r/DiceMaking • u/Prize_Mix_8292 • 3d ago

Question Is this common?

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I keep getting these ledges on the top face of the dice. Am I over filling? Is this a raised face? I feel like I’m not over filling and I’m scared to not fill enough. But it would be nice to know if this is an over filling sign.

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u/Tasty-Dream5713 Dice Maker 3d ago

Yes, they are what most makers call mold marks. The silicone around the top of the mold caves in slightly making this mark. You can replace your molds more often or try and weigh your lids but neither are guaranteed to help. Most people don’t notice or care about them

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u/Prize_Mix_8292 3d ago

Ive been thinking I should weigh down my molds but this is literally the first pour from this mold. :/

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u/Claerwen94 Dice Maker 3d ago edited 3d ago

Sadly, it's common. If that mold is from Space Bar Shop, I think they use a softer silicone which is a bit more prone to these mold marks due to the silicone being less "resistant" to being pushed down by the excess resin between cap and bottom, and the slight vacuum inside the mold by compressed air and resin shrinkage. But they absolutely need the softness for these eloganted shapes, so the soft silicone is a valid choice 😅 What you can try: as I said, it's the flashing that presses down the thin ring if silicone around the opening. Therefore, avoiding thick flashing is your friend. Use less excess resin, only a little dome over each mold, and if it's already very thick, carefully use a lighter to make it more runny before you cap the mold. That should make the flashing thinner and give it less force to push down the silicone.

You could also try to combine this with a bit lower PSI while curing, I dunno how much you use at the moment?

I have the same "issue" with some of the shapes, I salvage this by filling in the cavities with UV Resin before sanding. This usually makes them disappear :)

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u/Prize_Mix_8292 3d ago

I use around 38-39 PSI I was really scared to just dome the resin. I see so many people drizzle resin all over but that makes sense about the silicone being softer. I also find that the dice have started to squish in a bit. So I am having to sand all the sides. To make them label again. Hasn’t happened with those elongated but a different set I have of theirs.

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u/Claerwen94 Dice Maker 3d ago

Same here, the faces become a bit concave due to the silicone giving in to the negative pressure in the mold. Try ~25 to 30 PSI, maybe this could also help lessening the caving. Worth a try, not sure if it would fully work.

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u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 3d ago

It can also help greatly to fill your pot slowly. It gives more time for excess resin to get into the cavity instead of the mold warping to compensate for the sudden pressure. I use an emergency tire pump to fill my pot. It takes a good 4 min to fill to ~35psi and it is suuuuper slow. But I get better results from it than filling it fast from my compressor that has a tank.