3d printing Manix ball bearing cages

[Paraguy]

I'm not sure if I want to use PLA for the casting. I could get a lot more detail if I used resin. But it seems that resin doesn't burn as easily unless you buy the 100 dollar bottle for burning resin. Does anyone here know of an inexpensive burnable resin?
I may just make a silicone mold and use wax.

How hot does your furnace get?

You should be able to crank it up, put the mold in for a short while and end up with a mold full of plastic dust. Pour the metal in and it will push all that dust out the top of the mold.

That's how I am planning on doing the molds for some parts that I am casting for a different project.

Cool to hear from another person interested in casting. Im not sure the exact temperature but probably around 2000 its a handmade propane forge not a furnace. It doesn't have a dial either. It's very simple.

That should be plenty. I was going to just print a thin, low infill piece, make the mold and then pour the metal. But, I decided that I would bake the mold first and then pour. In theory, it should lower(hopefully eliminate) the chance of contamination/partial melt.

I'm set up and ready to go, I just need to finish the parts. But, I'm still test fitting and making little adjustments.

It's all trial by fire.

Nice! Make sure to keep us all updated on how it going if you can. :)

[Paraguy]

I purchased a couple from a guy that used to sell them on ebay and on another small business oriented online shop whose name escapes me at the moment... he had a bunch of colours to choose from, but the problem was they just broke after a few months, they both broke right where the ball bearing sits, I will look through my email and see if I can find some more useful details. I'd love to see this happen, someone needs to get Flytanium on their toes, I have had two of the last 5 cages I bought from them be misshapen to the point of not working, there's no excuse for that, they have a good product in theory but their QC is way past unacceptable IMO.

I agree. The problem is that they have a monopoly. As long as that's the case we can expect high prices for low quality product. More competition means lower prices and higher innovation. That's the beauty of the free market.
Although I agree it needs to be done, Im not sure if I'm the one to do it. There's another fellow on here that has started 3d printing metal cages. He wants to sell them but he's holding off until 2023 for legal purposes.

[Josh Crutchley]

This is a clear one I printed on my resin printer so you have an idea once your is fixed how it should look. I printed it upside down so the top is slightly deformed from it being an overhang. I'm going to try a few different print orientations and if that doesn't work I'll have to add more material to just sand off. The clear sands really well so removing material is no problem if its there to begin with. I didn't do a very good job of removing supports on this one. You can see the bearing so that's pretty cool. Can't wait to see the one Paraguy casts.

[Paraguy]

This is a clear one I printed on my resin printer so you have an idea once your is fixed how it should look. I printed it upside down so the top is slightly deformed from it being an overhang. I'm going to try a few different print orientations and if that doesn't work I'll have to add more material to just sand off. The clear sands really well so removing material is no problem if its there to begin with. I didn't do a very good job of removing supports on this one. You can see the bearing so that's pretty cool. Can't wait to see the one Paraguy casts.

Thanks Josh! I'll try to keep everyone updated. But it will take some time to get materials and to squeeze it in to my schedule.

[Paraguy]

Once I get going I'll have to experiment with the various alloys and see what works. Im guessing Im gonna want a little extra copper in the brass.

[Josh Crutchley]

Once I get going I'll have to experiment with the various alloys and see what works. Im guessing Im gonna want a little extra copper in the brass.

Any update on the casting?

[Paraguy]

Once I get going I'll have to experiment with the various alloys and see what works. Im guessing Im gonna want a little extra copper in the brass.

Any update on the casting?
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Well, my friend purchased an actual kiln so now I can make more precise burnouts. However, I need to get a smelting pot because the last one got destroyed. As of right now, I have not yet attempted to cast the Manix cage.

[Josh Crutchley]

Well, my friend purchased an actual kiln so now I can make more precise burnouts. However, I need to get a smelting pot because the last one got destroyed. As of right now, I have not yet attempted to cast the Manix cage.

Well make sure to let us know when you do. I want to give injection molding a try with 3d printed molds. There's resin capable of making multiple parts from one mold.

[Paraguy]

Here's a mold of your design Josh: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5322678

[Paraguy]

The way that it is designed you actually cant remove the cage from the mold unless you make a simple modification first, by removing the material that makes the ball cavity. You can then easily add the cavity back in after the cage is cast using a Dremel tool.

[Paraguy]

close up of manix 2 mold.jpg (9.78 KiB) Viewed 411 times

As you can see it needs to be modified before use in order to remove the finished product. This can be easily done by removing the material that makes the ball cavity. After its cast, you can put the cavity back in with a Dremel tool.