V5 Clone Block Sock Mold

thingiverse

Based off of Spikelee's silicone block sock mold: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2892250 Simple, easy-to-use block sock mold, just with a couple minor adjustments to Spikelee's design so it will fit the V5 clone that came with my Anycubic Predator. Version 2 files of the inner part of the mold just hold onto the block better, and I personally prefer them. UPDATES: Renamed the files so they make more sense (at least to me). 7mm and 6mm inner parts are compatible with all outer parts except for the flat bottom version which has its own special inner part. May make a flat bottom version that will cast a 7mm hole, and possibly refine the flat version a bit more. The 7mm versions fit better than the 6mm and may even take them down but those were the dimensions used on the original design this was based off of. There are instructions on his design page, and on other mold block mold designs as well as YouTube and likely many other places too. I included Spikelee's breakable outer version too but it was easy enough to pull apart without breaking the mold, but different types of silicone may need this feature. No other hardware is needed, just put the material in the mold (using instructions for that material) and clamp it, probably can even get away with using a heavy object, tape or rubber bands to hold it together if you don't own any clamps. I just used some cheap PLA for the mold so I could crank it out at 150 mm/s with a .1 mm layer height. May be useful to print with a higher temp plastic so you can just stick the mold on your heat bed so it cures faster without warping the mold. I just left them in the mold overnight and they were cured enough to pull out, however it will take another day or two to completely cure if you're also using RTV silicone, applying heat will reduce the cure time, however applying heat may cause problems depending on what material you are using. Only use high temp silicone RTV or two part silicone for casting. It needs to be able to handle at least 250C continuously, if you're printing any hotter than that your probably going to want to use a different heater block. There are different grades of silicone, not sure what happens if you use a lower temp silicone, but I wouldn't risk it. Red or copper Permatex is fine, I used red but I kind of wish I just went with the copper because my car has a bit of an exhaust leak that I need to get around to fixing and there was plenty left over after making 3 molds for my heater blocks and the stuff only lasts a year after being opened.