Prototyping a Case

For my prototype housings, I use Alumilite casting compound. The quick set RTV molding material sets up in about 4 hours, so for a 2 piece mold the total set time takes about a day and you're ready to pour your prototype. When you pour your prototype, it only takes about 10 minutes for each unit, so in a day you could make several dozen units.

If your prototype quality is acceptable for market, you can use this system for small production runs. If you decide to use this system for production runs, I would recommend the higher grade RTV molding compound, the Dow Corning HSII or HSIII. It takes 24 hours for each half of the mold to set, but it is a stronger mold that will last longer.

This tutorial will introduce you to the mold making process and is courtesy of the Alumilite Corporation.  The following page contains ordered links to their tutorials. 

Hobby Engineering  is an online retailer of Alumilite products.

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