In the entertainment industry, especially for film production, creating high-quality, detailed props and collectibles is crucial to bringing a fictional world to life. Vacuum casting is widely used for producing movie props, collectibles, and other entertainment-related items that require intricate details, durability, and accuracy. Materials like resin and polyurethane are often chosen for their ability to be molded into highly detailed shapes and their flexibility in design.

Resin is a versatile material that can be easily cast into complex shapes, making it ideal for producing movie props that require fine details, such as facial features on masks, armor designs, and miniature models. Polyurethane is another excellent material for creating durable, lightweight props that require a high degree of flexibility. It is used for creating items like weapon replicas, armor, and accessories that need to be both lightweight and durable enough for use during filming or for display.

The vacuum casting process for entertainment products begins with the creation of a highly detailed master model. This master can be a hand-sculpted item, a 3D-printed model, or an existing prop. A silicone mold is created from the master, and liquid resin or polyurethane is poured into the mold under vacuum conditions. The vacuum helps to remove air bubbles and ensures that the resin fills all cavities, resulting in smooth, detailed parts that are true to the original design.

One of the key advantages of vacuum casting in the entertainment industry is the ability to produce high-quality, low-volume parts quickly and cost-effectively. This allows for the creation of custom props, limited-edition collectibles, and special effects pieces without the need for expensive and time-consuming production methods. Vacuum casting also provides the flexibility to create different finishes, textures, and colors for props, enabling designers to experiment with different looks for various film projects. For collectibles, this method ensures that each piece is consistent in detail, helping to maintain the integrity and quality of limited-edition items.

• One of the most cost-effective ways to produce high quality, low volume plastic parts which can be similar to injection moulding parts
• Especially suitable for form, fit and function tests during the embodiment design stages, where they can be used for marketing, field user testing and product design verification purposes
• Many Urethane casting resins commercially available that can be used to create parts to satisfy a wide range of design requirements such as temperature requirements, different surface textures, hardness, etc.
• Materials are also available to create parts that are fully opaque, translucent or completely transparent
• Sometimes high-quality wax masters can be made using vacuum casting for investment casting to increase the finer details of intricate features