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Making a compression mold. (2 Viewers)

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Erich Wise

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Anyone know the specifics other then @David Spragg? I have wanted to for a long time now and just use some polymer clay to try and make my own chips, but then I thought why reinvent the wheel? If I can make the mold perhaps David would use it? Problem is, I've never seen one, so I am unsure all the requirements.
 
Holy crap what an awesome story!

They don't actually seem that hard to make. I'm curious if there'd be interest from anyone else other than myself. Or if David would have any interest entertaining such nonsense.
 
I think i saw in a thread somewhere it was over $10,000
 
I'd mostly be interested in making my own molds, but if after trying it out I don't say forget it then it could be fun to create a group buy to make it worth it, like a contest/poll for a mold per year or something. The molds would go to CPC and be open to the community.
 
I'm not talking about commissioning it either, I'm talking about making them myself and with a couple friends. We are makers and artists. Almost every tool I own has been made by someone I know. (power tools not included, I mostly make with hand tools, and while I haven't done much blacksmithing or metal lathe work in a long time, I have friends who do.) Anyway, it's just a thought at this point. My partner was talking about how she really liked the A mold as the "A" reminded her of the Aleph, or the very first "a" in history (she is a ancient near east scholar) the "A" comes from a Bull and horns. I asked her what kind of set she would like to see and she immediately came up with some cool ideas. We are thinking through something along the lines of "stolen gods" or Assyrian / Sumerian theme. Still at the very beginnings, I am a very slow paced artist.
 
Psypher1000 said:
At last check, it was $24k at the drop of a dime to make a new mold that is CPC compatible.

True story.
Click to expand...

Someday a big baller will step up and design one. It would be cool and I'd love to see it.
 
Although doing a group buy of a new mold at once a year and just commissioning it would be pretty easy at that price. It would cost members the price of a latte a month, lol. Combined into a pot of course.
 
Cups aren't that expensive, but the master hobs are not cheap or easy to create. The needed complex and integrated mold high-pressure steam plumbing really drives up the cost.

It's not nearly as simple as one might think.
 
I know they would not be cheap making the electrodes for the EDM you would need at least 2-3 of them to get a good clarity when burning them.
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
 
I was lucky enough to actually see several of ASM's molds out in Las Vegas a few years ago, during the brief period when ASM was there. My wife and I had dinner with Mike D, and also visited the factory and saw them make chips. Mike and his former partner, Red, had parted ways by then.

The day we visited, the H mold was in one of the machines. As soon as you see the mold, you are immediately aware that you are looking at something from another era. The size, weight, precision and artistry of it is quite impressive.
 
I know some machinists with CNC and Sinker EDMs that I work with in business. I will ask them to quote a steel mold based of a basic design so that we have a reference point. I can complete the 3D CAD modeling of the mold and that may help save some cost. In reality, the steel isn't very much upfront cost, I can do the 3D CAD modeling for free, and we are probably looking at a few hours machine time + setup. I am speculating at under $5K for a custom steel mold that would last decades for light duty molding like this.

Also, I am reaching out to a retired Kodak mold engineer who has designed molds far more complex than what we are after. This guy has pioneered molding tech while working for Kodak over his career and will be an excellent resource for our adventure.
 
FinnPD said:
I know some machinists with CNC and Sinker EDMs that I work with in business. I will ask them to quote a steel mold based of a basic design so that we have a reference point. I can complete the 3D CAD modeling of the mold and that may help save some cost. In reality, the steel isn't very much upfront cost, I can do the 3D CAD modeling for free, and we are probably looking at a few hours machine time + setup. I am speculating at under $5K for a custom steel mold that would last decades for light duty molding like this.

Also, I am reaching out to a retired Kodak mold engineer who has designed molds far more complex than what we are after. This guy has pioneered molding tech while working for Kodak over his career and will be an excellent resource for our adventure.
Click to expand...
Make sure they understand it is thermal cycling within minutes - going from room temp to max heat and then back to room temp. Switching between heating steam and cooling water.
Also make sure it’s producing at least 20 chips at a time.
 
BGinGA said:
Cups aren't that expensive, but the master hobs are not cheap or easy to create. The needed complex and integrated mold high-pressure steam plumbing really drives up the cost.

It's not nearly as simple as one might think.
Click to expand...
Which part are the hobs? The part that pushes into the cup right? Not a knowledgeable person when it comes to industrial tech.
 
Last edited:
I guess it's all relative, but they seem in the same ballpark. Redbelly said a set of 20 cups cost around $8k in 2014. Psypher said a brand new mold (so at least a hob, possibly also cups) cost $24k in 2019.

Redbelly also said cups today would be made with CNC so wouldn't need a hob.
 
The same thing that comes up over and over in these threads is “how expensive is it to do X?” Where X is assumed to be the same old specific process that was originally used.

There’s significant integration risk involved in attempting to swap out one step in an industrial process but I at least have never seen it substantiated here why in all the decades of continued innovation since the start of hot compressed clay chips it’s assumed there’s no new better way to do make the same end product.

Ah you see we just have to keep maintaining the books on paper and pencil because excel seems nice and all but you don’t understand, our books are /*%**^ complex *^*\^|^| *waves hands*
 
I have this idea once a month but don't have the bandwidth to pursue it right now. But I basically agree with you that this is the next evolution of chipping and my bet is that someone is going to do a good hobbyist version of it in the next few years.
 

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