This group of photos illustrates the somewhat involved process of molding our Holstein cow model.
Our original mold has started to degrade, which necessitated the creation of a new one. This has also allowed us to make some improvements to the original sculpture and to make some needed changes to the tooling itself.
We have changed the tail mounting system in order to accommodate a future tail epidural/venipuncture option.
The mold itself has been redesigned to improve the quality of casts, ease of use and therefore a better final product.
The material being used has also been changed in order to hopefully last longer before needing to be replaced.
This new material however has to be applied to the model in a timely fashion for it to bond properly. This required four or five VSI technicians all working together to apply the rubber to such a large model.
At this stage the models various fiberglass sections have been determined and the fiberglass jackets will be applied in alternating sections.
Once the jacket is completed the flanges between sections will be drilled for mounting bolts.
The original sculpture will then be removed from the mold. Then the mold can be reassembled and casting can begin.
The initial casting will be cleaned and stored to use as a master model for future molds.
