casting with I.D. students

I'm doing an independent study with two Industrial Design students this semester. Last semester Austin asked me last semester if I would do the independent study as a class and then Casey asked me over winter break if I would be her mentor. They are both working on their Senior capstone course so they have a show at the the end of the semester where they present their work and research. Casey is doing a lighting project and Austin is doing the electric motorcycle. I'm really enjoying the interactions with them both We have great conversations about design and process and I've found myself engaged in some philosophical conversations about what it means to be a maker of things. They are both hungry to learn things and last week asked for a casting demo. They also showed me their timeline for creating their work. It's interesting working with them as some parts of the teaching is similar to my art students and other parts are radically different. It's not the first time I've encountered this during my years of teaching, but I would generalize that the majority of the design students from industrial design and architecture have been more engaged with their own work than the art students as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I have had some amazing art students who were super engaged, but it's just not the case with the majority of art students I've taught. I walk away from these interactions and wonder what the difference is between the student groups that causes this phenomenon. 

This semester I do know... that teaching motorcycle design just happens to be of extreme interest to me. I feel like I am drawing from close to thirty years of obsessing about, reading, and looking at motorcycles so I find the conversations to be easy to facilitate. I went back and looked at some of the pictures of building my triumph chopper when I was in school and I feel like I've learned a lot since then and I've been telling the Austin how lucky he is to live in a time where so many things can be manufactured via a desktop/laptop and some low price CNC machines.

I wish I could do classes like this all the time. I'm not getting paid or getting any credit for teaching this course, but that's ok. It's just fun to know that I'm helping to facilitate something that Austin and Casey are into and I hope the experience helps them get a good job in the future.

samantha hatchett

Samantha Hatchett is one on my students who just graduated last semester. She just sent me a link to her new website. She is combining crochet and cast metal in a unique way to create wearable objects. 

 

cast shot glasses

Last week I cast these little shot glasses from some 3D prints I had made. The outside is cast in yellow bronze and the inner cup is sterling silver. I still need to finish these up, but I'm really digging these. Burnouts from ABS prints has been going great and the centrifugal casting machine I refurbished last year is a dream to use. I'm so glad I bought this. It's going to get a lot more use in the future for certain.

kent watson nose ring

During the last couple weeks I've been working with graduate student, Kent Watson, on some projects that he has been wanting to do. I have been so bogged down lately with administrative duties, that it's nice to have time to just work with the grads discussing ideas and making some things. I helped Kent 3D scan himself in a toy army soldier pose and then we 3D printed this. He was hoping to see what reducing the scale in the print would do to the low resolution scan and how this might actually create a object that appears to have more detail at a small scale. I helped him with getting a makeshift rotisserie made to facilitate this project. Then the next week we worked on making a sand cast from his 3D printed nose. In the following days I taught Kent how to use the lathe to make an aluminum ring that he could attach the cast nose to. Kent has been getting a lot of internet press for his "nose ring". Kent is a hard worker and I am glad to see him in the DCRL working all the time. I think he realizes that his production and thought process requires constant making and investigation. Glad to see him getting a little press.

DIY 3D Printing

3ders

Mashable

creating metal casting molds with a laser cutter

Aaron De Lanty just shared this little gem with me.

He writes:

I just learned this technique from the new fablab manager, Benny Hill, about using the laser cutter to make molds.

That's three pieces of 1/8in plywood laser etches designs and vents. Cast pewter into it several times and it looks like it could handle several more.

When I went to sloss there was a lady who gave a demo on hand cut molds out of MDF and casting bronze into it.

I am wondering if I can apply the same principal and try casting silver/aluminum/bronze.

Benny also said you can etch into cuttlefish. And just dust away the residue and you get the cuttlefish pattern back with some slight bevels. I think am I going to try using the 3D engraving process on the cuttlefish to create a more complex mold.

Thanks Aaron!

3d printed rings

kids casting metal

Chad sent the pics above and there was a lot of talk on the site it was located on, about how dangerous this would be for a child to be pouring molten metal. I took it as a challenge...

Noah and Maya poured some sterling silver ingots yesterday. We got to spend time talking about solids and liquids and how the process works. We did some trial runs with no metal in the crucible and then they poured some small amounts of silver into the ingot molds. I'm sure someone who reads this will probably complain about my kids doing this or something safety related. I know I learned some of my most valuable lessons in life by being exposed to such things and it also taught me to be inquisitive. Most people wouldn't dream of giving their kid a knife these days as they might cut themselves; maybe that's what's wrong with young people who are afraid to get off the couch...

casting a 3D printed hand

Alissa has been working on getting a 3D printed hand ready to cast in metal. She sprued the the prints  and prepared the small holes in the fingers by adding graphite lead into the small holes. This will assure that the holes stay clear of molten metal and that they don't get filled in. The granite extends out past the part so that it get imbedded in the investment. The graphite acts a "core". After she completing the sprues, which will act as smooth passage ways for the metal to enter into the mold, she weighs the models. The measurement will allow us to estimate the amount of metal that we need to melt for each mold, which is dependent on the specific gravity of the metal we use. She mixed a plaster investment that we use for making the molds. The liquid investment will flow in and around all of the parts. Bubbles are removed by vacuum or by wrapping the side of the flask with a spoon or butter knife. After the investment has solidified, we will remove the rubber flask bases and then we can place the molds in a burn out kiln. The investment can withstand hight melting temperatures and the wax sprues and 3D print will melt out, leaving us with clean empty cavity/mold in which metal can be poured into. More on that soon...