I thought silicone was the best, but I can't find silicone in the list of solidworks materials.
I thought silicone was the best, but I can't find silicone in the list of solidworks materials.
Do you want the short or long answer?
I'll take the short answer
Here's the short answer:
2017 SOLIDWORKS Help - Creating a Custom Material
EH, I'll give you a long answer anyway.
Plastic Moulding Techniques - Rotational, Injection, Compression, Blow
Top 5 Types of Plastic Molding | The Rodon Group®
A Simple Guide To Plastic Molding
There are many more resources on the interweb... not sure SW forums are the best place for some of your questions.
does the long answer include a long list of questions?
Silicone will not work.
Silicone is simply another "plastic" and it will melt when it comes in contact with another molten plastic.
Also, plastic parts are molded by injecting the molten plastic using several thousand pound of pressure...which would deform/destroy a silicone mold.
Injection molds are typically made from some type of steel or aluminum alloy.
Commonly used steel alloys for making injection molds:
P-20
420SS
H-13
S-7
A-2
There are many more that are used...that is just a very short list.
Commonly used aluminum alloys for making injection molds:
6061
7075
M1
QC10
There are many more that are used...that is just a very short list.
Silicone is not a thermoplastic, so has a higher heat resistance, hence silicone baking trays etc. That said it won't like hot plastic at pressure. And won't remain true under tonnes of pressure either. But if he's doing a mold for some low volume casting, silicone would be a great choice.
Actually, for super short run (prototype), you can use urethane casting for ABS material
You can also add texture on the plastic part too
Silicone will not work.
Silicone is simply another "plastic" and it will melt when it comes in contact with another molten plastic.
Also, plastic parts are molded by injecting the molten plastic using several thousand pound of pressure...which would deform/destroy a silicone mold.
Injection molds are typically made from some type of steel or aluminum alloy.
Commonly used steel alloys for making injection molds:
P-20
420SS
H-13
S-7
A-2
There are many more that are used...that is just a very short list.
Commonly used aluminum alloys for making injection molds:
6061
7075
M1
QC10
There are many more that are used...that is just a very short list.