[HN Gopher] The Saltgator: A Desktop SoftGel Injection Molding M...
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The Saltgator: A Desktop SoftGel Injection Molding Machine
Author : surprisetalk
Score : 49 points
Date : 2025-07-27 13:29 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.core77.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.core77.com)
| some_random wrote:
| It's a kickstarter, seems interesting but I'm going to pass until
| they can ship products and have reviews that don't read like
| sponsored content like this article.
| imzadi wrote:
| The estimated shipping date is September 2025, so they must be
| ready to ship already, or they are scamming.
| hed wrote:
| Reminds me of the modified EZ-bake I had 30+ years ago [1]. I
| tried putting hooks in those to mixed success. One side was
| always flat though.
|
| [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTFiJAH63xo
| stavros wrote:
| I don't understand, does this just inject the plastic into the
| mold? Where do I get the mold from?
| strongpigeon wrote:
| > You can use existing resin molds or 3D print your own.
| stavros wrote:
| I missed that, thanks.
| socalgal2 wrote:
| You 3d print molds with a separate 3d printer.
|
| It feels implied from the video and the pictures and the
| opening paragraph
|
| > If you own a 3D printer, you've got hard plastics covered. .
| But what if you want to make something soft or squishy, like
| grip pads or a gadget enclosure?
| jononor wrote:
| Print in TPU? There is a limit to how soft one can get, and
| the finish is not so great (stringing). But fantastic for
| very tough semi-soft functional objects. Ninjaflex Cheetah
| and Armadillo are my favorites, but generic TPU also works.
| Direct drive extruder recommended, though I manage on my
| cheapo Bowden fed Ender 3.
| metabagel wrote:
| The kickstarter page seems to be more informative.
|
| "From ultra-soft to firm - mold any feel"
|
| "Multi-part bonding"
|
| I see this as an add-on for those who already have a 3D printer
| (I don't), because you can print the mold for your softgel part.
|
| https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saltgator/saltgator-the...
| p0wn wrote:
| Looks like they are re-inventing the creepy crawler oven I had as
| a kid.
| modeless wrote:
| Hmm, so basically it's a heated syringe? Is there a reason you
| couldn't just use a regular syringe and heat it up?
| itishappy wrote:
| The Kickstarter video shows temperatures of 180degC, and
| polypropylene syringes don't support that. You can probably use
| a glass syringe but I suspect that would gum up quickly.
| Karliss wrote:
| A lot of diy/custom lure makers are are already doing something
| very similar.
|
| The process involves a plastic mix called Plastisol
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastisol which is initially
| liquid but after heating it for the first time and letting it
| cool it becomes rubbery.
|
| In small scale setups the heating is typically done in a glass
| beaker and microwave or other heater. Injection is done using
| giant metal syringe (which are sold for exactly this purpose).
|
| If you look up some videos of people doing it the process is
| quite messy. Search "making soft plastic lures" on youtube.
| Looks like this product just tries to streamline the process by
| integrating syringe, heater and mixer (typically you would mix
| in a dye and or glitter preferably without introducing a lot of
| air bubbles), while at the same time comparing their product to
| everything else except the direct competitors based on similar
| technology.
|
| Considering the target audience (a lot of fishing lures) and
| information about their plastic/rubber - initially liquid,
| needs to be heated to ~180, becomes rubbery after cooling,
| recyclable seems likely that the rubber they are using is very
| similar to the plastisol stuff.
|
| The recyclability claim is a bit weird. Yes you can remelt that
| stuff, which is not a problem if you heat it in a pot. Not sure
| how well it would work with their product which has the heater
| integrated and relies on the rubber initially being liquid at
| room temperature before the first heating so that you can suck
| it into syringe.
|
| Using PLA molds also seems a bit of stretch. While their heater
| can be set to lower temperatures, the existing plastisol
| requires ~180 and screen in their own videos are showing
| similar temperature. PLA is melting temperature is ~210 and it
| becomes soft at 60. Might get away with PLA mold for some
| shapes once or twice. Maybe not so bad if it cools fast enough
| and actual melting temperature is lower than 180. In most of
| the lure making videos I have seen they are usually using
| aluminum molds.
| dvh wrote:
| I've been watching Marling baits and he just shoots microwave
| oven heated plastisol into a mold for years.
| giantg2 wrote:
| Eh, seems kind of interesting, but can't you just use reagent
| cured soft plastics at room temperature without the cost of a
| machine?
| FloatArtifact wrote:
| I would hazard a guess you have to use their proprietary material
| to inject into your mold.
| damascus_kei wrote:
| From their FAQ:
|
| Can I use materials other than your SoftGel?
|
| Yes. While we'll offer our own optimized SoftGel formula,
| SALTGATOR is not locked to proprietary materials. You can
| experiment with other low-temperature thermoplastics that match
| our safety and flow specs.
| pdabbadabba wrote:
| No need to guess:
|
| "This allows you to mold soft plastics (which you can buy from
| the company, also called Saltgator, or a hobby shop or fishing-
| lure supplier) and mold a piece up to 250mL (8.4 oz) in volume
| in about 15 minutes."
| greggsy wrote:
| Looks like a cross between a Rollie Egg Cooker and an Aeropress.
|
| In fact, I think you could reproduce this invention using
| components of those two products.
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