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7. BioFabricating Materials

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Since this week, I’ve come to Fablab Barcelona to participate in Fabricademy. Last summer, I joined Feature Fabrics Mexico, which sparked my interest in textiles! Working with people who share similar interests, and from different countries, for a common goal was both exciting and a valuable experience. When I decided to enroll in Fabricademy, I consulted with Anastasia, who helped arrange it for me.

Usually, I work at my Fablab in Japan, with Nuria, my remote instructor from Leon. However, for these three weeks, I’ll be working directly under Petra in Barcelona, alongside everyone else attending here—That sounds awesome!

Research

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For the project, I'm doing some research. At Beyond Fashion in Mexico, I saw clothing made from grape-skin leather. There are so many types of bio-leather emerging now, like cactus leather and apple-skin leather... I even already have a wallet made from pineapple leather that I love. I’ve also come across works made from soy leather by an art collective in Indonesia, and in Japan, leather made from discarded tea leaves. I can really feel how rapidly the development of biomaterials is progressing!

I once applied a method using alginate in cooking. I put beaten egg yolk into an alginate solution and then dropped it into water with dissolved calcium chloride using a syringe. I can’t wait to make biofabric using the same method! It’s so exciting.

References & Inspiration

All what I did with Petra and the classmates here:

-Crafted material making
-Grown material making
-3D bioprinting

Crafted Material

1. Sodium Alginate - Bio yarn & Bio plastic

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Ingredients

A
- Sodium Alginate 8gr
- Water 400ml
- Glycerin 60gr
- mica

B - Calcium chloride 60gr
- Water 600ml

Recipe

Make A
1. Put water on the pot 2. Add the sodium alginate and mix with water. 3. Add the glycerin into the pod and mix well. 4. With pink mica, make it pink.

Make B
1. Put water on the pot 2. Add the calcium chloride and mix well.

When A and B are prepared...

  1. Draw A into the cylinder.
  2. Add the glycerin into the pod and mix well.
  3. Avoid touching the tip of the cylinder.
  4. First, add A little by little into the pod containing B.
  5. Then, continuously press the cylinder to fully dispense A.
  6. The A that was poured into B will solidify. When scooped by hand, it forms a thread-like shape. Let it dry.=Bio yarn.
  7. Pour half of A onto a fabric stretched in an 　embroidery hoop to create a mold, let it 　harden=bioplastic.

2. Gelatine-Bio foam & Bio plastic

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Ingredients

  • Gelatine 48gr
  • Water 240ml
  • Glycerin 48gr
  • soap
  • Spirulina powder

Recipe

  1. Heat the pot.
  2. Add water to the pot, then add gelatin and heat it while stirring until the gelatin is dissolved.
  3. Add the spirulina powder to make it green.
  4. Pour half of it directly into the mold. =Bio plastic
  5. Add a small amount of detergent to the remaining half, then mix it further with an immersion blender.
  6. After that, pour it into the mold.=Bio foam
  7. Once both have cooled, they are ready!

3.Agar-Agar Bio foil

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Ingredients

  • Agar-Agar 20gr
  • Water 600ml
  • Glycerin 32gr
  • mica

Recipe

  1. Put water on the pod
  2. Heat the pot.
  3. Add the agar-agar and melt it.
  4. Add glycerin into the pod and mix well 　 until it melts.
  5. Pour the mica into red!
  6. Then, pour it into the mold and wait for t to cool.

4.Pine Resine- Bio resin

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Ingredients

  • Pine Resin 45gr
  • Canmauba wax 5g
  • Alcohol 20ml
  • Fillen 40gr

Recipe

  1. Line the mold with baking paper and wrap it around the inside of the lid as well.
  2. Heat the pot.
  3. Place the pot over heat and melt the pine resin.
  4. Once the pine resin has melted, add canmauba wax and alcohol and melt them.
  5. Add the fillen.
  6. Quickly pour it into the mold, cover it with the lid, and press down from the top.

Grown Material

1. KOMBUCHA

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Ingredients

Beer - Beer 5L - Water 5L
- Sugar
- Vinegar

Recipe

  1. Pour beer and water into a large container in a 1:1 ratio.
  2. Add sugar.
  3. Add vinegar.
  4. Check the pH level.

Ingredients

Wine - Wine
- Sugar
- Vinegar

Recipe

  1. Pour wine.
  2. Add sugar and vinegar and mix them.
  3. Check the pH level.

Ingredients

Tea
- Tea bags 10bags
- Water 　2L
- Sugar - Vinegar

Recipe

  1. Steep a tea bag in hot water to make tea.
  2. Add sugar and vinegar and mix them.
  3. Check the pH level.
  4. Put the Kombucha into each containar.
  5. Cover it with a cloth and tie it around the sides of the containar with a string to keep out debris.
  6. Place it in a dark location..

so after 7 days it can be a membrane at the surface of the contenar

2. MICELIUM

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To use the Mycelium, we have to do for preparation!!

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Then we did the 2 ways.

Recipe 1-MOLD ####

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Recipe 2-PLASTIC TRAY

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How to pour into the plastic tray.

3D bio-printing

We tried both recipes from Petra's tutorial. Petra's Tutorial

Recipe 1

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Using Soldium Alginate, some orange peal, CNC chips,sodas, avocado peal.

Press the back side of the cylinder against the material, then twist the cylinder to gradually feed the material into it.

Once it's in the cylinder, blow it clean and securely close the lid.

For the 1st trial, it was slightly soft, and layers were formed right after printing, but as time passed, the layers gradually collapsed. The 2nd trial, it was much better.

Recipe 2

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Using Soldium Alginate, sodas, spirulina powder, mixed all.

Attached it around the cup and took a mold.

How to do 3D printing

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For 3D bio-printing, it's necessary to hack the 3D printer. Here is also the video how to hack!

Connect to the compressor in the correct order, including how to open the valve.

3D printer hack for Bio printing

Additional work

Building on what I did with Petra, I did some crafted material making at home over the weekend with my classmate, Germa

1. Soldium Alginate-Bio yarn

Ingredients

A
- Sodium Alginate 8gr - Water 400ml - Glycerin 60gr - Spirulina powder

B - Calcium chloride 60gr - Water 600ml

Recipe

Make A
1. Put water on the pot 2. Add the sodium algenate and mix with water. 3. Add the glycerin into the pod and mix well. 4. With spirulina powder, make it green.

Make B 1. Put water on the pot
2. Add the calcium chloride and mix well.
3. When A and B are prepared... 4. Draw A into the cylinder. 5. Add the glycerin into the pod and mix well. 6. Avoid touching the tip of the cylinder. 7. First, add A little by little into the pod containing B. 8. Then, continuously press the cylinder to fully dispense A.
1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4

"1-1"
I also tried using alginate for another experiment. I used an egg carton as a mold to create two hemispheres. Once they dried, I attempted to attach the two pieces to form a sphere.

"1-2"
In a slightly deep bowl, pour the alginate solution and add dried flowers, arranging them in the bowl to create a slight indentation. Pour the calcium chloride solution into this indentation, ensuring it evenly covers the surface.

"1-3"
I changed the natural colour to red. Since the red natural colour was in liquid form, I mixed it with water to reach the required quantity.

"1-4"
I made a patterned piece using rice noodles.

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With natural ink that we did on the week 04, colored the soldium alginate and made the pink/red strings.

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Created a piece with Germa using rice flour noodles. describe what you see in this image

Rice & cabbage dye exploration-Germariliz Ruiz & Yuki Takemura 2024

2. Agar-Agar-Bio plastic
Flower Carbon Warm water 2 types

Ingredients ####

  • Agar-Agar 20gr
  • Water 600ml
  • Glycerin 32gr
  • Vinegar 2 big spoons
  • Carbon 2 small spoons
  • Dry Flowers

Recipe

  1. Put water on the pod
  2. Heat the pod.
  3. Add the agar-agar and melt it.
  4. Add glycerin into the pod and mix well 　 until it melts.
  5. Divide in half.
  6. Place half into the tray and sprinkle 　 dried flowers over it.
  7. Heat the other half again and add carbon. Then, pour it into the mold and wait for it to cool.
  8. Once they’ve cooled and solidified, let’s try layering the two (the flower and the charcoal).

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Flowers Agar Agar Bioplastic (30x23 cm) -Germariliz Ruiz & Yuki Takemura 2024

3. Tapioca
Ingredientes Add tapioca Mix Add flowers

Ingredients

  • Tapioca powder 40gr
  • Water 240ml
  • Glycerin 16gr
  • Vinegar 2 big spoons (30ml)
  • Dry Flowers
  • Natural color (violet)

Recipe

  1. Put water on the pot
  2. Add the sodium algenate and mix with water.
  3. Moreover add the glycerin into the pod and mix well.

Since it's not solidifying well, consult Petra. Use an immersion blender and reheat the mixture and then set it in the mold to firm up.

Tapioca

Overview material research outcomes

It wasnot be able to compare during my stay in Spain. Because it needs more time to dry.
Biofoam Gelatin foil Bioresin Biosilicone
Alginate foil Alginate string Agar foil

Fin.