The First Tube of Pringles

One of the terms on my brief was to be able to cast two things from the same mould. As my pieces are quite complicated and will not pull out of a mould easily, I had to come up with a solution.

I knew all of my pieces fit into tubes well, and initially started looking at drainpipes and paper towel rolls, however, they were either too expensive or too small. While shopping later that day, my dad and I saw a Pringles tube and decided that it would be a perfect size.

By glueing my 3D-printed chess piece to the lid and placing it inside the tube, I will be able to create the silicone mould. I will then be able to destroy the first half of the tube and cut the silicone in half in order to retrieve my chess piece. As the tube is uniform, the cut silicone mould will fit in the unused half of the tube perfectly and hold the silicone together so that I can cast my chess piece.

According to the instructions on my silicone, 3D printed items can prevent the silicone from setting properly, as a result, I painted it with a thin layer of liquid latex and let it dry overnight, before covering the piece and the mould in vaseline. While pouring the silicone, I poured it slowly and from a height to try and reduce the amount of air pockets that will form.

If this works, we will, unfortunately, have to eat another 5 tubes of Pringles in order to cast every piece. This is a sword my father and I are willing to fall on.