The objective of assignment 4 is to start thinking about different ways of using rapid prototyping techniques, in combination with other, more ‘traditional’, craft techniques. Working individually or in pairs we produced a small piece that utilizes at least one rapid prototyping technique, with another model making technique
Amy and I decided to work together to come up with out Hybrid Techniques model we decided to create a contour mould from laser cut contour profiles, then cast the piece using plaster
So we set about by creating a 200m X 200m square in RHINO onto which we created contours and using the “array” command we created the 67 contour lines profiles that would make up our mould out of MDF wood.
We “grouped” each line with a number from 1 to 67 using the text tool and added a bottom rectangle to the contour line to create the profile that we then laid out on an area 900mm X 600mm as this is the largest size that the LASER CUTTER can fit in it’s bed all the time trying to minimize material used and wastage
Our profiles we cut 4 seats of MDF with the LASER CUTTER and then once they were done we popped them out of the panel and each taking half home we glued them together with PVA glue
After we had both glued our halves together I glued and clamped the two halves together and left them over night to dry and then spray painted the mould with an enamel spray paint so that it would seal the MDF so that when we poured plaster in it the mould would not absorb the water within the plaster
Once spray painted we used LOTS of Vaseline to coat the mould so that the plaster would not stick to the MDF mould and then we constructed a box to go around the mould to hold the plaster in out of clay and then sit about mixing the plaster and pouring it into the mould.
After the plaster was dry we peeled back the clay box and pulled off the plaster
from the mould, which was rather hard! But in the end we had a good cast of the
contour mould and to finish it off Amy spray-painted the plaster cast so that it
matched the mould.
this was our final result and over all i think Amy and I were very happy with this project!
