6. BioFabricating Materials¶

WE WENT BACK TO THE KITCHEN :)

This time we explored Bio materials

Overview¶

TYPES OF BIO MATERIALS¶


BIO DEGRADABLE	Degrade in a specific condition	PH-Sensitive, Thermo-sensitive, Enzymes
BIO BASED	Bacterial, Fungal, Vegetal, Mineral, Biosynthetic and Animal	_
BIO COMPOSTABLE	Composted within 90 days	Bacterial, Mycelium, Animal, Etc.

The Process¶


GROWN	MICROBAL-Leathers, FUNGI-Leathers, LAB GROWN-Leathers, ROOT-Fabric, SPIDER-Silk
CRAFTED (Casted & Assembled)	BIO, FISH, FRUIT, ALGAE, TREE

Recipes & Workflow¶

Gelatin¶

Gelatin Bio Resin¶

Prepare this recipe by collecting the ingredients necessary, to be found in the list below:

HERE I USED WATER

ingredients

    * 48 gr Gelatin
    * 8 gr glycerol
    * 240 ml water or any material dye bath

Tools

    * Scale
    * Pot
    * Spoon
    * Small Cups to measure with
    * A Frame to cast in

Measure your ingredients, Heat water and start adding the glycerol then the gelatin to the water, keep stirring until you get a jelly like texture then cast it quickly before it dries out

Results¶

I added 5gr of coffee to one of my recipes

TO CREATE TEXTURES ON THE BIO MATERIALS CAST YOUR MIXTURE ON
 A TEXTURED PIECE THAT DOES NOT STICK TO THE BIO MATERIAL AND
  CAN BE EASILY UNMOLDED (PLASTIC, RUBBER,...)

Properties¶

This material is rigid and has no flexibility, it shrieked a bit when dried but not much maybe around 2%, it can be used in packaging, decorations and accessories

NOTE: TRY TO KEEP YOUR MATERIAL IN PLACE UNTIL
 COMPLETELY DRY AROUND 2 DAYS TO MAKE SURE IT COME
  ALL STRAIT AND NICE

I tried to cover some dried flower petals and leaves with bio resin to make them earrings

Gelatin Bio Silicon¶

Prepare this recipe by collecting the ingredients necessary, to be found in the list below:

HERE I USED WALNUT DYE BATH FROM WEEK 4, ONE ORIGINAL AND ONE MODIFIED BY IRON

ingredients

    * 48 gr Gelatin
    * 24 gr glycerol
    * 240 ml water or any materials dye bath

The more glycerol you add the more flexible your material gets

Tools

    * Scale
    * Pot
    * Spoon
    * Small Cups to measure with
    * A Frame to cast in

I made a large frame using Acrylic Plastic I made it according to the amount of gelatin I am using, I calculated the gelatin in ML before starting and I used 240ml, to calculate the diminutions of the frame we will use the following formula: volume = length * Width * Hight

we know that V=240 and the height will be 10mm because I'm using a 5mm Acrylic board and I will glue two pieces on top of each other for the height so now we have 240ml = L * W * 10mm

After solving this equation we will have these values L= 219mm W= 109.5mm H= 10mm I doubled them after because I made two different casts

so I took the values and tried my best to stay as close as possible to them, I made the design using Illustrator and laser cut each part and glue them together after, I used the AB glue A is a transparent liquid glue and B is a hardener that makes the glue dry fast, to insure the mold is even and strait I used the wall edges and a ruler, so I put the part I want to glue against the wall and a ruler inside the frame and glue

Laser cutting settings¶

    * material: 5mm Acrylic plastic
    * power 120
    * speed 80

Casting¶

I casted the original walnut in the first half then added the modified walnut on the other half, witch made a two layer material made from two different casts

NOTE: TRY NOT TO TOUCH THE MATERIAL SO YOUN WONT
 HAVE YOU FINGER PRINTS ALL OVER KEEP AROUND 2-3
  DAYS BEFOR TOUCHING OR DEMOLDING

Results¶

properties¶

This material is flexible, not stretchy, almost transparent, it did not shrink at all when dried, this material can make a beautiful transparent bag :)

AGAR AGAR¶

Flexible Bio-Foil¶

ingredients

    * 5 gr Agar
    * 15 gr glycerol
    * 250 ml Black Beans dye bath

The more glycerol you add the more flexible your material gets

Tools

    * Scale
    * Pot
    * Spoon
    * Small Cups to measure with
    * A Frame to cast in

casting¶

Results¶

Properties¶

This material is very flexible, it shrieked when dried around 30%, it is fragile, and not stretchy, It needs around 2 days to unmold depending on the thickness and temperature

Stretch Bio-foil¶

ingredients

    * 3 gr Agar
    * 20 gr Gelatin
    * 15 gr glycerol
    * 400 ml Cabbage dye bath

Casting¶

Results¶

Properties¶

This material is very flexible, a bit fragile but not as much as the flexible bio foil, it shrieked around 30-40% when dried

Sodium Alginate¶

Flexible Bio-Plastic¶

ingredients

    * 12 gr Alginate
    * 20 gr glycerol
    * 10 gr oil
    * 200 ml water or any material dye bath
    * You can add a few drops of food coloring
    * 10 ml sodium chloride hydrate
    * 100 ml water

We use sodium chloride with water to cure our paste after casting, the ratio it 1:2

Tools

    * Scale
    * Pot
    * Spoon
    * Small Cups to measure with
    * A Frame to cast in

This material will shrink 50% when dry so it is better to be casting in think sheets

Preparing¶

More Colors¶

Results¶

This material shrinks a lot around 50-60%, flexible but not very flexible, it is water proof and heat resistant

Bio Yarns¶

To make Bio Yarns put your Alginate paste in a syringe, prepare a Sodium chloride bath with 1:2 ratio to water, put the paste in the syringe and push it into the bath slowly, do not go too fast in order to get clean results

When Dry¶

Bio Yarns shrinks about 30% when dry the become solid but flexible, hard and not easy to break.

You can net, sew and braid them

Properties¶

The yarns are flexible, a bit stretchy, do not break easily, they shrieked around 40-50% in size, you can make accessories, bags, tapestries, and even shits

Bio Printing¶

Bio materials can be 3D printed using specific printers similar to the one used for clay but since we do not have one we tried 3D printing using a syringe

Kombucha¶

Kombucha also known as tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom, it is a traditional chines drink, Kombucha is produced by symbiotic fermentation of sugared tea using a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) commonly called a "mother" or "mushroom

ingredients

    * 12 cup of water
    * 6 tea bags
    * 1 cup of white sugar
    * 6 cups Kombucha

start with making the tea put the 6 tea bags in 12 cups of water and boil them
then add sugar, leave them aside to cool down
filter the tea in a jar
add the kombucha
cover the jar with breathable fabric and leave in a

Results¶

HARVESTING THE SCOBY¶

My Scoby is all grown now I got 3 Scobies and I am very exited about it and they need to be transferred into a bigger container

To Prepare the new home for the leather to grow follow the steps:

First Sterilize everything (I added alcohol then boiling water to my container )

Make The Tea:

* 3L of water
* 4 tea bags
* 300gr white sugar

Let it cool down to room temp.
Add 100gr of vinegar

Add half cup of the original kombucha solution
Measure the PH it has to be around 3 if not add more vinegar
When it is all set harvest the scoby wearing cloves so you wont smear the baby
Cover with a cotton fabric and leave in a dark place for 2 months

After 1 Month¶

LEATHER IS STILL GROWING ....

Recipes¶

Material name	polymer	plasticizer	Solvent	Additive
Bio-Silicon	48gr Gelatin	24gr Glycerol	240ml walnut dye bath	-
Bio-Resin	48gr Gelatin	8gr Glycerol	240ml Water	5g Coffee
flexible-Bio sheet	5gr Agar	15gr Glycerol	250gr Black Beans Dyebath	-
Flexible-Bio Plastic	12gr Sodium Alginate	20gr Glycerol & 10gr oil	200ml Cabbage Dyebath	food coloring & curing agent

Tools¶

- [slides](http://class.textile-academy.org)

Last update: 2023-04-17