Industrial‐scale vacuum casting with silicone molds: A review

Abstract

Vacuum casting (VC) of reactive polymer resins in silicone molds is one of the oldest rapid tooling methods. It is widely used in the industry for prototype and small‐series production of thermoset plastic parts. Despite its widespread use, its scientific exploration is still scarce compared to other prototyping methods, such as three‐dimensional (3D) printing. Compared to conventional 3D printing methods, a wide range of excellent material properties can be achieved, making it well suited for the production of functional prototypes and even final products. The properties of the thermosets are comparable to those of injection molding in terms of viable shapes, mold fidelity, and material properties. However, due to the high cycle time and limited service life of the molds, VC is rarely utilized for mid‐ or large‐series production. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art and recent advances in the field. The review also provides a detailed technical introduction to the mold production, the process flow, and the materials used. A particular focus is on the key challenges facing industrial‐scale VC today—how to reduce cycle time, and how to increase mold service life?

Post‐curing and structural relaxation of epoxy networks during early stages of aging for civil engineering applications

“…After homogenization, the mixture was poured into both rectangular and dog bone section silicon molds for Charpy impact tests and tensile tests, respectively. The applicability of silicon molds for the curing of epoxy resins has been extensively studied recently [29]. The samples were obtained after 5 days of polymerization(/curing) since a minimum amount of time is required to get acceptable rigidity and dimensional stability.…”

“…The applicability of silicon molds for the curing of epoxy resins has been extensively studied recently [29]. The samples were obtained after 5 days of polymerization(/curing) since a minimum amount of time is required to get acceptable rigidity and dimensional stability.…”

Introductory Chapter: Rapid Prototyping – Trends and Opportunities

“…Rapid Tooling methods, such as Vacuum Casting, Metal Spraying, Investment casting, and other similar technologies were also quite well developed in the last years for producing different types of molds that were used to conceive, develop, and test new types of materials that are not suitable to be used by 3D printing technologies [15][16][17].…”