Successful Rubber Reproduction Test

[Dubis7]

Hi, all. As you may have seen, I've been exploring options for reproducing rubber parts from old appliances for quite awhile. Having been unable to find a source to custom make my own, I decided to partner with the maker lab at my school and experiment with how to produce them myself. After a few weeks of trail and error, I've been able to successfully reproduce a motor mount from a 1950s Oster blender.

Basic pattern is to use CAD or a 3D scanner (both available via the lab) to 3D print a mold, and then press some silicone putty (regularly available at Michaels) into it for 20 or so minutes while it cures.

The downside is I can't choose colors, so while this stuff is great for internal parts, I'm not quite at external yet. I've been granted the clearance to experiment with color matching, and have found a source for the materials, so I'll update if and when that gets figured out.

As I said in another post, we're looking to offer part reproduction as a way of raising funds. If anyone needs rubber parts reproduced, let me know and we can look into it.