Making a Pz III/IV Cupola

[Brian Leach]

Hello everyone!
I thought i would share with you the trials and tribulations of casting the PzIII/IV cupola.
I going to cast this in manganese brass. This is strong, easily machinable, and can be soldered/braised.
It has a nice silvery color.
These are the first parts I am going to make

The process is to make a silicone mould, than make wax castings (patterns) from that , than cast plaster (or investment) around that. The wax pattern is than melted/burned out of the plaster after which metal is poured into the voids creating the part you want. (And there are more steps in the process in order to get therre!)
So, first i made a model of the cupola

I than printed out the parts on my 3-D printer (which is very cool!)




These parts are than cast in silicone


Here I would like to assure you that the casting part numbers are very nicely cast in the relevant parts
(pictures to follow)







The next step is to make the wax patterns.
Unfortunately , because of the storm last week here in the NW USA, I have not yet received this so we will need to wait.
So until next time,
Have a good day!


I wasn't very happy with the first set of silicone moulds that I made so i made a new set.

These are a bit easier to inject with wax, which I tested out today
Getting the temperature right is tricky. The wax wants to flow at 69-71C, but once it begins flowing it cools, so you need to bump up the temp or pressure. Bumping up the pressure causes the wax to get between the mould halves, bumping up the temp takes time, a lot of time.
So here are some of the waxies I made today






Today I took the parts for the vacuum chamber over to the welders.

The part sticking out of the top is the flask which holds the investment into which the molten metal is poured. It is not welded to the vacuum chamber. It is slipped into the chamber filled with the investment. A vacuum is applied to the chamber which helps the metal to fill the mould voids.
I pick the chamber up tomorrow
I will also make the waxies I need for this weeks pour.
I hope this is not going too slow.

[Germanbilly1]

Thanks very much for the education on making these parts. Love to learn new ways to make parts.
GB

[Tiger1fan]

Hi Brian, nicely done! What 3d printer are you using?

Thanks,
John

[ActionMan]

I really wish I had some armour so I could get beautiful parts like these for it!

[mustangman]

Very nice and thanks for the step by step. I too have always been interested in this process and have tried resin casting smaller parts for my collection.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks

Pete

[panzeriv]

Great work, It is impressive to see when someone has the right tools and the know how to go with it. Keep up the updates.

Scott

[Tigertiki]

Hi,
This is very interesting, i would like to ask that the surface pattern is it from the 3D printing or eventually designed in. Why don't you use aluminum for casting, why bronze ?
Didn't you thought about spincast them ? It might be suitable.
I plan to cast aluminum for bigger parts that's why i'm so interested. The vacuum for the casting will be interesting to apply since you need a hole to pour in the melted bronze.
Amazing work, nice to watch.
Grats

Attila

[viaad]

Great looking parts and amazing work!

[metaltankman]

are you going to sell the item ? how much ? i am going to start a metal panzer 3 this week end so i need one please let me know


thank you

[panzeriv]

I would also be interested in the cost if you plan to sell them.

Scott