How to make Machinable Wax at home!
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A major issue that I ran into when I first started working with my new CNC machine was the cost of raw materials to machine. Sure, a block of plastic is not terribly expensive by itself – but figure in the cost after you mess something up and the cost becomes quite unreasonable. For this reason, I began looking into machinable wax.
Machinable wax is a very hard wax that won’t gum up a cutting tool, is soft enough to machine quickly and most importantly is completely reusable! Since I am cheap, I decided to make my own, which is actually quite simple and could be considered environmentally friendly since we use recycled plastic bags. Be aware that this Instructable is DANGEROUS! We will be melting wax
around 300* and this wax will be thick and sticky so it will literally burn your skin off faster than you can say “OUCH!”
(The basic recipe is 4 parts wax to 1 part plastic)
You will need:
- Paraffin Wax (Available at Hobby Lobby)
- Plastic Shopping Bags (HDPE or LDPE, Recycle symbol #2 or #4)
- Deep fryer WITH adjustable thermostat
- Candy Thermometer (to make sure your fryer thermostat is working correctly)
- Wood Spoon
- Leather Gloves
- Safety Glasses
- Molds (I’ve used Tins, Wood frames, and Cardboard)
- Strainer
- Wax paper is handy
- A scale to measure wax/plastic
Melting Wax
Paraffin ignites at around 400*F.
Don't forget that what your looking at is melted wax, not water. Hot water will splash and drip off of you, hot wax will splash and STICK TO YOUR SKIN! So be careful....
Melting Bags
Once you hit 300*, begin adding the plastic bags, one at a time. It helps to cut them into strips so that they wont ball up, but I don’t have any data to support a specific way just yet. The more your stir this mixture, the faster the bags will dissolve (Just don't get too crazy, you could introduce a lot of air into the wax). Continue adding bags until they won’t dissolve any more. Most of the plastic should have dissolved, leaving just a few chunks left. With LDPE this is usually a 25% mixture, whereas HDPE bags are around 15%. Stay patient, this process can take a while.
Casting the Wax
If you chose option #2, turn your fryer back on and make sure your wax is liquid before pouring. When pouring into molds, pour slowly but be committed as you do not want wax to drip down the side of your fryer. Once poured, cover the molds with a towel so that they cool slowly. The slower they cool, the more likely that air bubbles will escape before getting stuck in the wax.
Machine that Wax!
Recycle Your Wax
When recycling your wax, I recommend using no more than 50%-75% reground wax. This is due to the fact that plastics degrade rapidly when heated (think compost) and can start to smoke/burn/ignite if you are not careful. Therefore, start by melting paraffin wax, adding new bags and THEN adding your recycled wax.
Good luck and be safe!
Just be careful with the Acetone around the fryer. It is VERY flammable.
Put the strainer above a heat source, melt the wax, then dab it off 'till it's gone.
Just a guess.
Have you tried other wax additives like Stearin and Carnuba?
I've been wanting some to try, and too cheap to buy it. Many thanks, rawkstar, for the recipe!
still a good instructable, would be great for lost wax casting of metals.
You can buy paraffin at the grocery store, but it is about 50% cheaper at hobby stores....strangely enough.
Considering I have a home built CNC machine and I am very cheap, this is perfect.
Have you tried using this wax for investment casting? I am just curious if the hot metal burns the plastic in the wax mixture and creates chunks.
One thought I had for your straining issue was to use a larger holed colander lined with
cheese cloth. The cheese cloth should catch the larger plastic chunks and the larger holes should allow you to clean the colander for re-use. You may not want to use it for food again, but at least you could skip the expense of a new strainer each batch.
Thanks again for this.
Doug
But, no, I have not tried it yet. :-D