Monday, October 24, 2011

Project, Day 2

New Doc Project
Day 2
Ventuckey, Calif.
Summer/ Fall 2011




Cool thing #107 about being unemployed continued...

After successfully testing the furnace and smelting process it was time to sand cast the very first prototype. This is to be the fist cast in a very long process of casts in order to complete the final test piece. Because of the intricacy of the final device, the limited tools available, and the quirks of sand casting it is altogether impossible to fashion a model of the final device and use that model to cast the prototype. Instead the model of the prototype must be built up layer by layer by melting and casting aluminum over and over again.

This first cast will start to simply give a basic shape to the device. Once cast it will be drilled and sanded down to a finished shape. Then that shape will be built up in essential areas in order to serve as the model for the next cast. Future casts will build on this shape, each following cast adding a bit more to the original shape. Eventually after a series of upwards of a dozen casts the hope is to have a finished model with which to cast the actual prototype. It is thankless work but you got to start somewhere.






Sand.


Cast; Pre-Pour.


First Look; Post-Pour.


Drill.

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