Advice needed for mould making.

[Dinoboy]

Hi there,

Looking for a bit of advice re mould making, I want to make a car badge around 6cm x 12cm as a new one is around £300.
What is the best way to go about this without an original badge to use as a template?
Can anyone give me pointers also on the mould making process?
Thanks.

[SV8Predator]

Can you post a pic of the badge to give us something to reference to?

It may be straightforward, there are a number of ways to do it, 3D printing perhaps, but give us something to work with please.

[Red Firecracker]

The mould making is the easy bit, the hard bit for you will be making the master as it really will have to be top notch as any imperfection will come out and be replicated in the mould. As mentioned above, an idea of the badge would help greatly.

[SV8Predator]

Red Firecracker said:

it really will have to be top notch as any imperfection will come out and be replicated in the mould.

The 'real' badge is only £300. The process of producing an accurate master 'with no imperfections' (and the cost that this entails) is not what he's thinking about.

[Dinoboy]

SV8Predator said:

Can you post a pic of the badge to give us something to reference to?

It may be straightforward, there are a number of ways to do it, 3D printing perhaps, but give us something to work with please.

Thanks for the replies guys.

[dr_gn]

If you go the 3D printing route - presumably to make a new badge rather than a master for moulding - ideally you'll need access to an original to get measurements or a scan. If you've got access to an original, you could fairly easily make a silicone mould by coating it in release agent and building a dam around it. There are plenty of DIY resin moulding kits available. I've just been through this process with a replacement teardrop fairing for a model car.

What I would be concerned about is damaging the original paintwork on either the car or the badge. I doubt it would be a issue, but...

[AER]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyQmEG9qmfw

[bucksmanuk]

Why make a mould?
If you know anyone with access to a CAD system and can do some modelling, export it out as a .STL file and send it to these guys:-
http://www.sunpe.com/

We were gob smacked at how much work they did at work for us, and charged $800 including the shipment back in 7 days- yes from China!
They machined from solid ABS a new type of coupling (about 10" dia) for a subsea connector, very impressive... I have no link with these guys, just impressed at the speed and the low cost.
UK RP companies had yet to return with a quote, and the parts were already on the desk.