We saw this Hackaday article where [Proper DIY] used his woodworking skills to produce some excellent quality concrete signs and decorations. We liked the idea but the effort required fashioning the wood for the letters seemed like a lot of work to us.
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So.... we have a 3D printer and set out to find an easier way. The 'recipe' is pretty easy:
1)Print your design on a 3D printer. 2)Glue the design to the bottom of a concrete mold. 3)Pour concrete, shake out the bubbles, and wait for curing. 4)Unscrew the mold and release the final product.
The results are good enough with only a fraction of the time (and skill).
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Maybe not needed, but here is a little more detail:
- Build mold (use long wood screws to allow reuse):
- Print your 3D design and glue it the the bottom of the mold:
- Fill the mold, vibrate out the voids, then wait. We used this material mainly because we had some on hand:
- Results:
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We are happy with outcome. [Proper DIY] did have better results, but with a whole, whole, whole lot more effort.
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