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cal_gundert05
Apr 19, 2006, 7:31 PM
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Anyone know how hold companies mass-produce their shapes? I imagine they make a model hold using styrofoam or something to make the mold.
After that, do they:
1) Make a 3D scan of the model hold, then have a machine "carve" the shape from a solid block
2) Scan the model, have a computer figure out the complementary mold and make a master mold out of something stronger than styrofoam (this seems more likely)
Could a hold company (if they wanted to), accept hold designs from customers who create the shape using CAD or something? They could make individual holds for people (assuming it's not too expensive) or have a contest where the company makes limited edition holds selected from contest entries.
Just a thought 8^)
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speedywon
Apr 19, 2006, 7:44 PM
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In reply to: 1) Make a 3D scan of the model hold, then have a machine "carve" the shape from a solid block
Lathes are expensive. A few of the top hold manufacturers may have the assets for a piece of machinery like that, but I’d venture to say that most do the old fashioned way (by hand).
The idea of getting to design a hold does sound cool though. If you can sculpt your idea out of clay, foam, wood, etc., get some bondo and give it a run yourself.
I've been tinkering with making holds myself for a few months now. Admittedly, most of them suck, but every now and then I come up with something good.
The important thing is have some fun!
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sidepull
Apr 19, 2006, 7:51 PM
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I might be making a ridiculous assumption but aren't they poured into molds? (except the wood ones)
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cal_gundert05
Apr 19, 2006, 9:39 PM
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Yeah, lathes do seem pretty expensive. So if they don't sculpt holds from a solid block, they must have a master mold for each shape.
Are these master molds just styrofoam, which is easy to hand-shape but probably not too long-lasting.
Or are they some sort of plastic that must be carved by machine (not necessarily a lathe).
My point is, if there is some step in the process that uses computer rendering to replicate a shape, it may be possible to submit our own shapes.
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greenketch
Apr 19, 2006, 10:30 PM
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There are various ways for this to be done. The most common I see is to hand produce a male pattern. This is then coated with a heavy resiliant mold material. The mold is then filled with the hold material, once it is set you dump it out and pour another one.
For what you are asking they could copy any wood or durable pattern that you send in. The trick is designing it to grip nice and at the same time not have so much negative clearance that it won't come out of the mold.
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c-money
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Apr 19, 2006, 10:45 PM
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From my limited experience with what I have seen a few of the companies do, molds are usually created from an original shape carved by hand in a type of styrofoam. The original carved shape is usually destroyed when it is being removed from the mold it has created. From what I have seen, they do not keep a "master" of each shape.
I strongly doubt that many (if any) companies use a computer for carving their shapes (besides some hangboards). Most are fairly low-tech operations...
You could submit your own carved shape.... However, the rubber mold is generally the most expensive part of this process. Unless you have carved a shape that the company would be interested in using over and over, it would not be economical (for yourself or the company) to go through this casting process for just a few holds to be made once or twice...
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ctardi
Apr 20, 2006, 3:16 AM
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First to set it straight, you can not make a hold on a lathe, they work by spinning the workpeice, and you can make things that are perfectally round. :)
I beleive that most holds are cast in a mold, but everyone would have their own little procedure for doing that. On the bigger teknic holds you can tell they came from a mold, then the backs get the high spots sanded down so that they don't spin.
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wrbill
Apr 20, 2006, 3:36 AM
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I am making my own holds and using concrete. I use oasis form, you know the form that is used for flowers, to make may hold. Then use clear silicone to make the mold. This works great. But this is the cheap way to do it. The mold that hold companies make are made with something different, do not know what that is. The web site listed below might help you out a little.
http://www.stephenwilliamson.com/...ng/climbingholds.htm
Bill
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gunkiemike
Apr 22, 2006, 3:09 PM
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Nicros had a hold-shaping contest a few years back. I didn't win anything. :cry:
The model for each hold is shaped from rigid foam - flower arranging foam or something similar. Styrofoam doesn't work well. It lacks the surface texture, can't be sanded, and tends to tear and bend.
Of course now we have dual texture holds, huge hollow back holds, and holds with holes through them (like the "luggage handle" clipping jugs from Nicros and others). Those can't be made simply by making a rubber mold around a foam model.
I'll second the notion that 3D computer mapping is probably not used much, if at all. If you want to submit a hold, send in the foam model.
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