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Hey everybody! I want to make a little post today detailing what I've learned and what I do to make 3D printed soft plastic molds. I looked on the forum and I know there have been 3D printed lure threads in the past but I just kinda wanted the throw my hat into the ring on this topic. But I apologize in advance if I repeat what is commonly already known. Instead of resin 3D printing I use FDM printers which are 3D printers that use spools of plastic filament instead of liquid resin. Kinda like a fancy advanced hot glue gun. Resin printers are great but it's simply not the path I went down. Software: -AutoDesk Fusion 360 (you can use a program like FreeCAD but I think it's harder and good tutorials are harder to find for it) Fusion 360 is free under a hobby license but you can subscribe to higher versions if you feel the need to. -Ultimaker Cura (This is the slicing software that turns the 3D mold model into printable code for the 3D printer) Cura is also a free to use software that works well in my opinion. The 3D printer itself: -I used to use an Ender 3 V2 but it was finicky and I hated adjusting the spring knobs to level the bed all the time and the included bed surface was pretty unreliable. -I now use an Elegoo Neptune 3 which has become my favorite budget printer for less than $200. That being said, you must be prepared to change a few things on this cheap printer because there's less quality control because they're so cheap. I ended up having to replace my stock bowden tube and z-Axis aluminum extrusions so the printer could work right. though, after my adjustments my prints turn out great. The printer comes with auto bed leveling, a touch screen with phone cord, and can print multiple kinds of materials. The bed surface for the printer: -I have found that a magnetic PEI coated bed surface works great for me. The Neptune 3 comes with a bed like this and I've been very happy with it and had very little bed related failures when printing. I wipe the bed down with 70% isopropyl alcohol and occasionally Acetone when I feel the bed is too dirty for the iso. Materials: PLA: Yes, PLA can work in molds contrary to what some people may say. It works in a pinch and that's what matters to some people. PLA is great for making prototype molds that only have a few uses in them after they warp too much or fail in some other way. It helps to inject a PLA mold with 300-320 degree F plastisol. Also making sure the inside of the mold has lots of solid top layers when printing. With PLA I recommend 8 to 12 solid top layers and with 25%-50% infill on the inside. You can get away with higher infills in PLA without much warping and the higher internal density of plastic will make the mold slightly stronger. PETG: I've worked with this material and it's great for prototyping hard body baits but it doesn't work well for soft plastic molds. The plastisol sticks very well to the inside of the mold even with oil. It is not usable to me. ABS/ASA: I primarily make my molds using ABS. It withstands higher temps but also warps more so you need good clamps as you use the mold more. ASA is like ABS but I find it sticks to plastisol slightly more than ABS so I don't use it anymore. Of course you need an enclosure to print ABS to give it the best chance of turning out and being strong. ABS molds will last longer than a PLA mold but will warp over time but with good clamps it's not a huge deal. My ABS molds are still 25%-50% infill but the solid top layers are about 6-8 layers on top. Vent holes: -I also design my molds in a way that makes it so they require minimal pressure to inject so there is hopefully less chance of injury. I include small vent channels in the mold so that plastisol can slightly ooze out of the ends letting you know it's been fully injected. So far this has worked well for me and I've had no injection incidents. I Think that's most of what I know. If anyone has any questions or tips of their own please feel free to chime in!

howdy yall! I was talking with a guy I work with about a mold I cut on my CNC mill at work. The mold was a tail for a cast swim bait, it turned out great! so I was wondering why not just print on my 3D printer! I did a few quick designs and printed them out. It works GREAT!! you can go from design to water in a day! I have attached a few pics, the aluminum tail mold and then one of a jig body (black mold) and the other (white mold) is a tail i am going to use on a crank bait I'm making. Let me know what yall think!