Chess Piece Molds (For 3D Printer Poop)

This is my contest entry for the filament recycling design contest. It is a bunch of chess piece molds. There is one mold for each piece. I've made a lot of pieces with these, but I lost most of them, so make sure you know where you're keeping them! I recommend printing one mold (two pieces) for each chess piece (6). Also, make sure you print this in PETG. It will not work in PLA. Now, here is a brief summary of how to use the molds:

For this demonstration, I will be making a pawn, but you can make any piece. First, I have to know how much it weighs.

One pawn weighs about 8 grams. Not all the pieces weigh the same, so here are the weights of the other pieces:

Remember: It's better to melt too much than not enough.

Next, you have to weigh the amount of waste you need to melt. This should be the same amount as the piece you want to melt, so look at the chart above. Also, it has to be PLA. If you do anything else, it either wouldn't melt, or it would fuse with the mold. Red PLA can stain your molds if the molds are white, but you can still use it.

Next, you have to melt the plastic. I use an old toaster oven that I got at a garage sale, but whatever you use, DO NOT use something you put food in. You should also do this outside, because you do not want the fumes of melting plastic going through your house. I put the plastic onto a big silicone mold, so it doesn't get on the tray, and so that it's easier to remove once it's melted.

I set the old toaster oven to about 300-350℉ (~150-175℃). You want to melt the plastic, but not the silicone.

Then, I leave it in the toaster oven until the plastic is fully melted.

While the plastic is melting, I spray the PETG mold with WD-40, so the plastic doesn't stick to the mold, because it can warp the mold if it stays in there for too long.

Then, once the plastic is melted, you have to carefully and quickly press the melted plastic into the molds. Do this as fast as you can, because PLA hardens quickly.

Then, you have to quickly put the holders on to keep the mold together.

Then, you have to get the mold out of the holder almost immediately after. The mold will warp if the hot plastic stays in it for too long, and PLA hardens really fast. The plastic doesn't have to be fully cooled, but should be able to hold it's shape. If the mold is stuck, I like to hit it with the bottom of a tool to get it out.

 Next, you have to get the piece out of the mold while it's still hot. This is why using WD-40 is very helpful, because it can be hard to get it out of the mold. I've found that it's easiest to use a scraper to get it out, and wear oven mitts or something, so you don't burn yourself. You also have to do this quickly, so the mold doesn't warp.

After that, I recommend running it under cold water to harden it all the way and to cool it off. You can use a sink or a hose.

And that is pretty much it! It's a fun activity to make chess pieces out of what would otherwise be garbage. Especially if you have an AMS, 3D printers make a lot of purge, but you can also use supports, purge lines, failed prints, and any other PLA with these molds.

For a video on how to use this, click this link: https://makerworld.com/en/community/post/1748513

(I still recommend reading the description.)

Print settings:

layer height: 0.2mm (0.16mm is recommended for knight.)

Infill density: At least 20% (It probably won't warp at 100% but that's a lot of filament.)

Infill type: Gyroid

Walls: At least 2

What to print: You can print one of the print profiles that has all pieces for your printer, but the knight might not have as good quality since it's recommended to print the knight at 0.16mm layer height, but all the other pieces are at 0.2mm. You can also print one or more of the print profiles with individual pieces; all of them except the knight have the same settings. If you print one of the individual molds, you also have to print the print profile with the holders. (They are already in the profiles with all the pieces.)

Also, please don't forget to leave a rating if you printed this and like it.