How To Repair Wax Bust

p/n 33-D207 Rev A

The 2500 IC is capable of printing a wide variety of patterns. This includes modest fragile features and large robust features. Wax has been used for centuries equally the go-to material for investment casting applications. It's no cloak-and-dagger that wax patterns are fragile and should be handled with intendance; damage and breakage can occur and return your design useless. Some techniques tin can exist used to attempt to repair defects or breaks caused from the treatment process.  At that place is quite a bit of information available on the worldwide spider web if you search for "repair wax figure" or visit sites such as http://world wide web.freemanwax.com/how-to.html or the jewelry forums. As well, there are many videos on YouTube if you lot search for topics such as wax welding or wax repair. Hand carved wax models accept been used for lost wax casting of art and jewelry for centuries and in that location are abundant tools and products and classes available. Our studies have shown that all of the usual repair methods for molded wax patterns work with the 2500IC printed RealWax™ patterns.

NOTE: Remember to follow all local condom codes and procedures when working with hot or abrupt tools.

Section 1:  Missing Material such every bit Holes and Voids

Through normal handling of wax you may come across gouges, dents, or scratches in your patterns. These can exist

repaired easily by 1 of ii methods:

              Method i: Melting VisiJet M2 ICast and depositing into void

              Method ii: Application of paste and patch wax into void

Method i:

For Small Holes and Depressions

Dents, dings, and scratches tin can be filled in using excess VisiJet M2 ICast material. If you have a non-repairable pattern consider melting this for use in repair. If you lot demand material delight contact applications support for a small costless disk of M2 ICast Repair Wax.  Mostly, a infinitesimal corporeality, such as 2-3 drops, is all that is required for near small holes, unless yous take a long scratch or furrow.  Excessive application of the repair fabric should be avoided, every bit it only creates more work later to remove it. Use a torch, heated soldering iron, or hot wire and cook tiny amounts of solid ICast Wax on the tip, moving to new locations after the melted wax drips down.  And so use wax carving tools, scalpels, knives, etc to slowly and advisedly shave off excess repair wax. Terminate when there is still a very slight raised amount.  Use a gentle abrasive scrubber or #0000 steel wool to slowly remove the remaining backlog repair wax.  Smooth and blend the repair into the surrounding surface.  Inspect for complete fill up of all voids.  If necessary, repeat the drip-shave-smooth process to take intendance of whatever places that were missed.  Meet Section 2 for more info.

Cylindrical wax bar with text and grooves engraved to a depth of 0.040 inch (i mm). Repair wax dripped on negative features.

Shaving thin layers of excess repair wax from a filled in groove.

Surface later starting time laissez passer of filling and then smoothing with scrubbing pad.

The surface later on second iteration of fill and polishing is polish and flat with text completely filled in. NOTE that although the text and groove locations remain visible, the surface is smoothen and sleeky, every bit witnessed past the light reflecting off the surface.

For Very Large Voids and Valleys

Gear up wax surfaces to be filled past gently roughing the surface with an abrasive pad and clearing the surfaces of any additional wax pieces. Cook VisiJet M2 ICast in a wax pot, an electric frying pan, or in a small dish using a hotplate, or other controlled heat source. Ensure that the wax is completely liquid. Place tape on portions of the pattern that need to be protected from leakage, and accidental drips. Tape can besides be used to course a mold to contain the molten wax. Try to isolate the void or gulley under repair. Pour molten wax into the void to exist filled. A spoon or small ladle is a useful tool to apply the liquid wax. Act quickly and then the molten wax does non freeze onto your dispensing device. It is OK in this pace to add backlog wax to the void. Allow wax to cool and remove any tape. Utilise wax-carving tools to remove any excess wax from the pattern.Clean up and smooth repaired surfaces with abrasive pads or ultra fine steel wool, every bit in previous department on repair of small holes and depressions.

Earlier repair

Later on repair

Top view after repair.

Method ii:

Shallow dents and scratches can be filled using paste / patch wax. At that place are many commercial types of paste and patch wax available for small-scale repairs in patterns, gates, and runners—some are more malleable than others. The type of defect yous need to set up will govern which blazon of wax is used. The technique is identical to that used for filling voids with putty or caulking.

Typical void that can be repaired.

Apply a generous corporeality of soft malleable wax onto a gloved finger. Button wax into any small void or negative feature. Smoothen out the surface or shape the paste wax with your finger. Wipe any excess away using a soft, lint-free cloth.

Awarding of patch wax to the void.

Department two:  Excess Material such as Bumps and Ridges

You may occasionally notice raised areas and slight protrusions from the surface of your patterns. There are a variety of methods that may remove these areas of concern:

Method one:Wax pen, temperature controlled soldering iron or heated tools

Method 2:Wax cutting/carving tools

Method 3:Gentle Abrasives (#0000 steel wool, non-scratch Scotchbrite® scrubs, etc), or buffing with soft lint-free textile

Often the best approach is to use a combination of these methods, starting with the more than aggressive wax removal tools, and ending with abrading and polishing. It is important to patiently remove small-scale amounts of backlog wax. Avoid all urges to rush, it is very easy to sideslip with sharp tools and create new harm, worse than the original problems. Tedious and steady is the watchword for all wax repairs.

Note:  Do Non bring torches nor open flame near your patterns, every bit it is likely that this will melt or misconstrue or damage them beyond repair.

Wax pattern with intentionally placed  0.040 inch (1 mm) tall hemispherical positive bumps.

Method i:  Warm tools, such as a heated spatula will readily cook and smooth out defects extending from the pattern surface. It is difficult to prevent melting of adjacent regions and creating a larger defect area, so we do not recommend this approach unless it is unremarkably used for sprue/gate repair at your facility and you are an practiced and well-practiced in the art.

Method ii:  A abrupt chisel, scalpel, hobby pocketknife or similar tool tin be used to shave down bumps of wax extending from the pattern surface. Use light pressure and short strokes to gently shave away the excess. Be wary: wax volition crusade tools to grab and stick unpredictably, leaving churr marks and unintended high and low spots.

Bumps have been shaved downward by v-15 passes with scalpel.

Method 3:

Gentle annoying pads such as Scotchbrite™ and ultra fine steel wool are perhaps the best mode to attack pocket-sized protrusions. Be certain to use the to the lowest degree annoying pads available, as coarse pads will readily impairment your blueprint surface. Utilise gentle pressure level and stroke dorsum-and-along over the defect in several directions. Only a very small corporeality of material is removed with each pass, so accept your time and do not give up quickly. As in sanding a wood or metal surface, several levels of abrasive pads should be used.  Commencement with the coarsest and finish with the finest. Eventually, you volition begin to shine the surface which is a sign that repair is nearly consummate. Inspect from several angles to ensure that all the defects take been removed in all locations and that the blueprint surface is smoothen and uniform.  Do non worry if the white surface is removed or looks slightly scratched, this is merely a cosmetic condition and will non be visible after casting.

Bumpy region after buffing with mild annoying pad.

Very small-scale bumps and filaments tin often be quickly buffed abroad with a soft material or a gloved finger in just a few passes as shown below.

Wax pattern with 0.020 inch (0.5 mm) tall hemispherical bumps that tin exist removed past a gloved finger.

Department 3:  Consummate Pattern Breakage

Sometimes patterns break in such a manner where you are left with two or more than pieces. Typically these types of breaks occur during treatment or accidental dropping. Some breaks lend themselves to repair more others.

Breaks with a nice make clean cross section tin can easily be bonded together—smaller cross sections or small features may be more difficult to bond back together consistently. Alignment of broken patterns must be done strictly by eye. This may leave you with slight imperfections at the joint of the broken pieces.

The overall idea hither is to unite the pieces and turn a major defect (broken) into a modest defect (irregularities along the mend line), and then repair the minor problems with the techniques previously covered. Although in that location are many means to bond multiple segments of wax patterns back together, here are two techniques we suggest you try:

Method 1:Wax welding using a wax pen, wax welder, or temperature controlled soldering iron

Method two:Gluing and positive reduction via mechanical abrasion

Method ane:

Prepare surfaces of wax to gratuitous them of droppings and trial fit for alignment of the ii pieces.

Employ a wax pen or soldering iron with a small tip or attached wire at moderate rut—non besides hot. ~ 175F (80 C).

Information technology is often a expert practise to use a fixture to securely concur your cleaved design together while under repair.  Mate the pieces together and cook the iron'due south tip almost halfway into the joint betwixt the cleaved pieces and remove.

This volition weld both sides of the break together. Allow the wax to freeze and repeat additional times in other locations along the break.  When possible, be sure to weld on all outside surfaces of the break.

Pattern with undercut break

Pattern with welds (hot wire visible in upper correct).

Once the welds take cooled and united the pieces of the pattern, the adjacent pace is to repair the minor damage done by the welding.  Drip repair wax to fill up in the valleys and depressions made by the hot iron and create a positive weld bead.

A fine tipped hot fe can be used to carefully spread and smooth out the backlog wax.

Note: This can be the terminal pace of the repair if information technology is easy to grind away the bead and clean upward the metallic surface after casting.

Weld dewdrop (side i).

Weld bead (side 2).

Alternatively, apply a patch wax to fill in any depressions; smooth; and then skip the next two steps.

Use wax carving tools and/or hot shaping tools to remove backlog repair wax downward to pattern surface.  Take care not to gouge or drive the edges of precipitous tools into the pattern surface on either side of the weld.

Removing excess repair wax from raised weld bead.

Finally, use annoying pads and/or very fine steel wool to polish out whatsoever remaining imperfections. Take intendance that the modest bits of your pad or steel wool that break off during utilize do not remain stuck on the surfaces.

Beneath is the blueprint with all repair operations consummate.

Repaired and finished pattern.

Wax Welding can as well be used to join sections together to course a blueprint larger than can be printed.  Below is an example of two sections of a sixteen-inch diameter guide vane beingness joined.

2 sections fitted together and ready to be joined.

Two sections joined with wax welds.

Close upwardly of wax weld dewdrop betwixt two sections.

Method 2:

Although there are no glues specifically made for adhering wax to wax, we accept found that some very quick-setting commercial adhesives, based on cyanoacrylates or similar polymers, tin produce a strong bail between two pieces of VisiJet M2 ICast wax.  If you choose to utilize a superglue, exist certain utilize proper ventilation and personal protective equipment; always follow the manufacturer'south instructions. Obey all your local safety codes and procedures for treatment cyanoacrylates. You will also need to bank check that the balance adhesive is compatible with your casting process and burns out cleanly.

Set up surfaces of wax pieces to exist joined by gently roughing the surface with an abrasive pad and clearing the surfaces of whatsoever additional wax pieces. Trial fit the pieces together to check for alignment.

Typical type of repairable break. Annoying pad used for cleaning the mating surfaces.

Surfaces cleaned of whatsoever debris and lightly roughened to promote bonding. Trial fit of two components to ensure alignment has not been altered due to the intermission.

Apply superglue to only ane of the broken pieces. There is a critical amount of superglue to utilize; also little and you lot will not get a stiff bond, too much and some glue will leak out of the seam and exist hard to remove later on. Excess glue can crack and slightly impairment your pattern surface when it is removed. The amount of textile will depend on the cantankerous exclusive area of the break.

Optional:  Apply the manufacturer's recommended accelerant, or activator, to the glue-gratuitous broken surface. This will speed the curing of the superglue bond. Some brands of superglue do not crave the use of an accelerant, but we suggest it every bit an easy way to ensure the bond is set up properly and quickly. Accelerators can reduce the bonding time from many minutes to seconds.

Superglue practical to just one mating surface of broken pattern.

Gently push the two pattern pieces together. Be careful in alignment. With no alignment features, the fitting must exist washed by eye. You will not take a lot of time to ensure this is correct, and you typically have just one risk to go everything right before the superglue cures.

Example of a bonded pattern that had superglue ooze out of the seam. Ensure that the alignment is right at this stage prior to the hardening of the superglue.

If whatsoever superglue oozes out of the seam, you can wipe information technology abroad with a paper towel or lint-free rag before it hardens. If the superglue cures before y'all remove the backlog, then yous can use an annoying pad or wax carving tools to gently remove the cured superglue.

Utilise of an abrasive pad for removal of the hardened superglue. Be very careful at this phase to not modify any unintended surfaces.

Pattern later on mucilage has set and been cleaned up.

Utilise patching wax to the seam by finger to fill up any voids or defects caused by joining the two pieces of patterns together. Many paste and patch waxes work for this application. If your preferred wax does not work please consult the table at the finish of the document for known working solutions. Alternatively, cook and deposit VisiJet M2 ICast onto the seam as described previously.

Generous application of paste wax for filling in of voids and seams. Utilize past finger and gently press into any voids. Smooth out with finger and remove any excess.

Void filled in with patching wax.

The quality of the terminal joint depends on the nature of the break; breaks which are relatively clean and over a large cross sectional surface area are ideal for repair. While the entire procedure for repairing breaks is not overly difficult, the process volition become much easier afterward a lilliputian practice.

Products Compatible with Visijet M2 ICast

Nosotros have experimented with commercially available repair products and found that they are compatible with printed patterns from the 2500IC. The list is by no ways comprehensive, and there may be other products that y'all tin can employ. We expect that any product in utilise for repair of injection molded wax patterns can be used on 2500IC RealWax™ with standard techniques. All the materials listed here are in no preferential social club and will demand to be verified compatible with your local investment and casting processes.

Patch/Paste/Repair Waxes

Freeman Ruby-red and Green Patch-Eze

Kerr Disclosing Wax – Ivory

Paramelt Cerita 2-U3

Remet Premiere Patching Wax & Premiere Patching Wax Ii

Westech Patch Waxes PW2-PW5

Wolf Bear on-Upwards Wax and Relief Wax

Glues

3M Scotch Weld CA40H

Loctite 401

Accelerants/Activators

3M AC09

Loctite 712

Source: https://infocenter.3dsystems.com/bestpractices/mjp-best-practices/projet-mjp-2500-ic/2500ic-wax-pattern-repair

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