Hi,  I am concerned about shrinkage in polyurethane vacuum-cast parts during the curing process. These parts have tight tolerances, such as ±0.2 mm, and some features are designed carefully to fit together, such as snap joints or press-fit inserts. Should I make adjustments to my CAD model sizes to account for shrinkage, or is this something that the mold manufacturer automatically takes care of?  

Hi, looking for help with the following. Some of my functional prototypes for vacuum casting have a few tricky undercuts. I’m thinking of using softer silicone for the mold to make demolding easier, but I’m worried it might mess with the dimensional accuracy of the parts. How much does softer silicone really impact accuracy, especially when tight tolerances are involved? 

hi, I’m designing the master model for a silicone mold (for vacuum casting) and wondering about the necessity of incorporating draft angles. Is it always required to include draft angles in the design, or are there specific cases where the material properties, mold complexity, or part geometry allow for skipping them? These holes in a cutaway detail are a good example, should I draft or not draft? thank you

Good evening. I would like to know which 3D printing technology is suitable for small gears with a diameter of 16mm. And what material should be used? Thank you very much.

Hello, I need an aluminum sheet with a perfectly even surface finish since the final look is really important. The problem is, the sheets I’ve used so far have darker stripes or uneven patterns, which won’t work. Has anyone dealt with this before? Would foil sheets or pre-finished aluminum be a good option, or is there a better type of aluminum sheet I should look into?