Vacuum casting material guide
Every setting that lives on a Vacuum casting material, and where each number comes from - usually a supplier's data sheet or an invoice.
A material is something you buy, so most of these numbers are on an invoice or a data sheet rather than in your head. Price and density are the two that matter most; get those right and everything else is a refinement.
Materials live in the Library too, so a price change is one edit even if five configurations use it.
Every setting on this page
These are in the same order as the editor, with the same help text. Each one has an anchor, and the ? beside a field in your console links straight to it - so if you are reading this because you clicked one, the setting you were looking at is highlighted.
Resin: casting
Mould lifemould_life_shotsbasic
Castings one silicone mould gives in this resin before it tears or loses its surface.
Price: A new mould is made every this many castings, so it decides how the mould cost spreads.
Typical: 15-25.
Resin wastewaste_pct
Resin mixed but not in the part: cup residue, gates, risers.
Price: Added to the resin of every casting.
Typical: 20-35 %.
Oven curecure_min
Oven cure before the casting can be demoulded.
Price: Reported as oven hours on every casting.
Typical: 45-120 min.
Thinnest wallmin_wall_mm
Thinnest wall this resin fills reliably.
Price: No direct price effect: the threshold of the thin-wall warning.
Typical: 0.8-1.5 mm.
Thick section abovethick_section_mm
Sections thicker than this overheat as they cure and shrink or yellow.
Price: No direct price effect: the threshold of the thick-section hint.
Typical: 10-20 mm.
Needs pressure cureneeds_pressure_cure
Whether this resin must cure under pressure, as clear resins do.
Price: Restricts it to chambers with pressure cure.
Typical: On for clear resins.