Something experimental - A5000 mouse ball replacement.

[rubber_jonnie]

OK, so I have had another go:

IMG20240724102058.jpg

Should have the proportions of resin to hardener correct this time, so lets see what happens.

[HigashiJun]

:crossed1:

[rubber_jonnie]

:crossed1:

Resin has already set further than the last time :)

[HigashiJun]

Resin has already set further than the last time :)

Sounds good !

[rubber_jonnie]

Resin has already set further than the last time :)

Sounds good !

Indeed it does.

[HigashiJun]

Let's wait and see what the result will be.

Just hope you are close to the goal !

:D

[stephen_usher]

:crossed1:

[rubber_jonnie]

:crossed1:

Yes to that.

[rubber_jonnie]

So, it's gone a bit better but still needs work. The mix was perfect, so that is something, fully set already this morning:

IMG20240725092508.jpg

It isn't without issues though:

IMG20240725092540.jpg

Unfortunately the blue cube mould got an air bubble in it at the fill hole, however the finish and weight of the cast ball was pretty good, and I can try again, but now just need to be sure I have a process to avoid air bubbles.

The spherical mould worked well from a size/weight perspective, however the alignment was poor leaving a lot of flashing on the edge:

IMG20240725092524.jpg

For reference I weighed some of the mice ball replacements I have, plus actual balls, results below.

20mm steel ball:

IMG_20240725_093032.jpg

20mm delrin ball:

IMG20240725093057.jpg

22mm mouse ball

IMG20240725093231.jpg

Hand rolled 'Milliput' (Epoxy filler):

IMG20240725093117.jpg

20mm rubber ball:

IMG20240725093130.jpg

20mm resin only ball:

IMG20240725093150.jpg

20mm resin/iron powder composite ball from spherical mould:

IMG20240725093204.jpg

20mm resin/iron powder composite ball from the blue cube mould made by me:

IMG20240725093219.jpg

I think the other ball from the spherical mould is representative of the finished weight of the blue cube ball if it wasn't missing a piece given the air bubble it suffered.

Given the weight of the 22mm mouse ball, I think that 20mm composite ball is really quite close weight wise and far better then the other offerings, such as rubber or delrin, and the steel is rather too heavy.

I think I will give the blue cube another go, and I may also try making a new mould from the 20mm steel ball in which I can suspend a smaller steel ball and pour RTV silcone round it like a normal ball.

[stephen_usher]

Is there any way that you can put the resin into a syringe and inject it from the base of the mould so that you don't risk getting the filler hole blocked by a bubble?