Hello, as many of us I use Shapeways services to build my master copies in order to clone them with silicone molds and then resin casts. One issue I noticed is that seldom I receive from Shapeways some pieces not perfectly dry. Those "wet" pieces have a problem when in contact with the liquid silicone used for the molds. Once the silicone dries It is supposed not to attach to the master copy piece. It is so just when the master copy is dry, when it is "wet" the silicone sticks on it making impossible to remove the mastercopy without damaging the mold. The solution is simple: dry every shapeways' piece out. But how? I do not want to damage them. What could I use? Alcohol? Acetone? I do not have any idea what to use... Excuse my horrible English, I hope I made myself clear. Thanks!
I am making silicone molds from Frosted Extreme Detail models that did not seem to be fully cured. The first mold had many areas where the RTV silicone bonded to the Frosted Extreme Detail model. Consequently there was tearing of the mold rubber and breakage of the model while cutting the mold. I used a film of Vaseline (petroleum jelly or white petrolatum) on the second model and the mold released from the model very well without any any bonding.
I'd recommend a short bath in white spirit or alcohol if you can't find that at a craft store. A dish soap+water bath and some gentle toothbrush scrubbing works for WSF, but for fragile FUD models with small parts, this can cause some breakage.
Hi Claudius 67, I have been having similar problems. I don't think the cause is uncured print model. My experience makes me believe the explanation may be due to chemical changes in the materials. I have made a separate post on this subject here: https://www.shapeways.com/forum/t/silicone-rubber-bonding-with-fine-detail-plastic.98427/ Did you ever find a solution to the problem?