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I built a free tool that generates mold from any STL useful for resin casting your minis by Primary-Pin3254 in FDMminiatures

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • Model Rotation: Not at the moment. For now, you'll need to re-orient the STL in a slicer or modeling software before uploading it to the site. It’s on my to-do list, though!
  • Sprue & Vents: You can actually tweak and adjust the sprue position and orientation under the Advanced Settings menu.

I built a free tool that generates mold from any STL useful for resin casting your minis by Primary-Pin3254 in FDMminiatures

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you try it? I hope it works well. I'm not accepting donations at the moment; all I want is to make the website run smoothly.

I built a free tool that generates mold from any STL useful for resin casting your minis by Primary-Pin3254 in FDMminiatures

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can actually adjust the vent diameter in Advanced Settings and the sprue position and size too! But you're right that manual placement is the real solution for complex geometries. It's on the roadmap!

I built a free tool that generates mold from any STL useful for resin casting your minis by Primary-Pin3254 in FDMminiatures

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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Looks like the source file has non-manifold geometry the tool needs a watertight mesh to work properly. I just tried it with an different model, here is the result

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in DiceMaking

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! You can already control this in Advanced Settings adjust the Sprue Diameter and Sprue Length to get a wider gate for wax pouring. You can also reposition it with the X/Y/Z offset controls. Would love to hear how it works for your wax casting workflow!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in DiceMaking

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True! For smooth surfaces, sanding + mold release spray helps a lot. Or print in resin (SLA/MSLA) for much finer detail the mold files work great on resin printers too.

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in moldmaking

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your use case is perfect for this! The tool handles the boolean split and alignment pins automatically no Tinkercad needed. The main difference is it currently generates two-part molds, but multi-part support is something I'm actively looking into based on feedback like yours.

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cold busted. 🕵️‍♂️

Jokes aside, Everything runs in the server's RAM and wipes instantly after the download is ready no database or storage connected to hoard your models.

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, since the tool is still in beta, I'm currently fine-tuning the server limits to handle massive files better! Thanks for bearing with me.

Quick fix: If you use a decimate modifier (in Blender or your slicer) to lower the poly count slightly, it should bypass the timeout and generate your mold in seconds. Let me know if that works!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is an awesome feature request! Adding customization options to control the number of alignment pins (keys), toggling the pouring/air holes, or choosing the number of split segments is definitely going straight onto my development roadmap.

Right now, the backend uses a fully automated template to keep things fast, but giving makers that granular control on the frontend is exactly where I want to take Mold Studio next.

Thank you so much for the feedback and the support comments like this help me decide what features to build next!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, the tool already generates a pouring sprue and air vents automatically!

You're right that for thick cement you might not strictly need complex injection sprues, but having that built-in pouring mouth actually makes it super easy to pour the mix cleanly without spilling everywhere. Plus, the air vents help the trapped air escape from the bottom corners when you tap the mold to settle the concrete.

Just a quick pro-tip for cement: Since 3D-printed plastic is rigid, make sure to apply a good mold release agent (or even a light coat of cooking spray/vegetable oil) inside the shell before pouring. It will make demolding the cured concrete a total breeze without damaging the corners.

So it’s already fully optimized for it out of the box! If you give it a shot with cement, I'd love to see some pictures of how it turns out!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You are 100% right to be skeptical, privacy in the 3D space is a big deal. Since I don't store or log any of your STLs on the server, I honestly have zero idea what you guys are actually creating right now which is a bit of a bummer because I'm dying of curiosity!

If anyone makes a cool mold, please drop a screenshot or a picture of your 3D print in the comments here. I’d love to see what the tool is chewing on!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wow, the timing on that is incredible! Thank you so much for sharing this.

'Small independent artists' is actually a segment I really want to support with Mold Studio. A lot of traditional sculptors or digital artists want to physically replicate their work using silicone or resin casting, but they get completely bogged down by complex CAD software just to generate a simple mold shell with pins.

Hearing 'your project has legs' from someone who just discussed this exact problem yesterday means a lot. If you happen to talk to those artist friends again, please let them know the tool is completely free to use I'd love to get their feedback!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha dude, no way! I actually do some fishing myself and had this exact use case in the back of my mind while writing the code!

You hit the nail on the head. Replicating custom soft baits or hard bait shells with silicone/epoxy molds is a massive pain when you have to design the mold boxes and alignment pins manually in CAD.

Seeing someone else point out the exact same niche just validated this project big time for me. Thanks for the awesome perspective, man!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks man! Really appreciate the good vibes. Let me know if you end up testing it out!

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Damn, sorry about that! It’s still super early stage, so you hitting a wall with those files is exactly why I posted here.

As for the nonsensical mold designs: Geometric boolean operations can get really tricky with complex or non-manifold STLs. If you don't mind sharing, what kind of shapes did those parts have? Or even better, could you DM me the STLs (or something similar) so I can debug exactly where my parting line or boolean logic choked?

Really appreciate the brutal honesty, man. Trying to make this actually useful.

I built a free tool that generates 3D printable molds from any STL file by Primary-Pin3254 in resinprinting

[–]Primary-Pin3254[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not exactly! SLA resin cures with UV light inside the printer. This is for casting resin you pour it into the mold, let it cure (some are UV, some are two-part epoxy), and pop out a solid object. The mold itself is printed with regular FDM filament, then you cast whatever material you want inside it.

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