Silicon Cut Mold Making

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards

  • 1. Empowered Learner -- Students leverage technology to an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goal, informed by the learning sciences.
  • 1a. Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
  • 1b. Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose and use/troubleshoot current technologies.
  • 1c. Student are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
  • 2. Digital Citizen -- Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that safe, legal and ethical.
  • 2a. Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
  • 2b. Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of copyright and sharing intellectual property.
  • 3. Knowledge Constructor -- Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
  • Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
  • 4. Innovative Designer -- Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
  • 4a. Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving problems.
  • 4b. Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
  • 4c. Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
  • 5. Creative Communicator -- Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
  • 5a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
  • 5b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
    • *All standards listed above are based on the ISTE standards.
    The teacher demonstrates setting up and measuring out material to make a full 3-D silicon mold of an object.

    First, a wall is made: Either with oil based clay or a paper cup cut to size and hot-glued to a board.

    Next, the silicone is mixed:

    The High Temp Silicone we use is mixed in a 10:1 ratio.
    10 parts silicone to 1 part catalyst.
    (So if you're using 80 ML of silicone, you'd mix in 8 ml of catalyst.)

    Students are to make a mold for a small object so we can cast it in resin or in Metal.

    Evaluation:
    2 points -- Mold walls made correctly
    1 point -- Silicone mixed and poured correctly
    2 points -- Minimal bubbles in the mold
    3 points -- Mold cut and deflashed properly

    2 points -- 2 casts made (metal or resin)

    10 points total


    Sometimes clay may need to be added to make the piece more easily castable. Below clay has been added to the piece to avoid undercuts.


    Wall up the piece with sufficient space around it.


    Reinforcing tape has been added to avoid leaks and blowouts as silicone is poured into the mold. Also note the front is labeled to ensure the seam isn't cut along an important face.



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