnt have much to worry about. the aluminum just restricts the airflow off the get go. once you establish a good seal around the form, the aluminum will acutually turn into a vacuum cavity, pulling harder and harder as the vacuum catches up.

if you ever reach a point where you feel like banging your head against a wall just drop me a line. I would love to give some free tips and tricks!

Thanks,
Garrett Gordon

Masterpiece Models
7907 NE St Johns Rd
Vancouver WA 98665
p 360-256-1488
f 360-573-5583
web Masterpiece Models
blog Masterpiece Models
"what can we build for you"

[mafitch7479]

Originally Posted by Frantic Fab So the vacuum on the machine should not pose a problem as long as it a sufficent resivor to draw from. it will not be a problem unless the mold is too big for your machine, or your machine has been custom built without an ample vacuum. honestly you shouldnt have much to worry about. the aluminum just restricts the airflow off the get go. once you establish a good seal around the form, the aluminum will acutually turn into a vacuum cavity, pulling harder and harder as the vacuum catches up. if you ever reach a point where you feel like banging your head against a wall just drop me a line. I would love to give some free tips and tricks! Thanks, Garrett Gordon Masterpiece Models 7907 NE St Johns Rd Vancouver WA 98665 p 360-256-1488 f 360-573-5583 web Masterpiece Models blog Masterpiece Models "what can we build for you"

and that was a small issue we'd had with an ABS mold we had previously made. It didn't pull through as well as we had hoped. Granted, that could have been due to not having a large enough vacuum reserve. We might look into putting a larger tank on it in the future if the need arises.

thanks for your help, I'll be sure to contact you if we have any questions about what we're doing.