Drop a 3D model anywhere on this pageStart from an example, or add your own model below
Get a print-ready two-part mold for candles, soap, resin & wax
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Drop a 3D model anywhere on this pageStart from an example, or add your own model below
Get a print-ready two-part mold for candles, soap, resin & waxA two-part printed mold for pouring wax: two halves that clamp together, alignment keys so they close in register and a pour funnel at the top. Print it, clamp it, pour, and open it when the wax has set.
It is reusable. That is the difference from a silicone mold and from the disposable approach: a printed mold survives dozens of pours if you keep the wax temperature sensible.
Wax is thin when hot and finds every gap between layers, so this is where most first attempts fail.
| Setting | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Material | PETG, not PLA | PLA softens from around 60 °C and wax is poured hotter than that |
| Walls | 4 perimeters | Watertightness comes from perimeters, not infill |
| Layer height | 0.12 to 0.16 mm | Finer layers leave fewer paths for hot wax to weep through |
| Infill | 20% | Enough to stop the halves flexing under clamp pressure |
| Orientation | Parting face flat on the bed | Gives the flattest possible mating surface, which is what seals |
The mold has no wick hole of its own. Drill a small hole through the base of the printed mold and thread the wick through it before you close the halves, or run the wick down through the pour opening; either way pull it taut and hold it centred at the top with a wick bar or a clip across the funnel. A wick that drifts off centre makes a candle that tunnels down one side and never burns the full width.
Wick size follows candle diameter, not wax type: too small and it tunnels, too large and it smokes. Buy a couple of sizes and test with one candle before pouring a batch.
The halves are not closing flush, or the print is not watertight. Clean both mating faces, check for a blob or an elephant's foot on the first layer, clamp properly, and reprint with more perimeters if wax is weeping through the wall rather than the seam.
PLA and hot wax. Reprint in PETG and pour cooler. This is the single most common cause of a mold that worked once and then never again.
Normal. Wax contracts as it solidifies and the last liquid pulls down into the middle. Keep some wax back and do a second top-up pour once a skin has formed.
Put the whole mold in the fridge for half an hour. The candle contracts more than the mold and usually drops free. If it still sticks, the shape has an undercut, and a rigid mold cannot release those. Cast a silicone mold from a printed master instead.
The candle is a faithful negative of the cavity, so you are seeing the print. Print finer, or sand and seal the cavity once and every future candle improves.
Drop any STL into the Meshcast candle mold maker and it builds a print-ready two-part box mold around your shape, with a clean pour spout and alignment keys. Adjust wall thickness and clearance, download the STL, print it, then pour wax, resin or soap. No CAD and no card.
Yes. You print the reusable mold, not the candle. PLA and PETG both work; PETG handles hot wax a little better. Print the two halves, clamp them together, and pour.
The same two-part mold works for soy and paraffin wax, melt-and-pour soap, plaster and low-temperature casting materials. Epoxy and UV resin work too, but resin grabs bare plastic: sand the cavity and use a resin release agent on every pour, or cast a silicone mold from the print for anything detailed.
The mold does not come with a wick hole. Either drill a small hole through the base of the printed mold and thread the wick through it before you close the halves, or pour without a wick and add it once the wax has set, with a heated wick needle or a drilled pilot hole.
PETG, not PLA. PLA starts softening around 60 C and wax is usually poured hotter than that, so a PLA mold warps and often survives only one pour. Use 4 perimeters and 0.12 to 0.16 mm layers so hot wax cannot weep between layers.
Either the halves are not closing flush, usually because of a blob or an elephant's foot on the mating face, or the print is not watertight. Clean both faces, clamp rather than relying on rubber bands, and add perimeters if wax is coming through the wall itself.
Wax contracts as it solidifies and the last liquid pulls down into the centre. This is normal. Hold some wax back and do a top-up pour once the surface has skinned over.
Run it up through the pour opening, pull it taut, and hold it centred at the top with a wick bar or a clip across the pour funnel (if you drilled a hole in the base, thread it through that first). An off-centre wick makes the candle tunnel down one side.
Cooler than most people expect: roughly 50 to 60 C for soy and 65 to 75 C for paraffin. Hotter wax finds more leaks and shrinks more as it sets.
Put the mold in the fridge for half an hour; the candle contracts more than the mold and usually drops free. If it still sticks, the shape has an undercut, which a rigid mold cannot release. Cast a silicone mold from a printed master instead.