Use of epoxy for levelling

[Rich]

Thank you Jonathan. What a mistake. I couldn't understand why everyone was so relaxed.

[Procato]

Apologies if degassing has already been mentioned.
Although I haven't got to the epoxy levelling stage on my build yet, I have had a bit of experience of some resins and silicones used for mouldmaking- After mixing and before pouring resins should be degassed thoroughly. It is very surprising how much air is trapped in the liquid even after careful mixing. I don't think you can achieve the figures on the data sheets without this process. Pouring/flow and shrinkage qualities are much improved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sN0KT-tRsY

[routercnc]

Not done it myself but the 3 processes usually mentioned to reduce bubbles are:

1. Pouring the final mixture into another pot with a sealed hole near the bottom (e.g. duct tape), then opening the hole and pouring from the lowest part of the mixture, leaving the bubbles near the surface.

2. Once poured into the moat on the frame, flashing over any remaining bubbles with a hot air gun.

3. Not stressing over the odd bubble or two which gets trapped unnoticed.

[Procato]

I agree, those methods are the usual processes but in the pursuit of more accuracy and better working methods degassing removes the micro non visible bubbles trapped within the liquid. The video above shows just how much air comes out of a small amount of carefully mixed resin. Without degassing you are basically pouring foam.
I haven't used west systems 105 epoxy and 209 hardener yet so I might be talking rubbish but I will try to video the degassing and levelling process when I get to that stage to see if it makes a difference or not.

[Boyan Silyavski]

It works without degassing but a tiny mistake like being in a hurry could mess the whole process. last time i was pouring WS epoxy i wanted to be able to degass it. And as i said somewhere earlier in the thread, passing one time with heat gun degassing is okeish but second time is asking for trouble, third time for sure will result in orange peel surface. So yes, degassing will be great.

[reefy86]

some really great guides here and has helped me feel more relaxed trying the epoxy method so thanks guys :)

just a couple of questions though...

1. how much weight can 5mm thick resin take before cracking ect.
2. if 90% of the time all ill be doing is engraving 3d designs in wood soft or hardwood such as oak and say the other 10% will be acrylic/thin aluminium, will the epoxy resin still be advisable?

cheers

ash

[Clive S]

some really great guides here and has helped me feel more relaxed trying the epoxy method so thanks guys :)

just a couple of questions though...

1. how much weight can 5mm thick resin take before cracking ect.
2. if 90% of the time all ill be doing is engraving 3d designs in wood soft or hardwood such as oak and say the other 10% will be acrylic/thin aluminium, will the epoxy resin still be advisable?

cheers

ash

You won't have any problems with the weight of the gantry on the epoxy check out my post #56 here http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/8197-...evelling/page2
.
If you are using steel it is a great way to get your rails on the same plane. ..Clive