Digital Fabrication Methods

I enjoyed looking into homemade bio-plastics for my self directed project within this module. It allowed me to be experimental as well as creating 3D physical objects that could be tested and manipulated. I used a range of different food products I already had in my kitchen to keep this project sustainable and as it was produced during lockdown so I couldn’t leave the house therefore couldn’t use any of the fab lab machinery i.e. 3D printer.

I feel that some experiments were successful and some not so much. The orange peel mug was probably the best outcome out of all of them as it actually stayed in one piece (that was until it got left in the rain). Although I realised after making it that the dried sage wasn’t necessary as in the original recipe it said to use sage oil which I realise was to just make the mixture/material smell better as the smell without it was a little off putting and the dried sage didn’t really add to the outcome. The material created using the orange peel was hard and quite solid as well as being plastic-like as it had a slight elasticity about it. It was durable to a certain extent and could have been moulded into any shape before baked. As it couldn’t withstand large amounts of water for a long period of time a mug wasn’t the best object for it to be so maybe a more decorative object would have been better.

The bowl made from ground coffee was an interesting experiment as before it was baked it had a texture similar to play dough and was too dry but after being baked the material was quite brittle therefore cracked and broke quite easily. The water must evaporate when the material is baking which leaves the dry coffee. In the recipe I wrote I recommended adding glycerol or glycerine to make the texture more plastic-like. I also added more water to the recipe as I think it would make the outcome less dry. This material was waterproof to an extent and maybe a simpler object, like a coaster, with no turns or bends would suit it more.

Both the glycerine and gelatine recipes didn’t work that well. I researched and tried to replicate the recipes I found online using the ingredients I had at home but they didn’t turn out as they should have. The glycerine bio-plastic was too soft and tore easily but was translucent and flexible unlike the other bio-plastics I’d made before which was interesting. I baked it, put it in the fridge and even froze it to see what the outcome would be and baking seemed to worked best. This resulted in a thicker more durable material that was still flexible but still tore if pulled apart with force and was not waterproof. However the gelatine worked better when put in the fridge but was still too jelly like and broke very easily. I changed the recipe to add more glycerine and less gelatine which I think will help this.

I have found this module challenging as it was quite out of my comfort zone at first (I found making a website and using the software particularly hard) but I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about how digital technologies can be used with fashion to either make materials, manipulate materials or record and document the processes. I have been able to relate a lot of the 3D and digital processes to my textiles work and will take the knowledge of those with me into future projects and will also continue looking into bio-plastics to try to create a more sustainable future in fashion textiles.

This recipe tells you how to make bio-plastic using Gelatine and other ingredients in your kitchen cupboards – a lockdown recipe.

Step by step method:

1. Add 150ml of water to a pan over heat 
2. I added 6 sheets of gelatine but you should add 3 and allow to melt into water
3. I added 1 1/2 table spoons of glycerine but you should add 2 table spoons
4. Then pour mixture into a tray, however thick you want it, and leave out for up to 2 days to allow to cool and dry out

In this experiment I looked at making a bio-plastic using gelatine which can be done if mixed with glycerine (for cooking) or glycerol (cough syrup). I’ve added more glycerine and less gelatine to this recipe as I think my outcome was too jelly like and not that stronger, could be broken easily so needed more glycerine to make it more plastic-like. At first I decided to bake it to see if that would dry it out but instead I burnt one of the trays and the mixture just turned sticky and stuck to the tray completely. I then poured more mixture into moulds and put them in a fridge to speed up the cooling process but I think they just need to be left for a few hours to dry out, maybe even a couple days. I would also pour a thin layer out when doing this as a thicker mixture won’t dry out as well. This material is not waterproof but is flexible.

This recipe tells you how to make bio-plastic using Glycerine and other ingredients in your kitchen cupboards – a lockdown recipe.

Step by step method:

1. Add 1 tablespoon of cornflour to a pan
2. Then add 4 tablespoons of water,
3. 1 teaspoon of glycerine,
4. And 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
5. Mix together until it looks similar to milk
6. Then stir over heat until it thickens and becomes clear
7. Then spread onto a non stick surface
8. Put in fridge to cool until solid (for a more flexible plastic) or bake for 10mins on 180 degrees and leave to cool (for a more durable, tough plastic)
9. Once cooled peal off and use

With this recipe I put the material in the fridge to speed up the cooling process which resulted in a translucent, flexible bio-plastic which can tear easily. To try to make a the material tougher I mashed it up, added more of the mixture and baked it so it was thicker and more solid. This resulted in a thicker more durable bio-plastic that was still flexible but still tears if pulled apart with force. If it was baked at first or maybe just left to dry out for a few days it could be a stronger bio-plastic. This material is not waterproof.

 

This recipe tells you how to make bio-plastic using ground coffee and other ingredients in your kitchen cupboards – a lockdown recipe.

Step by step method:

1. Add 50g cornflour to a bowl
2. Then add 150ml water,
3. 25g dry ground coffee – you can use ,
4. 5ml white wine vinegar,
5. 5ml lemon juice,
6. 2g sodium bicarb,
7. 5ml Rapeseed oil
8. Stir over heat until mixture turns into a dough
9. Let cool down then mould into a shape 
10. Bake for 35 mins at 180 degrees
11. Let cool

As you can see from my photos above of the finished bowl, after being baked the material is quite brittle therefore cracks and breaks quite easily. I’d recommend making a simple shape out of this material and you could also try adding glycerol or glycerine to make the texture more plastic-like. I’ve also added more water to this recipe as I think it would make the outcome less dry. This material is solid and waterproof to an extent.

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The photographs above show the process from start to finish.

 

How to make bio-plastic using orange peel and other ingredients in your kitchen cupboards – a lockdown recipe.

Step by step method:

1. Collect a large handful of orange peel
2. Boil in a pan of water for 10 mins
3. Drain
4. Chop/blitz in blender
5. Add 15ml of water to a bowl 
6. Then add 35g of the chopped up orange peel
7. Then 50g of corn starch/flour
8. Also add 2g of sodium bicarb
9. And 5ml of lemon juice
10. I added a tea spoon of dried sage as I didn’t have any sage oil but this isn’t necessarily as I realised the oil was just to make the plastic smell better.
11. Mix together then stir over heat to create a dough
12. Let it cool down then mould into what ever you want (top tip: make sure you don’t roll the dough too thin otherwise it might crack)
13. Bake in oven for 45 mins at 160 degrees
14. Let cool

If you’ve followed the recipe correctly you should have created a hard/solid, plastic-like material that is durable and could have been moulded into any shape. Although beware that it isn’t fully waterproof (can’t be exposed to liquids for a long amount of time) so a mug may not be the best idea as I found out, so maybe a more decorative object would be better.

This Microbit was made by the BBC and is a variable used as a programming chip to store data/information on instead of straight onto a device. Other different types of micro controllers include Arduino – which is famous for being accessible to people by using easy to understand language, AVRs, commercial ICs and Blob ICs. It has a lot of capabilities including lighting up numbers and words i.e. telling the time or displaying a sentence when activated. To download the information onto the microbit you either need a usb cable or you can use bluetooth.

 

I decided to create a two player game within my microbit. Which ever person can click 10 or more times on their button (right or left) a different symbol appears (either a smiley face or a tick). When the game starts a message saying ‘hello’ shows up on the LEDs and a message in the simulator lets you know the games started.

 

 

I also made it so that if the microbit is shook an angry face shows up in the LEDs.

 

I also figured out that I needed to add a serial tab to the start bar for it to allow me to view the simulator then I could track the games progress.

 

 

 

This is showing the messages popping up when a button was pressed.

 

 

First I searched for a relevant object I could print on thingiverse, downloaded the image onto my laptop and opened it on Cura – an open source 3D printer slicing software.I then duplicated the earring, made them both a bit bigger and sliced them. In the print settings I changed the quality to low to make the print process faster, then adjusted the printing temperature and plate temperature to ensure the best print quality for this design. I managed to decrease the time it would take to print these by 20 minutes. I actually never got to print these on the day as this 3D printing process takes along time to produce the objects and as everyone in the class had to print something it took quite a while to get through everyones designs so I ran out of time but will hopefully be able to print mine off in the next session. I will just need to transfer this work onto an SD card/memory stick, plug it into the 3D printer, adjust a couple of settings, make sure theres enough plastic cable for the print, press start and wait for it to print.

 

 

 

 

–Preparing an object for laser cutting – use 2D vector file (EPS or DXF), make the format as simple as possible, all shapes no  fill and 0.001mm stroke, laser origin is top left. When placing material onto laser cutter consider airflow, align against the rulers, support to distance the material from the bed, flat surface needed – consistent z -height, use masking tape for light objects or to protect surface. Then set the x & y origins and use focus tool to set z-origin. Too much power melts materials and too little doesn’t cut. Speed can affect the cutting process as if too slow can cause combustion and if too fast it won’t cut. If the pulse rate/frequency isn’t right it can cause material to melt or can leave gaps if too far apart. The vector mode is for cutting and the raster mode is for engraving. Then turn on the BOFA extractor – speed approx. 330m3h, and turn on the air compressor. After the cutting has stopped leave the lid closed with the extractor on for 30 secs and then clean the bed carefully under the tap without bending the sheet.

I was absent for this session but have researched and read the notes for this induction and now understand how to use a laser cutter so would be able to in the future using these notes. I would like to experiment by cutting half a shape into some fabric repeatedly then folding and sewing the flap down to create an interesting 3D effect on the surface. This would relate to my geometric surface design project in print right now.

Hi I’m Holly, I am currently studying Textile Design with Business Studies, specialising in print, at the University of Brighton. I’m interested in manipulating fabric & textiles, physically and digitally. Fabric manipulation using dye techniques, such as devore – screen printing, is what I like to focus on within my projects as well as designing digital prints to a brief. In my spare time, I enjoy upcycling my own clothes using different fabric techniques such as bleach & tie dyes. Within this module I would like to experiment using the various machines available to create different surface textures e.g. using the laser cutter to produce geometric patterns by cutting out shapes therefore making the fabric 3d, giving it depth. I’m also interested in creating materials and fabric in labs using food or chemical processes to produce sustainable and ethical materials that can be used within fashion or everyday products.