This was my second attempt at melting PLA prints down into another usable form. I used the same main mold as in part one, this time with a thicker top. I was hoping that the thicker top would not bow. Unfortunately, it did bow as it was a center cut board. While this one turned out a bit better than the last there were still a few issues.
Still not enough material to fill the mold. I was miscalculating the mass needed. Both times. Hopefully this will turn out better in the next attempt.
Need to smash the pieces to allow it to melt faster and have less micro bubbles in the end result.
I need to solve for a way of keeping the height more consistent.
The plastic still needed more time to reach a consistent liquid state. I will be more patient on the next attempt.
I am going to abandon this mold for the time being and build a smaller mold. The next version I have planned is a square mold. I am going to use some of the spare plywood as the flat pieces of the mold to hopefully have a flatter end result that will not bow because of the grain of the wood. The sides are also going to be aluminum and removable this time.
Stay tuned for part 3 and good luck with what you create!
