Print-in-place hinged Mini Modular Mold with Piston for 3x10cm labels.

This is a fully print-in-place hinged mold with a detachable piston already assembled inside the box. No supports required when printed with the included 3MF profiles. (please read about the settings at the very end of the description)

The mold is designed to mold paper-mâché or other soft materials such as air-dry modeling clay into custom label shapes. (read more below)

Key Features

• Print-in-place hinge (no assembly required)

• Internal detachable piston

• Optional piston extension (no clamp required)

• Holds up to 4 interchangeable plates

• Adjustable label thickness (stack up to 3 plates)

• Drainage holes for wet materials

• Perforation pins for side holes

• Easy cleaning (PETG – washable with water)

The mold accepts separately printed custom plates with text or patterns.
You can stack up to 3 plates at once to adjust the final thickness of the molded label.

Plates are removable and can be swapped depending on the design.

Included in the files are 4 different texts and one plain plate that you can customize in the slicer.

The plain plate (4mm) can also be stucked in order to adjust thickness further.

The piston is detachable and already inside the mold after printing.

An optional extension piston is included:

• Eliminates the need for a clamp

• Can be secured with a simple rubber band

• Helps maintain pressure during drying if needed

2 Versions of the Mini Modular Mold to chose from:

1. Piston with patterned bottom

2. Plain bottom piston version

Drainage & Release Design

If using materials with high water content:

• Water drains through bottom holes

• Additional holes at bottom edges help moisture escape

• Two bottom holes allow pushing out stuck plates or material

Two vertical pins perforate the label on both sides.
These pins do not guide the piston or the plates. (well they do but they are not necessary since the space for the piston and the plates  is already tight)

If perforation is not needed: 

• The pins can be hidden before printing

• The matching holes in the piston must also be filled

Since the casting of harder materials can be more complicated with the pins than without, I recommend you to think what you prioritise and remove them completely or shorten them to 16mm to print labels with holes with a thickness of <8mm. In that case, you place only on plate inside, calculate the material you need and press using both pistons all the way down.  This way you can print labels with or without holes. Again, Dont forget to fill the bottom holes of the piston so they dont get filled with material.

Recommended material for printing: PETG 

Recommender materials for casting

• papier-mâché

• air drying modelling clay

•                                                      ....I m planning to try it with more materials soon 

Materials with more body or lower moisture content can be removed immediately after pressing and left to dry outside the mold. (air dry modelling clay e.g)

In that case, the mold primarily defines the shape and compression.

For wetter mixtures, the mold can hold the material in place while excess water drains.

When it starts to dry out the mold can be opened to let the air inside and accelerate the drying process.

                                                            Printing Instructions

                                 The provided 3MF files for the Mini Modular Mold are important because they contain:

• Bridge settings

• Bridge extrusion adjustments

• Cooling fan tuning

• Print-in-place tolerances 

• Proper thickness

Please calibrate your printer. I printed it with transparent PETG (Esun) 0.2nozzle Quality Print and it worked like a charm!

The plates are printed with 50% infill and bottom and top layers adjustments. It is recommended to use the 3mf files.

Have fun !

*the Mini Modular Mold is designed using Fusion