MoldLay

MoldLay is a new filament with wax-like properties. It is very stiff at room temperature but becomes extrudable when heated to 170-180 °C. This filament was designed by renowned German developer of new 3D printing filaments Kai Parthy of Lay-Filaments. He is the inventor of the most interesting compounds currently filaments such as the Bendlay, the Layfomm or better known as LayWoo-D3 or Lay-Brick, all extremely easy to print to any printer 3D technology FDM / FFF. MoldLay is a filament that can print both molds for the lost wax casting and for permanent mold. It is extremely stable and remains dimensionally rigid at room temperature.

The main features of this filament are:

• Virtually zero strain.
• You can print without a warm bed.
• It is printed with him at temperatures from 170ºC to 180 ºC.
• The molds should be treated at 270 ° C in an oven cooking (is valid a kitchen oven to reach this temperature).

First you must design and print 3D model we want to get through a mold. Once printed with the filament MoldLay, then we must surround this piece with a clay or concrete to harden. Once the block of clay has hardened, it is placed in an oven at about 270 °C. This will melt the MoldLay inside the concrete and cause the flow out of the mold as hot paraffin wax leaving the mold with the perfect way to do laundry. This leaves a great cast within the concrete block, which can be filled with the desired metal then. Once the metal cooled it is time to break the mold and retrieve the object inside, it will be a similar copy to which it was originally printed with the filament MoldLay. The only difference is that metal is rather wax. You can always be some clay or concrete attached to the metal object. This can be removed by immersing the object in citric acid for a few hours. It is a long process, but saves a lot of money by not having to sacrifice the piece in the mold as is done by hand.

MoldLay goes a step further into the world of 3D printing, opening the doors of metal molding parts based on a printed piece in a 3D desktop printer, opening the door to mass production. There have been many attempts at molding starting from a piece made filament for 3D printing, however they all have failed. Many have tried to make this process with the PLA, but this requires having a furnace at a higher temperature to melt. Besides this the melt not easily leave the mold cavities. MoldLay not require such high temperatures and it does not emit toxic fumes when melted. With MoldLay  you can use your kitchen oven. MoldLay is a type of plastic with wax-like properties. At room temperature it is very rigid and solid and becomes extrudable when heated to 170-180°C. When heated in an oven at 270 °C, this liquid becomes a thin oil viscosity.

It is perfect for use on two different techniques of creation: Lost (or lost wax) casting and permanent mold molding. Both traditional techniques are time-consuming creation but it is now easier than ever thanks to the use of a 3D printer.