Skip to content

7. BioFabricating Materials

RESEARCH & IDEATION

MATERIOM

Here we could fin a big material database with all kinds of recipes, I believe this would be very useful if any of us want to explore further this week's topic!

credits

LAURA CIVETTI

credits

NERI OXMAN

Material alternative to plastic. The pavilion is made of 5,740 fallen leaves, 6,500 apple skins and 3,135 shrimp shells.

¨The grown and the manufactured united¨

credits

REFERENCES & INSPIRATION

I've discovered through these Fabricademy's weeks that maybe I'm no the biggest fan of the lab, I actually enjoy a lot more circuits and 3d printing but still the local instructor made sure everything was very organized and clear to us so basically I tried my best to follow the steps and took nothes of everything!!!

At the Fablabs they've done an amazing work with biomaterials so here you can see some pictures of recent years' students documentation which was very useful to help me organize all the information in my own documentation, it was a very useful guide so I hope mine can also be the same for others.

One important thing I'd like to mention is that as a biomaterial with Kombucha takes a lot of time, seeing our local instructor, Petra, documentation was great for gaining more clarity and also she has a lot of references linked so you should definitely take a look at her website!

Petra Barbara Asli

Finally, I must mention that the lab here in Barcelona has a lot of samples, each with its own recipe, which makes it so convenient to have this information close at hand!

Tools

  • Pots
  • Measuring cups
  • Spoons
  • Silicone Spatula
  • Scale
  • Bowls
  • Containers
  • Tape
  • Marker
  • Ph testers
  • Casts

PROCESS

  1. First, we learnt how to 3d print bio materials
  2. Second, we did multiple recipes of crafted bio materials
  3. The next dar, we did 1 recipe with mycelium and 3 recipes pf living bio materials with kombucha
  4. Last but not least, some experimentation!!!

INGREDIENTS & RECIPE FOR 3D PRINTING WITH BIO MATERIALS

After her lecture, our local instructor (Petra) taught us how to 3d print with bio materials which was very surprinsing and interesting for all of us, because we could see how a tradditional 3d printer with the right modifications can work to also 3d print bio materials and that it's something that is done without heat, which is very fascinating to me...

Here you can check the ingredients and the steps

* Cellulose cmc
* Glycerine 
* Orange and Avocado dust
* Calcium Carbonate
* Water

* Bowl 
* Hand Mixer
* 3D Printer (for experiments)

* measure 
* add, combine, mix
* let it sit overnight
* put to extrude
* turn 3d printer on and connect to pc
* set the file on Cura
* Take the file to repetier
* Print
* Let it air dry

Here you can see three videos of the 3d printer working! It's important to be aware of the base we're using for each material, here we're using a wood base and an acrylic one so it doesn't stick and is easier to remove...

DOCUMENTATION CRAFTED BIO MATERIALS

CRAFTED BIO MATERIALS
# Material pic Material name polymer plastifier filler emulsifier additive
1 bio-yarn Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde none
2 bio-yarn Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde mica powder pink
3 bio-yarn Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde mica powder gold
4 bio-yarn Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde charcoal
5 bio-leather Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde mica powder pink
6 bio-leather Alginate 12 gr glycerol 90 gr water 600 ml calcium chloryde wool
7 bio-plastic Gelatin 48 gr Glycerin 48 gr water 240 ml - spirulina for color
8 bio-plastic Gelatin 48gr Glycerin 48 gr water 240 ml soap spirulina for color
9 bio-plastic agar agar Agar Agar 10 gr glycerin 16 gr water 300 ml - mica powder red
10 bio-resin pine resin 45 gr alcohol 20 ml wood dust 40 gr Carnauba wax 5 gr none
  • When working with gelatine add a bit of cinnamon as it has antibacterial properties
  • Remove the mold grom the gelatin with a bit of alcohol

TIME & TEMPERATURE CRAFTED BIO MATERIALS

Material name Time it takes to be done Recipe type
bio-yarn 3 days Cold
bio-plastic 7 days Heat
bio-plastic agar agar 7 days Heat
bio-resin 15 minutes Heat

Steps Bio Yarn - Bio Leather

    For Both

    * measure everything
    * make mix 1: Alginate + Glycerol 
    * mix the two while being careful of making bubbles
    * make mix 2: water + calcium chloryde 
    * divide if you want to color
    * load a syringe with mix 1
    * unload continously the syringe with mix 1 into mix 2
    * (important->do not touch the mix 2 without gloves)
    * Rinse the yarn in water

    For casting (Bio leather)

    * Set a waterproof fabric to pour the mix in
    * Spray some of the mix 2 on the cast
    * Pour the mix 1 
    * Spray more of the mix 2 on top
    * Clean with some water the cast

Steps Bio Plastic Gelatin

    * measure everything
    * cook the gelatin for 5-6 minutes 
    * add the glycerin 
    * add a small spoon of soap 
    * whisk it

     cast it

    * acrylic base, plastic foil, silicone cast
    * add spirulina or any other for color
    * mix it with hand mixer until it creates foam
    * pour it 
    * let it air dry

Steps Bio Plastic Agar Agar

    * measure everything
    * put the agar agar with glycerine and water
    * mix it

     cast it

    * waterproof fabric for base
    * pour it 
    * let it air dry

Steps Bio Resin

    * measure everything
    * melt the wax
    * add the was fast!!!
    * add the filler fast!!!
    * pour into the cast
    * press hard
    * wait for it to harden

DOCUMENTATION LIVING BIO MATERIALS

# Material pic Material name polymer plastifier filler emulsifier additive
1 bio-material Mycelium distilled water straw, sawdust xanthan gum, flour sculpting mix
2 bio-leather Kombucha wine sugar vinegar none
3 bio-leather Kombucha water tea vinegar sugar
4 bio-leather Kombucha beer water vinegar sugar

Steps Bio Material Mycelium

    * sterilize everything (tools, lab, even the materials)

    To sterilize the materials we're working with:

    * put the materials in autoclave bags (these ones doesn't melt)
    * pour aprox. 4 ml of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker
    * pressure cook the straw for 40 minutes
    * pressure cook the tools for 20 minutes
    * take out the materials always being careful of contamination
    * make small pieces of mycelium
    * put the materials (straw, mycelium, distiled water, xanthan gum, fluor and sawdust) into a bowl
    * mix everything with your hands but using gloves and always sterilizing with alcohol before touching the mycelium
    * if the mix is still too dry, add a bit more of water 
    * pour the mix into casts
    * press the mix into the cats
    * cover all of it with foil making sure its tight  
    * leave it into a dark room and wait

Steps Bio Leather Kombucha (tea)

    * boil the tea
    * put the tea into growth bowl with disteled water
    * check the ph
    * cut a piece of the mother (scoby)
    * put the mother into the tea mix
    * cover the growth bowl with fabric
    * let it rest and don't move it for minimum a month

Steps Bio Leather Kombucha (wine)

    * put the wine into growth bowl 
    * add sugar and vinegar
    * check the ph
    * cut a piece of the mother (scoby)
    * put the mother into the wine mix
    * cover the growth bowl with fabric
    * let it rest and don't move it for minimum a month

Steps Bio Leather Kombucha (beer)

    * put the beer into growth bowl with disteled water
    * add sugar and vinegar
    * check the ph
    * cut a piece of the mother (scoby)
    * put the mother into the beer mix
    * cover the growth bowl with fabric
    * let it rest and don't move it for minimum a month

  • Kombucha is a microbial colony of bacterial yeast (Scoby)
  • Mother refers to the Scoby (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast)
  • We check the PH because the water should always be acid 3-4.5

TIME & TEMPERATURE LIVING BIO MATERIALS

Material name Time it takes to be done Recipe type
bio-material mycelium 7 days Cold/Heat
bio-leather kombucha 1 - 3 months Heat

Recipes

Materiom for recipes reference