TC80 Tool Cast Epoxy Casting Resin 5.3kg

Tool Cast can be cast into tin/condensation cure silicones as well as addition/platinum cure silicones no problem.

The TC80 can be cast into a rigid mould such as a traditional GRP mould. A release agent such as Mould Release Wax or our CR1 EasyLease will work well. Be aware that traditionally using epoxy in a polyester mould can cause sticking issues so that combination should be avoided where possible, especially on newer moulds. Also take care to ensure your mould design is such that the cast resin can be easily demoulded.

New moulds made from TC80 will initially have a faithful reproduction of the surface of your pattern and so if you start with a high gloss pattern, and use an appropriate release agent, then the TC80 moulds will have exactly the same high gloss finish on them.

Where TC80 does differ from other tool surfaces however would be if you were to try to polish the TC80 to achieve a high gloss (rather than just starting with a high gloss surface straight off the pattern). The reason for this is because TC80 is heavily filled with aluminium powder; if you try to polish TC80 you will find that the epoxy and the aluminium particles abrade and polish at different rates which results in a slightly speckled surface. For this reason, polishing TC80 is possible, but - in cases where you're trying to achieve perfect surface finish - wouldn't be recommended.

If you want to 'cast' a mould, in the way that you can with TC80, but you want a highly polishable mould surface, it might be worth considering EG60 or EG160 epoxy tooling gelcoats which don't contain aluminium power and so are much more polishable. You could apply these gelcoats as the mould's surface and then back-fill (at the B-stage) with TC80.

It's not normally a requirement however very complicated moulds with undercuts and issues with voids may benefit from degassing and certainly wouldn't cause any problems by doing so. 

Once fully cured it will machine quite nicely. Generally we would allow around 48 hours for the resin to cure and ensure the resin has hardened sufficiently before machining. 

No, Vac Cast is an opaque solid dark grey colour. Just to avoid any confusion, Vac Cast is used for making vacuum forming tools (moulds), not for the actual vacuum forming itself. The vacuum forming could be done using a clear sheet, like Lexan.