Climbing holds with molds

thingiverse

These are an experimental set of climbing holds that I designed to push the boundaries of what's possible with 3D printing technology in our climbing gym. The holds were created using various techniques, including entirely computer-generated designs in Fusion 360 and 3D Coat, as well as hand-carved foam board insulation scanned with an Einscan SE. Post-processing was done in both 3D Coat and Microsoft 3D Builder. Each hold can be printed as a single plastic part, with printing settings of 3mm walls/top/bottom and 50% infill yielding holds that have been in use for over a month without a single break - most are PLA, but some are also PET-G and Alloy 910. However, the texture tends to be slightly slick, especially when printed with PET-G. I've also created corresponding molds for each hold, which can be used to cast solid plastic parts. The best results have been achieved using Alumilite RC-3, which provides a better texture than Smooth-Cast 65D. Printing the molds with TPU/Ninjaflex/ELastic and applying mold release before casting produces excellent results. Additionally, adding a small amount of baby powder to the mold helps draw the plastic into smaller details.