3D printed soft tail mold

[EZcorer]

howdy yall!

I was talking with a guy I work with about a mold I cut on my CNC mill at work.

The mold was a tail for a swim bait he is working on, it turned out great! so I was wondering why not just print one on my 3D printer!

I did a few quick designs and printed them out.

It works GREAT!! you can go from design to water in a day!

I have attached a few pics, the aluminum tail mold and then one of a jig body (black mold) and the other (white mold) is a tail i am going to use on a crank bait I'm working on.

Let me know what yall think!

[Munkin]

Are you going to make some for sale?

 

Allen

[EZcorer]

if you need something made i can help you out.

[EZcorer]

I printed a few molds last night,  they look great!

A small swim jig and a swim worm.

 

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

How big is this tail? Looks like a replacement tail for a MS Slammer.

[EZcorer]

yes it is about that size.

[12poundbass]

I'm not familiar with the material used for 3D printing. How well do you think it would hold up after a bunch of heating and cooling? 

Do you design your own molds or do you copy existing molds?

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!

 

Cool stuff. Nice to have a 3D printer handy.  

[EZcorer]

 

I'm not familiar with the material used for 3D printing. How well do you think it would hold up after a bunch of heating and cooling? 

Do you design your own molds or do you copy existing molds?

Yep I do all the design work. I draw the bait split it in half then turn them into a mold, I just start with a blank screen and go to town!

I am using PLA filament, it is very stiff when printed.

The temperature it is printed at is over 400*F.

A friend of mine has been using a 2 cavity swim tail worm mold I printed for him over 75 times that I know of.

he has a fan blowing on it between injections. 

 

wylder

[Karma]

I have been wondering if it would be possible to 3-d print a mold.

 

I was wondering how well the plastic would hold up to the heat, looks like there is some melting where the injector inserts in the one photo or am I mistaken?

[Airman4754]

If you can make one for the 10" Senkos you might be on to something. The one company that makes them charges $12 for five or six of them.

[12poundbass]

 

I have been wondering if it would be possible to 3-d print a mold.

 

I was wondering how well the plastic would hold up to the heat, looks like there is some melting where the injector inserts in the one photo or am I mistaken?

If I'm thinking what you're think its just extra material when injecting. Better to have some extra then come up short.

[Karma]

 

If I'm thinking what you're think its just extra material when injecting. Better to have some extra then come up short.

 

I was talking about the last photo you posted, but looking at it more closely it looks like it was just the angle of the photo.

[EZcorer]

 

 

I was talking about the last photo you posted, but looking at it more closely it looks like it was just the angle of the photo.

 

OK, i see what you are looking at i think, at the top of the picture? that is what ran in to the vents. the bottom is the injection point.

 

 

If you can make one for the 10" Senkos you might be on to something. The one company that makes them charges $12 for five or six of them.

 

Hmmmmm.............. let me see what i can do, that might be too big for my printer.

 

I have been wondering if it would be possible to 3-d print a mold.

 

I was wondering how well the plastic would hold up to the heat, looks like there is some melting where the injector inserts in the one photo or am I mistaken?

 

So far they have held up pretty good. i have not had one warp from the heat, you do have to take some precautions with the printed molds. i have a fan blowing on them when i demold and in between shots.

the only heat you need to worry about is leaving them in a hot work shop, then they have a chance of warping.

 

wylder