Wdshea wrote:None of the jewelry we produce is thick (thickest parts 2-3mm), IPA has never caused cracking, nor has heat.
heat trials included microwaving in water, mineral oil, and glycerin.
i used a toaster oven at 250*F and other temps as well.
we even tried boiling in TSP solution, and water in a flask on the stove.
i would do UV first, then heat cure. I'd follow the exact UV cure procedure, without heat, and immediately castings improved (to near perfection).
Now, I am open minded, and would love for a process simpler than what I'm doing. What temp, and for what duration do you heat cure?
I'm willing to try heat once more, but i'm skeptical.
You have a system that works for you with a resin you like as I do. I would just stick to that. My comments are more for those that read general comments stating that heat curing is no good when I have been using it for years.
The next bit is typed with a smile so don`t take it any other way than friendly...but nothing to be skeptical about as many others users heat cure B9 resins and we don`t care if you heat cure or not. Stick with what works for you.......you just have to decide if all those telling you that they are heat curing with success are liars or are you doing something different either with the heat curing or elsewhere in your process that is affecting your results. My guess is the latter.
TAJS unless he has changed his process heat cures B9 resins...his work is exceptional and for all to see. I am not saying that heat cure will work with SolusCast...just that it works with B9 and I have not seen proper tests, including yours..... that rule it out for Soluscast yet.
Thick items have always been the hardest with resins that is why I tested with that design. If you do not cast heavy items you will have an easier time.
The toaster oven I tried for heat curing did not work and is why I asked you before what device. Specifics are important. The toaster oven I used during testing gave more a surface heat IMO and was a a fail for me also.
The deep heat of your furnace will do a better job IMO. I will be interested to see once you apply some deep heat if your IPA process does not cause cracking. You are only going to 250F/120C in a toaster and you do not state for how long.
My exact heat curing process is in this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=842&start=30I define a proper test as one with hundreds of samples with many controlled variables carried out in a structured manner. This a data base entry for one of our casts back in 2016. That was our 175th recorded test and many things have changed since then....the main thing changed is that we now omit the UV curing recorded and at that time we did not use IPA at all... but it shows what we do to refine our process and to be able to repeat it. The print details are for the Asiga that I used at the time so not related to the Solus. Good luck Wdshea.