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Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:37 am
by rkundla
I decided to buy some Optima investment since I just finished off my old box of Plasticast.
So I did a small test flask (2.5" x 3.0") and mixed the investment for 38:100 using DI water. Boy, this mix was more watery than I would expect. It was like Satin Cast 20 more than Plasticast. Is this to be expected for Optima? It also had a weird smell when mixed, almost like Pinesol cleaner... strange...
The flask is glossing off right now, so I will run it through the process documented in the Optima instructions (high temp right off the bat!). I have a mix of various castable resins in this flask so I am curious to see how it all turns out.
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:58 am
by Archerm
I have been using 36 to 100 with the.optima.
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:07 am
by Jewelermdt
As above 36/100.
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:35 pm
by rkundla
My casting at 38/100 using the Optima burnout schedule (max temp 1562°F) came out surprisingly well.
I used three different types of castable resins (3Dfacture, B9 Emerald and a 4:1 Emerald/SolusCast mix) and they all burned out clean with no noticeable defects. I did two types of rings (medium weight, bezel and prong) and the 4:1 mix was my earrings with small prong work for 1mm round melee.
I will have to try again to see if that was a fluke or I can make it work consistently.
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 5:31 pm
by eangor
If you don't mind, could you share us some picture of a printed 4:1 Emerald/SolusCast mix please? what got improved? Thank you.
rkundla wrote:My casting at 38/100 using the Optima burnout schedule (max temp 1562°F) came out surprisingly well.
I used three different types of castable resins (3Dfacture, B9 Emerald and a 4:1 Emerald/SolusCast mix) and they all burned out clean with no noticeable defects. I did two types of rings (medium weight, bezel and prong) and the 4:1 mix was my earrings with small prong work for 1mm round melee.
I will have to try again to see if that was a fluke or I can make it work consistently.
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:47 am
by rkundla
The reason I tried this was I was hoping to get some additional detail out of the mix since I think the Emerald is softer than the SolusCast on detail, but try to get the burnout benefits of the Emerald in a process I have already tested.
Please note I am using right now a different printer than a Solus (been looking into changing for a while). It uses a Vivitek 913HD projector and it isn't a B9. All prints are at ~30XY and 50Z.Here are some photos straight Emerald well-aged versus 4:1 Emerald/SolusCast
Close up of detail on flower model:
Re: Optima investment - viscosity
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:50 pm
by eangor
Thank you, Ron. When you are casting a bigger piece, I hope you can share with us the casting result of the mix. Thank you again.
rkundla wrote:The reason I tried this was I was hoping to get some additional detail out of the mix since I think the Emerald is softer than the SolusCast on detail, but try to get the burnout benefits of the Emerald in a process I have already tested.
Please note I am using right now a different printer than a Solus (been looking into changing for a while). It uses a Vivitek 913HD projector and it isn't a B9. All prints are at ~30XY and 50Z.Here are some photos straight Emerald well-aged versus 4:1 Emerald/SolusCast
DSC08740_resize.jpg
Close up of detail on flower model:
DSC08742_crop.jpg