March 03, 2022
Molding a casting is a manufacturing process where a mold is made to hold a liquid material which in time will take the form shaped by the mold. The solidified part is known as casting which is eventually ejected from the mold to obtain the final product. Molds and casts can be done with many different materials and by many different processes. The trick here is to choose the proper materials depending on the desired outcome. A lot of industries rely on them, which is beneficial towards the exploration of more materials and ways to make molds and casts.
I started by defining the shape I wanted to obtain with the mold. In my case I wanted to design a piece which could contain an algae biomaterial which one could wear and while swimming with it it could dissolve into the water and release probiotics specially for coral regeneration.
Once I had the desired shape I took a while studying how could I pour my material in order for it to go through the mold and make the desired design.
After modelling the shape I created the mold in which it would be poured. I still need to figure out how to mold the small holes in which the chaing would be inserted.
I am playing a bit with the possibilities of the mold to see which could be the best option to pour the material and obtain the desired pieces. The tricky part in this one is the holes.
Once I had my file prepared I exported it from rhino to stl and opened the file in ultimaker cura. I selected the printer Kossel and took away the supports so I could have a cleaner print. The file took around 1 hour. I used the filament PolyTerra PLA which is made from recycled material.
After obtaining my 3d printed design I started searching for a biomaterial that could be easily dissolved in water. This with the intention of eventually using it to put a biomaterial containing probiotics that could be delivered to corals in need of regeneration. So while people scuba dive or swim next to the corals the biomaterial will dissolve and release the probiotics.
Borka and Pippa were working with Anna to create a spirulina biomaterial for their project. While checking the ingredients I realized I could use the same one. So we used the same recipe which is 4 gr of agar agar, 10-15ml of glycerin, 80 ml of water and a teaspoon of spirulina. After mixing everything together we had to microwave it for one minute or until foam starts forming.
Then I poured it into my 3d printed mold and shook it a bit to remove any bubbles.
After a few minutes the mix was already getting thick Now I just need to test how fast it dissolves in water.
