Molding and casting

I wanted to take on the persistent challenge in the class to make something small. There were certainly challenges along the way (see my silicone mold below), it was cool to try different materials. Ultimately the tin-bismuth alloy was great for conforming to the precise geometry required by the braille mold. This 3cm ingot says, "Hello, world." Somewhat cliche, but relevant to my ongoing investigation of how the extent of language determines the bounds of reality.

Originally, I wanted to make a series of chocolate bars with constellations on them. I thought this would be a good design challenge (making something small) and something that I could share with the class. The sketch to the left shows an initial design that I'd planned to mill. Do to the availability of food-safe silicone and general attitude of the TAs towards using food-safe materials, I decided to go in another direction.
I used Rhino to make the model for 3D printing. I originally wanted to mill the mold, but had to spend time preparing for a Navy reserve drill weekend and opted for the more time efficient approach. Here's the design file that I used to print the mode. I felt much more comfortable using the 3D printer this time around - it didn't hurt that my little model only took 40 minutes to print.

Group assignment

Learning about Oomoo

This was an easy group assignment compared to past weeks, and most of the learning would have to come from using the material. Mixing properly, pouring at the right rate, etc.

Keys to successful use:

  1. Mixing 1:1
  2. Stirring without introducing air bubbles
  3. Proper clean up and workstation prepartion (silicone is a pain to clean)

Learning about tin-bismuth

Jacob was kind enough to lead a group demo on how to handle the tin-bismuth alloy and easy-bake oven (we were surprised to learn that it was really a Cuisinart - this did make me want to make a model cast of a pizza). He did this in spite of having a midterm review the next day! The group definitely owes him, especially since so many of us used metal. He showed us how to handle the melting/pouring tray, the oven mitts, and did a demo pour so we would know how to handle the metal when pouring it ourselves.

This was a great week in terms of teamwork (note the apparent joy while gathered around the oven).

Individual assignment

A modest success, with some relevance for the final project

It was still a growing pain to use Rhino, but it was satisfying to make the entire design myself. I think I will try to use fusion in upcoming weeks... I had to really stretch to think about how to make the model, and opted to leave off the geometry I'd need to stabilize the mold (which I ended up not needing).

I want to include braille in my final project, so it was fun to experiment with the design this week. I was especially happy with the texture of the metal, which will work well incorporating the tactile experience of language into the World (working shorthand for the final project).

Highlights from this week that made it a success:

  • Front-loading - able to realize early on food-safe wasn't the way to go
  • Teamwork - from organizing demos to improvising in the lab, teamwork was crucial
  • Learning-by-doing - embracing that there were something we couldn't train for, e.g. pouring the silicone into a really small mold
Outtakes:
Bulbasaur remains weak to fire-type attacks...