Gordon Robertson
Di(c)e Cast
Project Goals
I'm an avid D&D player and have been playing with a set of friends since freshman year. Because most of us are graduating this year, I wanted to make key chains of the iconic 20-sided die (d20) for them. ​
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To do so, I had to plan, create, and use a silicone mold.
Preparation and Planning
The planning phase was the most important as I did not have much silicone and messing up could lead to complete failure.
I first planned where I would want the seam line on the d20 and make a sketch of the planned mold.
I ended revising this molding plan because I learned of better weep hole and insertion point placements. I also learned I needed more material on the sides.
Making the Mold
I was very careful to plan and double-check a lot. This led to a mostly high fidelity mold. The one issue is was hard to remove the clay from the numbers, especially near the seam. This led to some loss of resolution.
Dice Time
Once a die was finished, I could remove it and sand it down to a nice finish. This phase also illuminated some problems with my mold.
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Problems with the Mold
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Some small amounts of clay adhered to the side of the mold around the numbers and only came off when I pulled the first die out.
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The lip/residue from the seep hole and insertion point had to be sanded down. This wasn't much of a problem, but sometimes it led to some corners looking flat.
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Lack of resolution around the seam. This is likely due to me struggling to remove all the clay originally. Having a seam that wasn't flat but conformed to the shape of the d20 would have been better.
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Air holes would form. It was hard to fully get the air out because I placed the insertion point and weep hole and very harsh angles, which meant that tilting the mold risked spilling some plastic.
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Aside from the lack of resolution around the seam, the dice came out very well.
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While air pockets are unfortunate, I found I could use them are pilot holes for the eye-ring.
