roymattblack Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I'm after a pump and chamber for de-gassing silicone moulds and resin castings. Full kits are out there and a reasonable sized chamber means a cost of £200 - £250. However, I can buy the chamber and gauge etc for about £65. I have a brand new air brush compressor - can I use it somehow as the extraction pump??? Anyone know? Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshiretaurus Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I use one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-5-CFM-2-Stage-Rotary-Vane-Vacuum-Pump-mini-pump-/261895127669 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krow113 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 (edited) Heres a couple shots of my setup. The vac pump is left over from my neon work, the pot is a pressure cooker with a lexan window for viewing. Thee is a valve on top to relieve vacuum .The vac gauge came from a fellow Vancouver IPMS member. I dont think a compressor can be rigged for vacuum, but dont know for sure. I pulled lab vac for the neon work , not needed for casting , as I apply vac I can vary the 'pull' with the valve on top , also vacuum can be relieved , pushing the casting material into the mould. Dont know what you are casting but setting up for metal casting may be an alternative, see my Metal Casting Work thread on here. Edited September 23, 2016 by krow113 adding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazer Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Hi Matt, put this in eBay & you will get some good prices on a vacc pump. Single Stage 2.5CFM 1/4HP Rotary Vane Deep Refrigeration Vacuum Pump Equipments I use the air input pipe work on my Bambi compressor in reverse to draw a vacc on my own home made chamber & it works for me! Mark D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealMrEd Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 If you're really looking to cast perfect parts, go with the pressure casting setup. I've used both and pressure beats vacuum hands down. That said, vacuum is better than nothing at all. A few posts down in this forum, I show how to make a really cheap vacuum pot, but also there is this article on a dual-purpose pot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Hi pal, i modded an airbrush compressor to suck instead of blow to make a vaccum chamber. It did work (as it can collapse a plastic coke bottle etc) but not enough of a vaccum to degas resin. Best off with a proper vaccum pump... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 Many thanks all you guys. I don't really have time to convert, mod or make stuff, so a ready-made setup (Ebay) might be best - if a bit more costly. Roy. Many thanks all you guys. I don't really have time to convert, mod or make stuff, so a ready-made setup (Ebay) might be best - if a bit more costly. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now