star plates vs rolling stars

[bigbuck]

i have recently gained the ability to build star plates, what are the pros and cons of using a star plate vs rolling stars? I also am not sure which comps can be pressed in a star plate or is it the same as rolling stars? it would be a great help if I could find a data source on comp formulas that can be pressed, thanks

[Mumbles]

Essentially any star formula can be cut, pumped, or rolled when using water or an aqueous binding agent as the wetting solvent. Acetone bound stars tend not to roll or pump as well. Alcohol activated formulas can work in all three forms as well, but not as much information and experience is available on them, so it may take some trial and error.

 

For pumping stars, they need the least amount of water. This can be good for faster drying times, and water sensitive formulas. They also tend to come out very uniform, and stack well in cylinder shells. The down sides are that they don't always fly straight due to their geometry. Depending on your tools available, making large quantities of pumped stars can be tedious and time consuming.

 

For rolled stars, they tend to fly true, leading to better patterns in the sky. They also allow for different effects like color changers and stuff. They are well suited to manufacturing on scale. In fact, the more you roll at once, the more uniform and better the stars roll. The downsides are that small batches can be troublesome. They also must be grown and dried in stages when making larger sizes, otherwise cracking or drying in are possibilities.

 

There is a learning curve to both methods, but I'd say it's steeper with rolling stars. It will take practice to get the hang of it, while pumping can be picked up pretty quickly.

[schroedinger]

Also to add, that a pressed stars are like cut atars, double ammount double time.

Rolled stars don't show this effect, double size batch increases the time by maybe 10%, small batches take long.

 

Also rolled stars dry quite fast but need repeated drying every 1-3 mm. Pumped stars are pumped and then left to dry. If you make comps like TT this can be months on big stars.

 

Then you have the different styles of shells, ball shells fill very easy with rolled stars. Canister shells should have at least the rim stars stacked with pressed stars (or very uniform cut stars, small shells are different).

[Msher1438]

I love rolling stars with my Ned Gorski modified cement mixer. It's kind of relaxing and I can do huge batches.