For our robotics team's seniors, I made keychains in the shape of one of the game pieces from this year's game. They're cast from a part of the robot that we took off after a couple of competitions, powder coated, and given to the seniors.
Patterns (April 2025)
First, the pattern for the casting I hoped to do that weekend: a tree of a dozen small open-frame pieces on a central sprue.
And a single piece, which is what each keychain will be.
Casting (April 2025)
A partially successful casting on the morning of April 27th. This is the robot part in the crucible, melting.
Breaking the investment flask open to see what came out.
And the aluminum tree itself. I only got 8 out of 12 pieces to come out, so I need to do another. I think maybe the graphite gasket I made didn't give a good seal, and I didn't get as much vacuum as I could have.
Finishing (May 2025)
After fettling, the pieces got powder coated, and here they are curing in a toaster oven.
I finished the senior gifts on May 15th. I still have a largish brick of the aluminum left over from the melted-down part, since I didn't use much of it. It's a part we removed because we were over weight, and I plan to bring it in to show people just how much aluminum it was.