Fundamentals of Future Making
Through this course we had engaging discussions and assignments with a wide range of tools and processes including laser cutting, CNC, 3D printing, silicone molding, and bio-material casting. The joy of not learning by seeing but by actually doing is like none other, and to have a physical manifestation of those learning and those errors is a valuable lesson indeed.
Electronics and Barduino
This was one of the most fun experiments where we got to connect inputs and outs and learn to interact with those connections through code.
Laser Cutting
As a group we designed a box that was later used for silicone molding. Here as we experiments with the level of detail and power of the engravings of laser, gave us important lessons such as - we learned about the importance of line spacing and kerf considerations. Our initial design had lines placed too close together, which caused cutting issues. We had to revise the design by increasing the distance between paths to ensure clean cuts.
Printing
For the mold-making process, we designed and 3D printed a positive model that fit inside the laser-cut box. The printed form was a maze-like structure, and an important design consideration was ensuring that all shapes were properly merged into a single manifold object to avoid printing errors. Compared to other processes, 3D printing was relatively smooth.
Silicone Molding and CNC Milling
Creating the silicone mold from our 3D-printed positive allowed us to translate rigid digital geometry into a flexible, reusable mold. So now we had another maze just as negative of the 3d printed one. Learning to proportion it right and to get the right amount was crucial as we had used a thinner volume in our 3d printed model.
CNC milling
This was quite challenging. The combination of material choice, design geometry, and tool diameter led to some cracking, particularly around rounded corners. Maybe changing into a smaller milling bit could have produced better results.
Bio-material Casting and Material Experimentation
For the final casting step, we experimented with bio-material recipes, mixing two different formulations to observe how their properties interacted. The results were interesting, reinforcing the experimental nature of working with organic materials. One issue we encountered was with pigmentation: both indigo and food colorings failed to dry properly within the bio-material.