Hey all, Sami here with Avid CNC. This week were visiting Thingergy in Los
Angeles where they're working on some amazing 10-foot tall statues of
Borderlands three characters. They're going to show us how to use their PRO
CNC to make a foam mold to cast and build a giant fiberglass sword for one
of the characters. They begin by taking the game assets provided to them and
creating a scaled and refined 3d model. This is split in half and mirrored to be
cast into two parts and then reattached at the seam. In the file they will embed
the two halves of the sword into the material and engrave the form of the
sword to create a mold. For this project they use Vectric Aspire to create the 3d
carving tool paths. Here they're using a 10 inch long ball nose. Feeds and speeds
will vary greatly depending on the size and type of your material, router bit and
the scale of the engraving. There are several steps in preparing the foam for casting.
Including them several layers to help seal the foam. First they coat the foam
with an enamel house paint to prevent any materials from soaking into the foam.
Next they brush on a layer wax to help with the texture of the foam as another
sealing layer. Then they spray on a coat of mold release. It's important to make
sure that each of these layers are fully dried or cured before moving onto the
next step. Now the mold is ready for casting, first
they brush in a thick layer of epoxy making sure to coat all of the surfaces.
This initial layer will be what is sanded down and finished after being
released from the mold so consistent application is important.
Next they mix a two-part epoxy and a healthy dose of chopped fiberglass. You
can adjust the proportions of epoxy to fiberglass depending on the viscosity
that you're aiming for.
This is brushed in and evenly distributed to help create the shell of
the sword.
Finally to give the sword strength they cut lengths of fiberglass cloth
overlapping the strips and tapping them into the wet resin from the last layer.
Epoxy and fiberglass are messy and often creates sharp uneven edges, they begin to
clean up the edges here with a pneumatic rinder to match the edge to the top
layer of the foam. To release the sword from the mold they begin by soaking the
foam in water and then shooting water and compressed
air between the fiberglass structure and the foam to break the seal.
Then they go on to clean up the edges and surfaces of the sculpture. The Thingergy
team did an amazing job at what they do best, making really cool things! They
assembled the cast parts, finish the surfaces, painted it and installed LED
lights. Thanks everyone for watching and we hope this inspires you to use your
CNC in new and creative ways! Big thanks to Thingergy for sharing some
of their CNC tips and fabrication processes with us. We can't wait to see
what you make next!
[Music by Wintergatan]