Formlabs announces Castable Wax Resin

Our casting support page has two suggested burnout schedules. The first general purpose method is 14 hours long. There is also a short schedule (8 hours) that might be appropriate for certain geometries and investment types. Full details linked below!

https://support.formlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000039219#schedule

Is this a replacement for Castable or a new product offering? Will original Castable be discontinued?

Let me ask you somerthwing because the bigest group of users for this kind of ressin and printer are dental technicians. there are fare more dental technicians that jewelry makers how does this ressin performs when is used in dental laboratory because we don’t have a luxury of 8 hours burnout or 14 hours burnout because I am burnig 3-4 investment flasks a day. Can you give me some information about this issue? Even I am willing to test it my self if you can send me a sample of this ressin. Currently I am using castable v2 but not so satisfied with some of the properties that v2 have. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

Is this a replacement for Castable or a new product offering? Will original Castable be discontinued?

Castable Wax is a new product offering.

Castable V2 is Formlabs’ original material (well, version 2 of it) for investment casting, and Formlabs will continue to support it (and sell it) to avoid disrupting the workflows of customers who have already developed successful workflows using it.

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Any user here interested in doing comparative print and cast BlueCast vs Formlabs Wax Resin? Same models, same flask, same burnout, obviously if this is acceptable for Formlabs, here we are guests.

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If anyone is interested, I reformatted the burnout schedule to be more friendly to 3-button and 12-button kiln controllers. I’m primarily a glass artist, and most of our kiln schedules follow a format that shows ramp in degrees per hour, then the “arrive” temperature, then the amount of hold in minutes. Each segment in a program contains these three bits of information.

The other schedules require math (horrors!!). Hopefully this is helpful.

These are based on this article, which can also explain the difference between the standard 14-hour schedule and the 8-hour schedule. The 8-hour schedule is used for models weighing under 1 gram, in flasks smaller than 6”/150mm, and using a stronger investment than the R&R Plasticast.
https://support.formlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000039219#schedule


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OH, Thanks Kat! I was wondering what it might be for smaller stuff. I was thinking of using some molds for pate de verre. That’s helpful, makes complete sense to me. I just got my printer back from the Formlabs Homeworld, for a refurbish
Works great now. Got the ceramic resin, dying to try it too.

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(Right now I’m at 14 hours on my burnout and the kiln still has two hours to go before casting
my old schedules were very close to the estimate, but my experience with the new castable wax looks like it might be more like 16 hours
anyone else have numbers to share?)

@AnnDavisStudio, that’s so cool! I’ve taken a couple of pate de verre classes and I would like to incorporate it into my jewelry. I also TA for a woman who does glass casting sculptures. Check out Alicia Lomne and Linda Ethier. Two other glass artists are Bob Leatherbarrow and Richard Parrish. They do amazing things with glass.

Have you ever made molds for pate de verre? You can easily do pate de verre by modeling a shape in water-based or plasticine clay, then building a little mold box (I use legos!) and fill with a plaster mix that’s 50% silica flour and 50% pottery plaster. Then turn it over when set and pull out the clay, then pack with crushed glass/frit. So you can make any shape that way, but it’s a single use mold that can be fired in the same kiln you use for burnout. I’ve been experimenting with making a 3D printed model with no undercuts, with the intention of making a rubber mold from it to be able to do multiples. Seems like making a 3D-printed cabochon mold would be divine!

Anyway, PM me if you’d like! I love where the mediums overlap



Wow that came out big! I don’t often post here, but read everything, so much to learn.

Those are wonderful artists!! That’s big glass, I do jewelry size, been doing glass for 30 years. In my other life, I’m a goldsmith:)) This pix is about 18 yrs old. It’s amazing how our lives intersect and yet we don’t meet. Maybe we will some day:)) I got sidetracked from glass into enameling the last 8 years, teaching at Sawtooth in a couple of weeks. Enameling, that’s baby glass! But with the printer, hahaha I waited for that for 20 years! Kept seeing them demoed at Tuscon, the big ones, and other places goldsmiths and gemologists hang out
anyway as I’m mastering the 3D programs I’m thinking of more uses than just a substitute for wax carving. I LOVE my printer!!

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That’s great!

I’ve noticed that jewelry people and women don’t post much work on this forum

Kathleen

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HOLEEE FRIJOLE! That’s amazing work, Ann! I bow to the master
it’s so nice to meet you!

My folks bought me an enameling kiln when I was about 10 after a trip to YMCA of the Rockies, which had an enameling setup in the art studio. Of course, that means I was playing around with lead-based enamels and probably even the depleted uranium ones (Forsythia Yellow and Burnt Orange Thompson). I always wondered
twitch
why
twitch
I had that annoying
twitch! :smiley:

I used to live in Denver near a jewelry artist named Lexi Erickson, so when I moved there I took a couple lessons then worked with her at Wubbers, the plier company. Her fortĂ© was definitely large statement pieces. I was also a systems engineer with Apple and a technical trainer in the past, and we worked a bit with CAD. I needed the parametric CAD capabilities of something like SketchUp for a particular two-piece interchangeable jewelry project—accurate dimensioning was key—but I learned that I couldn’t sculpt in SketchUp easily, so I started looking for something else. I have since learned how to force ZBrush to make accurate models, especially for setting stones.

About 2 years ago I picked up ZBrush—the only program in my life that made me CRY—but now I understand it and post tutorials on YouTube. I’m working on a full-blown course, but I absolutely LOVE that program for jewelry.

We have so many cool people up here on the forum, so I’m so glad you shared your work
it looks like you were way ahead of your time! And @kkingcgi, it’s so nice to meet you, too. It’s nice to find other girls working in 3D and jewelry.

ZBrush made me cry!! Hahahaha!!
Ohh Thompson’s I love it you can still buy the originals on e-namels.com I have tons, but I mostly use the French Soyer enamels
they are leaded too but I think it improves the clarity. Oh gosh, will have to look up your YouTube!! Sooo glad to meet you!! Yes!! Lexi, bet there are a lot of other peeps we both know
excellent, see you on PM.

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No shrinkage but have had issues w casting w you normal casting house

Back When zBrush was brand new
 I actually called the company to ask them if they could PLEASE do something about having THE WORST USER INTERFACE, EVER.
I suggested several things that would make it a much more facile sculpting app.

The guy told me, in a kind of pissed off tone, that zBrush was NOT a sculpting app
 it was a 2.5D PAINTING app.

“yeah,” I replied," But you guys DO know, don’t you, that NO ONE is USING it for that, right?" EVERYONE is using it to do sculpture
 and since THAT is what your userbase is doing with it, maybe you could make the app a little easier to use in that regard? "

The Guy literally told me to buy Maya if I want to do 3D modeling
 that that was not what zBrush was for.

So- Yeah zBrush made me cry, too.

Hahaha! Too funny :wink:

Wax resin is good. It works.
Thanks.

hello
I did some tests with resin, unfortunately I have to do the post-curing otherwise the plaster breaks.
For technical reasons I can not follow the firing chart of the oven because the pieces are put together with objects of normal wax.

ring sample of FB casted very well, but my print in wax resin casted so poor
I think i will test curing too
Does FB cure their ring samples? hmhm

I have Castable Wax 40 and I’m facing major shrinkage issues.Pls help