Serenity - April 9 2007
More castings. Teh Alumilite is going OK for the landing pads
So I cast some more
So here is the shuttle landing arms or pads or whatever. I did forget it at work so I could not work on it on the long weekend. The big question was how to make mould so it can be pulled out. There are a couple of areas where it is narrow and then bigger on both sides. Not easy for a one piece mould. I decide to add a couple of little wings made from scotch tape.
The scotch tape will leave a thin opening in the rubber allowing the larger part below it to be pulled from the mould.
Well that is the theory. This view shows the added tape fins. Also at the base there is the 2 arms and the brass rod that goes in between. If left as is it will trap the part and can be removed only by tearing the mould. A thin slice of scotch tape was inserted in between the arms to allow the casting to be removed.
Here is the mould with RTV rubber poured and sitting in my make shift vacuum chamber to remove as many air bubbles as possible