Dude that looks so rad! Ill be following along. Thankyou for the information. I appreciate it.
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Just out of curiosity, What do those bars weigh? they look huge
They average between .22lbs and .25lbs. I tried to basically copy the size/weight of high-end chocolate bars that you see on shelves at the supermarket. I have found that the typical net weight of those bars is 4oz. Dimensions vary but average around 3"x6". I also built my dimensions to accommodate domestic packaging options.
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You find the silicone works better than the vacuum forming? I tried to make a thin spherical section out of chocolate. I had the positive 3D printed, then used a food safe platinum-cure silicone to make the two-part mold. The mold came out great, but I could never demold the (~1 mm thick) chocolate without breaking the chocolate. Upon further research, it appears there’s several people who say that the hard plastic chocolate molds are less “sticky” than the silicone.
Are you vacuum forming with a vacuum pump or just a shop-vac?
Curious as to your thoughts.
I have never tried using silicone mold. I havent had much problems at all with objects releasing from my molds. I make sure everything has at least one degree of draft angle. With a sphere you should have no problem. I have noticed that removing my bars from their molds works best when they have solidified at room temperature (+/- 70 degrees F). It takes longer that throwing them in the fridge, but they dont get as hard/brittle. This is just my opinion.
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Hi Eliott
Here’s a link to a project on X-Carve making silicone chocolate moulds
You might have seen this desktop vacuum forming machine Vaquform . Small but works like an industrial vacuform. No need to attach a vacuum cleaner at it has dual vacuum motor to capture the finest details. No need to heat the plastic sheet in the oven. Heating temperatures are already set depending on what kind of plastic material you are using. You only have to push buttons. Anyway, i think this could be a great investment for small-medium scale businesses specially those that involve customization.
