Hello all,
I'm pondering over making some small press dies to create a few repetitive repair panels for the cars I work on.
From what I can gather these can be made from aluminium and the form is taken by using molten alu on the original panel to be copied, this is where the problems start.
All the original panels have rusty holes in them....
I can build them up with filler etc to get the shape, but that won't stand up to the heat of the molten alu.
How would I copy a shape reasonably cheaply* to make a die form from?
My first thought was to make a new part from a mortar of cement and water from a fibreglass mould of the original, but I'm unsure of the shrinkage - I think it will be too great, but at least it will withstand the heat - probably!
*I can use my own labour, even if it's a lengthy process.
Any ideas without having something CNC milled from solid?
I'm pondering over making some small press dies to create a few repetitive repair panels for the cars I work on.
From what I can gather these can be made from aluminium and the form is taken by using molten alu on the original panel to be copied, this is where the problems start.
All the original panels have rusty holes in them....
I can build them up with filler etc to get the shape, but that won't stand up to the heat of the molten alu.
How would I copy a shape reasonably cheaply* to make a die form from?
My first thought was to make a new part from a mortar of cement and water from a fibreglass mould of the original, but I'm unsure of the shrinkage - I think it will be too great, but at least it will withstand the heat - probably!
*I can use my own labour, even if it's a lengthy process.
Any ideas without having something CNC milled from solid?