We’ve seen some incredibly fine 3D prints emerge from the Form 1 resin-based 3D printer and now Formlabs has shown another use of their fascinating device: mold making.
We think the Form 1 would be a tremendous machine for mold making. Why? Because its fine detail provides a big advantage over traditional plastic extrusion 3D printers.
We’ve attempted to make molds several times with the extrusion-based 3D printers here at Fabbaloo Labs, but we have usually been disappointed in the results. The problem seems to be that the layering carries through to the molded object. This can be cured by painstakingly smoothing either the mold or object by abrasive sanding.
Another issue is cleaning the mold. Depending on the substance being molded, it could be massively challenging to clean a mold after one operation, particularly if you’ve been molding chocolate (don’t ask.)
The Form 1’s output is so finely detailed that these problems should be minimized, as you can see in the image above.
Via Formlabs
