Casting standard parts?

I've recently started a non-reprap project which has introduced me to something that may be useful to the reprap community, so I thought I'd share the idea.

Basically, I've been playing with making silicone moulds & casting parts in resin. The casting resin is extremely tough, quite easy to work with once you get the hang of it,.. but its also quick & very cheap. Fairly cheap pigments can also be used to produce parts in any colour you'd like, and you can even use metal powders for a metallic finish!.

I know some standard mendel/prussa parts would be hard to cast due to awkward shapes, but many could be produced quicker & for a fraction of the cost this way, and the rest could probably be modified to better suit casting.

I know this kinda goes against the whole "self replicating" ethos, but in the short term at least I would love to see this method used to make entry level kits more affordable.

Has it been tried before?

Some years ago I tried polyester resin big scale (boat hull) in a well aerated place.
There's one thing I definitely do not like aboit it: the fumes, a bunch of quite nasty volatile components there.
Epoxy, while more expensive, is less obnoxious - excepted during the curing phase-

As for reprap molded parts, you might want to check out clonedel.

[www.thingiverse.com]

[reprap.org]

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Wooden Mendel
Teacup Firmware

One day I'll have a really great idea that no one else has thought of first,...