Double Chevron Pen Blank Mold

This is a 3D printed mold for resin casting pen making blanks. 

In response to a question from a maker, the mold is sacrificial. The intent is to turn away the mold on the lathe. Do not use mold release!

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Prusa

Printer: 

I3 MK3S

Rafts:

No

Supports: 

No

Resolution:

200

Infill: 

100

Filament: Prusa PLA Orange

Notes:

The first mold I printed in PLA handled the curing heat from Alumilite Slow with a bit of resin showing through the sidewalls. This one has slightly thicker walls and stood up better. The resin did not adhere to the PLA very well though. Perhaps PETG or a different resin would work better. If you know of a plastic/resin combination that adheres strongly I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Thanks!

Model available from Tinkercad.

Watch Mad Nerd Workshop make a pen from this mold: 3D-printed pen blanks

How I Designed This 

The mold has a 5mm hole running through the central long axis to allow resin to flow between chambers and to help release bubbles. It is usable with multiple colors of resin so long as you do not mind the colors mixing a bit.

Filling the mold 1/2 or 3/4 to save resin won't work. Fill the mold to the top to produce a blank in which the design is centered on the axis of the finished pen.

When drilling, centering the hole is also critical to ensure the pattern on the finished pen is symmetrical. A slight difference left or right will produce different patterns on those sides of the finished pen.

The little dimples on each end were to help find center. They get cut away in normal use but I used a 2mm bit to drill part way in before trimming the ends away. Then after I trimmed the blank those 2mm holes were visible in the work piece and I used them to line up the bit for the final drilling.