What is a Paintball Capsule made out of? Biodegradable Forming Foam?

Question

Exactly what the title says...lol. Secondly, how can I make or form this material into my own mold? I'm looking to make a cone shape. I'm guessig I can use the RTV Silicone mold to make the shape. If I can't come up with a paintball capsule formula to mold with, is there another enviormently safe product that works as the same? Maybe a liquid foam?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
B

Answer 1

I have been experimenting with paintball capsules for art purposes for a couple of years and have even spoken to a chemist who manufactures them. The material they are made of now is like a pigmented gelatin like jello , only thinner in viscosity. it will never never never get hardened enough to be permanent. that is by design so it can be washed out of your clothes. I have also tried just about every known type of coating over it to get it to harden. don't waste your time. it won't.

If your project does not have to last beyond the "presentation" class,
did you think about making jello and beating with an electric mixer until it is really foamy,pouring into any mold (from a bowl, pan, whatever, use two packages) this makes it opaque instead of transparent. You could even layer flavors to get different colors. chill it until it is firm (at least 12 hours) and unmold onto a plate, (don't do that part until the last minute, as it melts) If you are going to layer flavors, you have to let the first one set up first, then carefully pour the second one. You could also follow the recipe for "Jello Jigglers" - look it up on the jello website - it does not have to be refrigerated I don't think. then you can eat your project (bring a package of plastic sppoons so you can share it!) Measure your "mold" first so you know how much liquid you have to pour in there - teacher is sure to ask you how you arrived ath the volume of media you needed!!
have you thought about sugar or salt (the large ice cream maker kind, also very cheap, at supermarket in large blue box) stuck together with a glue you used as a kindergartner - flour and water mixed up? you can look up this recipe on the net. You can make a cardboard form of a cone, and stand it up in a bucket of sand. if you want to mold the inside of it solid. just mix up a thin mixture of your "glue", then just before pouring you mix in some of the rock salt and dump it into the mold. when it hardens, peel off the cardboard. hint. it will come off easier if you grease it beforehand with a very very thin coat of petroleum jelly or vegetable oil or spray like Pam, only buy the cheap Walmart brand for about $1.25 or so a can, found in the baking aisle. I would bet your teacher wants you to figure out the Volume of materials you will need to mix up, so come up with that mathematically beforehand...

If you want a thin shell of your cone or other shape, find or make something from cardboard into the shape you want, grease the outside of it.
Mix your "glue" a little thicker, then add your salt to it, and apply it onto the surface. Hint, applying things like this vertically rather than horizontally is harder. I suggest the latter method.

you can also apply your media inside a form, packing and tamping it down with a flat piece of board or a paddle. to do it as an inner or outer shell takes a lot more time and patience than casting solid, but, it depends on what your assignment is. you don't need as much media for making a shell as youdo for a solid.

you can add cake coloring to the salt if you want color. all these things are edible, and therefore biodegradable.

now., if you have to make a mold yourself from scratch, take a form you have made from cardboard, coat it with thin coat of petroleum jelly. use that silicone sealer you buy at the hardware store (get the low odor kind or it iwll run you out of the room) Dont think you are just going to use a caulking gun and squeeze it allout in big old blobs. ha. you will only waste your material and make a mess. First. fix your form to somethng solid. if you make it from cardboard, make wings or flaps from the bottom edge when you make the pattern so you have somethng to attach to a board. grease up your form. put some water in a small bowl and add a little liquid soap to it, just about 6 drops and mix it a little. squeeze a little of the silicone sealant out starting at the bottom of the form , about the size of a fifty cent piece. dip your fingers into the soapy water, and pat down the silicone flat, about a 1/4 inch thick or thinner. work horizontally around your form. work in a ventilated room or outside. Let that entirely covered form dry overnight - preferably 24 hours. repeat this about 3 times. let dry thoroughly, remove form. you now have a "rubber mold" cheaper than using liquid rubber, and less messy. THis is a professional trick, and unless you are in college level or adult, I wouldnot bother with this technique. use something already made unless teacher wants you to build it yourself.
good luck

Answer 2

When I put 'paintball making' in Google, the first return was inaccessable, but the cached copy says this
HOW ARE PAINTBALLS MADE?

Paintballs are made by dye encapsulating machines. These machines, worth millions of dollars, also are used to make encapsulated drugs, such as gel-caps, "Contact C"-type drugs and even bath beads. It is not surprising, then, that most (if not all) paintball manufacturers are pharmaceutical companies.

The actual process is rather involved and technical, but in a nutshell here it is. Two wide ribbons of softened gelatin are fed into the machine. These two strips are joined by two counter rotating drums that have dozens of concave "pockets" which form the paintball. At the same time the drums also inject fill in between the gelatin strips and seal the seams, making the paintball. The paintballs are still very soft, because the gelatin of the shell is still warm, and are placed in a tumblers (to ensure roundness) until they are cooled and hardened enough for the next stage. They are then set on trays and left out to continue hardening.

A special machine packages the paintballs by weight, although a case of paint is sold by quantity. In a case of 2500 you will get, on average, from 2490 to 2510 paintballs.

You can also go to the R.P. Scherer site, they have a really cool animated graphic that illustrates just how paintballs are made. They should know they were the first company to make paintballs. (You'll have to wait until their index page graphic finishes it's animation and then click on "How Do We Make Them?")
durtydan.paintballresource.org/www.durtydan.com/ddpis/1aboutpb.html
here is the url of the site mentioned above
http://www.rps-paintball.com/faqs.asp

Answer 3

How Are Paintballs Made