Asking since I wasn’t able to come up with a solution by reading the answers to other questions.
I’m a potter modelling molds to later make out of plaster. Since the material I’ll be using doesn’t allow me to get this texture, I want to model it into the mold itself:
Displacement mapping could work assuming you had a suitable heightmap that represents your texture. However the density of the mesh would be very high.
The only way to produce a mold with this kind of texture easily would be to use the mesh if the manufacturing method permitted (ie 3D printing)
This texture would be unachievable with a nurbs model and that texture would typically be applied to a steel mold by a acid or laser etching, rather than in the 3D model.
There is some spray metal technology that could be applied to a 3D printed mold for durability; however, I think that would smooth out the texture.
I suppose you could 3D print a metal mold in sections, but the cost would be prohibitive for something large, it is hard to tell the scale on these photos.
3D print the female part of the mold using a standard extrusion printer and PLA filament,
Make a male with silicone,
And then a female again with plaster, which will be the final mold.
I’m sure that silicone and plaster can capture this level of detail but I’m not that experienced in 3D printing, so I have to make some small scale tests.
For the time being, I’m not planning to cast large objects. My biggest mold will probably be a dinner plate, but I’m still very far from that
I agree, displacement is the way to go here. It’ll be a combination of render mesh density to start with, the image used and the displacement settings. Post a 3dm file if you’re stuck trying to dial it all in. BTW, I’m a potter too
One issue with the displacement method as a long term strategy is the multi-scale nature of the grit texture. I fear that for some areas, the mesh resolution may need to be very high to pick up what seems to be individual grit samples.
It may be tempting to just go the whole hog and provide something more physical using a random set of physically modelled particles, and distributing them at random.
But I would be interested to see how a fine mesh would work here.
I’m working on a similar process doing antique tiles from the associated tile manufacturers of Beaver Falls PA. We are 3dprinting the part and then molding it using plaster. The molds are complex not just two part molds and you have to leave a spout area on your part or design one into the part to pour your plaster into and you have to make sure your part has draft angle to release from the mold. We are also redesigning these tiles because tiles are not installed and set into plaster anymore.
Although we are not doing this florid example, we are doing this corner tile. I bring my tiles into 3dcoat where adding this type of detail is easy. Things to watch out for, the part becomes too large of a file to have 3dprinted since most fabricators have a file size limit. Part becomes expensive to print since you need waterproof materials for the plaster to release.
3dcoat is great for doing any additional sculpting to your work after the basics in Rhino. I think it could do what you are asking and much more and they have a 3dprint room to asses your part.
Answering in a single post to avoid a never ending pile. Thanks everyone for the help!
@cdordoni@BrianJ I ended up creating a procedural dot texture and using it as a displacement map. It’s looking good! I hope it translates well to clay (and how nice to find another potter here!)
@David53 That was going to be the next thing I tried if I didn’t like what I got at with the displacement maps. I’m still tempted to give it a shot.
@3dsynergy Cool project! Have you made plaster molds straight from 3D printed parts before? I’m using silicone since I’m concerned I’d lose detail due to having to use a release agent, but maybe it’s not necessary.
I could post about the process and results in some blog or something if anyone’s interested.
I don’t do the molds only the 3dwork, sculpting and glazing. The person I work with does the molds. We have had success using 3dprinted parts but I don’t know in your case. I would double check that your displacement doesn’t create any undercutting that will make it impossible to release from the mold.
… so this info is missing at this great topic: 