11. Textiles as Scaffold¶
RESEARCH & CONCEPT¶
WHAT IS CRYSTALLIZATION?¶
Crystallization is a process in which materials solidify from a liquid or solution and precipitate.
Crystallization can occur due to both physical and chemical changes.
The chemical properties, size, and shapes of the molecules affect the process of crystallization.
It is a technique for purifying chemicals or removing solids from a solution.
Crystals are made out of one species of an atom, different species of ions, or huge molecules like proteins.
You can read more Here
HOW IS THE PROCESS?¶
Crsyatllization is a purification technique that involves the following steps:
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The solution is first heated in an open container.
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The solutes are left behind as the solvent molecules begin to evaporate.
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As the solution cools, crystals of the solute start to form on its surface.
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The collection and drying of crystals take place in accordance with the material requirements.
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Undissolved particles in the liquid are removed using filtration.
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The size of the crystals formed during this process depends on the speed of cooling.
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Rapid cooling of the solution will cause a large number of tiny crystals to form.
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Slow cooling rates lead to the formation of large crystals.
References & Inspiration¶
EXAMPLES¶
The following materials were needed for crystallization.
CRISTALIZATION¶
EXAMPLE #1 WITH ALUM¶
PREPARATION¶
I wanted to make a shape similar to a tree.
It is necessary to measure the ingredients of our preparation before mixing them.
- After measuring the ingredients, heat the water to the point where it boils.
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Then add the alum
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Mix for 10 min
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Finally add the pigment and mix until it dissolves well.
After having our magic mixture ready, we proceed to put the piece we want to crystallize and cover with a piece of cloth.
- Let it rest for at least 24 hours
FAILURES¶
The next day it could be seen that the crystals had not been generated.
To try again I had to boil the failed mixture again and add 136 g of Alum.
RESULTS¶
Now after waiting 48 hours I was finally able to appreciate the crystallization.
EXAMPLE #2 WITH BORAX¶
I also wanted to try how to crystallize with borax since the shape of the crystals is different from that of Alum.
PREPARATION¶
This example was easier to do since I could use:
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Borax 100 gr
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Hot water 300 ml
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Pigment 11 gr
Prepare my crystallization victim
RESULTS¶
After waiting 24 hours you can see the crystallization.
MOLDING WITH CNC AND PRECIOUS PLASTIC¶
EXAMPLE #3 MOLDING WITH RECYCLED PLA¶
I love microcontrollers and microchips so I wanted to transfer that shape to the fabric.
STEP 1 DESING¶
I started modeling with Solidworks since I'm still developing my skills with Rhino.
After this step I moved my design to Rhino so I could make the negative of the piece.
PREPARING FOR CNC MILLING¶
As we know, a CNC machine works with G-Code, so we require a laminator or some Rhino extension that allows us to create this code with respect to the 3D model that we have.
This time we will use the Rhino CAM extension to generate it.
3 codes were made
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Horizontal Roughing : This is to remove as much material as possible in a way that will not be used, it saves us time since it can be done with a 12mm cutting bit.
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Parallel Finishing : This is done to be able to make the final details of the piece, it takes more time and allows us to fully see the final state of the carving, in this case it is done with a 6mm ball nose drill bit.
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Axis profiling : This cuts the surroundings of the model so we can remove the complete piece, Do it with the 12mm cutting bit.
USING THE CNC MILLING¶
Before using the CNC milling machine, the following safety equipment must be taken care of.
After putting on the safety equipment we are ready to start.
After securing our foam sheet to the machine's work table.
I proceeded to adjust the 12mm splindle drill bit and execute the first file that will remove the unnecessary material from the piece.
Then I proceeded to adjust the 6mm ball nose drill bit to execute code #2 where I would finish carving the figure with much more detail.
To finish the process it is necessary to cut the edges of the molds to be able to remove them completely from the foam sheet. Use the 12mm drill bit again.
PREPARING FRAC WITH PLA PLASTIC¶
PLA is one of the most used plastics in 3D printing, many times when we print errors occur in the printing which makes us have to throw that piece away, as another option it can be crushed to pass them through an extruder machine that melts that plastic and put it in some new mold to generate some useful part.
In this case what I wanted was to join pieces of fabric that were not used and melt them together with this plastic.
FIRST TRY WITH FRAC AND PLASTIC¶
I started by separating the finer crushed pla to be able to arrange it this way.
Together with the machine that is usually used for screen printing on clothing, raise its temperature to 215 degrees Celsius and leave it for 8 minutes.
Don't forget to use kitchen paper on both plates so that the plastic does not stick to the hot plates.
I didn't really like the result the first time because the colors weren't mixed correctly, that led me to do a next test but this time with this order.
The perfect time was 15 min.
After that time I had to move very quickly and in less than 15 seconds arrange it next to an improvised glass mold.
The result was the following.
SECOND TRY WITH FRAC AND PLASTIC¶
Finally, with the exact quantity and time data, I was able to make a much larger example to add to my microchip mold.
The indications were:
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15 min warm up
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Place in the mold and let cool for about 15 minutes. (Don't forget to add pressure).
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Unmold and remove the kitchen paper.
Make sure that the cooking paper you use is completely new, so that it does not stick to the plastic and be difficult to remove.
FINAL RESULT¶
You can see that the curves and the entire shape of the microchip have been transferred to the fabric with the plastic, I liked the result because of the combination of colors.
