10. Textile Scaffold

Research

The assignment for Week 10 is to choose two out of seven topics and demonstrate them. They're all interesting, but I want to learn how to use a new machine (since I've only been observing until now) and try making crystals, which I hadn't considered before but seems surprisingly simple!

While browsing Pinterest for tips on making crystals, I came across flowers adorned with crystals and decided to try creating something similar! A continuation of Kitchen Fabricademy from Week 4.

Around the same time, TAKE got a crystal-making kit in America and returned. Now then...After finishing the task, I'll get started

References & Inspiration

Traditional Japanese wagashi (sweets) are made using wooden molds. The variety is astonishing. There are even artisans who specialize solely in hand-carving these wooden molds for wagashi. Inspired by this, I want to try creating them using digital facilitation!

Now, what kind of designs should I go for... flower patterns, leaf motifs, fish shapes, celebratory phrases... there are so many options. Additionally, for design inspiration, I’d like to incorporate patterns from the Japanese cultural tradition of kamon (family crests).

By the way, my maiden name was Shiroyama (城山), and this is the Shiroyama family crest (kamon). After getting married, my family name changed to Takemura (竹村), and here is the Takemura family crest.

Traditionally, the formal attire (formal attire worn for ceremonial occasions in Japan, such as weddings, funerals) prepared before marriage would feature the family crest on the back, just below the collar.

Crystalization

Process and workflow-BORAX

Ingredients

-Borax.......4 tablespoons
-Hot water...250ml
-Pipe cleaner (craft material)
-Nails for hanging item or something to hang object.

Recipes

1. Create the base part where crystals will form.
2. Bend the pipe cleaner into desired shape. If want to make a round sphere, be sure to wrap the pipe cleaner tightly and compactly;
3. otherwise, gaps may form. Alternatively, can deliberately shape it into an outline, such as a heart.
4. Thread a string through the shaped pipe cleaner and wrap it around a nail. Suspend it in a paper cup, ensuring that it does not touch the bottom.
5. Dissolve borax in boiling water and stir well. Pour the mixed solution into a paper cup (I used two stacked paper cups since I didn’t have a jar). Fill the cup until the suspended item is fully submerged in the liquid.
6. You tried to see if crystals could form not only on the pipe cleaner but also on the buds and leaves themselves! That sounds like an interesting experiment—by using natural shapes as a base, you could create unique crystal formations. How did it turn out? Now, let's see what happens...!

If you add food coloring to this solution, you can create colored crystals!

Process and workflow-ALUM

Ingredients

-Alum.......40g* or Roasted Alum...20g
-Hot water (60°or more)...200ml

Recipes

1. Place the alum crystals into a container and pour hot water over them.
2. Stir well with a spoon until the alum dissolves completely.
3. Then, place the container inside a styrofoam box, cover it with a lid, and let it sit for 1 to 2 days. This will allow crystals to form.

Now, let's see what happens...!

So it　can be used the crystals formed at this stage to grow even larger!

Take one crystal out, tie it with a string, and heat the remaining solution in a microwave or another method until it reaches over 60°C. Then, dip the tied crystal into the melted solution and hang it back in the container. Cover the container again with a lid inside the styrofoam box, and leave it for further crystallization. Repeat this process to grow larger crystals!

MOLD BY CNC MILLING

Mold design by Fusion 360

1. Open Fusion 360 and click on "Solid" in the top left corner (red circle). Next, a yellow surface will appear on the screen—click on the surface indicated by the red arrow, and the screen will change to what's shown in image "2".
2. The toolbar's interface changes. Click on the circular symbol for "SURFACE" next to "SOLID".
3. Then, a circle can be drawn anywhere on the screen. Click on the diameter value to set the size of the circle.
4. When you hover the cursor over the X-axis, a square (◻︎) appears and displays the message "Place center point."
5. If you click as is, a circle will appear along the X-axis. Then, double-click the diameter value to set the size of the diameter.
6. With this, you will have two circles centered on the X-axis: one with a diameter of 25 mm and the other with a diameter of 15 mm.

1. Open the dropdown menu from the "CREATE" option in the top bar, and click on "Sketch Dimension" at the very bottom.
2. This operation sets the distance between the centers of the two circles. In this case, we will set the distance to 30 mm.

3. Around the 15 mm circle, place five 25 mm circles evenly spaced. want to create a plum blossom pattern! From the top tab, select "SKETCH" and then choose "CIRCULAR PATTERN." Click on the 25 mm circle, enter 5 for the Quantity, and click OK. This will create five 25 mm circles evenly spaced around the center.

4. With this, a flat plum blossom symbol is complete. Next, use the Extrude function to turn it into a 3D object. Select the circles you want to make three-dimensional, then click on "Solid" in the top tab. It will become a cylinder.

5. First, turn the five surrounding 25 mm circles into tall cylinders. Add 1mm fillet to the edges of the cylinders. This is a shape for embossing leather. I wanted to create a gentle embossing design by adding a slight roundness to the plum blossom symbol, and I added fillets so that it fits well during the embossing process.
6. Extrude the 15 mm center circle as well to create a cylinder.

1. Add a fillet to the edge.
2. Add a 1 mm fillet to the edge of circles.

3. On the same face as the plum blossom symbol, draw a new 100 mm circle. The design arranges five 25 mm circles and one 15 mm circle on a single 100 mm circle. From the top tab bar, select SURFACE, click on the diameter of the circle to specify the numbers, and finally click "SKETCH FINISH" on the right side of the top tab bar.

4. Turn the 100 mm circle into a cylinder as well. Click on an arbitrary location (indicated by the red arrow).

5. When extruding the 100 mm circle, set the Distance to “-10 mm.” This will form the cylinder on the opposite side of the plum blossom symbol.
6. Add a 2 mm fillets to the edgs (indicated by the red arrows).

1. Create a square that will serve as the base for the mold. Click on the rectangle symbol under SOLID in the top tab bar.
2. A rectangle will appear on the screen, and you can specify the length of each side.

3. As shown in step 17, extrude the rectangle to create a 3D shape. This will form the convex mold (the lower mold) as shown on the screen.

4. In Fusion 360, you can use the Combine tool with the Cut operation to subtract one body from another, effectively removing material as if performing a subtraction. That's why the upper molde can be made.

5. Export as 3D PRINT.

Files:

Umeue(uppermold)

Umeue(stl)

Files:

Umeshita(lowermold)

Umeshita(stl)

Output by 3D printer

I decided to first create a mold using a 3D printer from the data made in Fusion 360. This time, I'll use a Bamboo Lab printer, specifically the Bamboo Studio.

From the Bamboo Studio page, install the software needed for processing and outputting with the Bamboo Lab 3D printer. Bamboo Studio

Files:

Umeue(uppermold)

Umeshita(lowermold)

Result of Leather molding (3D ptintered mold)

Wet the leather in the water. I am using scrap cowhide leather. The reason I used water is... around the same time, my father-in-law and husband were butchering a deer that had been caught in a trap. They carefully removed the deer’s hide and washed it several times with water before tanning it. Eventually, they tried to dry it by hanging it on the backrest of an outdoor chair for a few days, and I remember noticing that a crease had formed at the spot where it rested. I thought that if I wetted the leather, it might take the embossing pattern nicely when pressed.

After 1 or 2 hours the leather was wetty. Using the upper and lower molds created with a 3D printer, I press the moistened leather from both sides. To apply additional pressure, I wrap the assembly tightly with rubber bands. This method helps ensure that the leather conforms well to the mold, resulting in a clear and precise embossing.​

After 24 hours, when I opened it, the embossing had turned out beautifully, so I let it air dry naturally. The leather was still damp, and the symbol stood out clearly... As the leather gradually dried, the contrast between the raised and recessed areas softened slightly.​

Making Mold by CNC milling

-Using software called “Ventrículo Cut 3D,” the mold data created in Fusion 360 is converted into data for CNC milling.
-The model size is 20 mm, the same as the height of the mold.
-The starting point for the Z-axis is the top corner of the mold. (When selected, it becomes a green circle.)
-Click "Apply" to confirm.
-Start with rough cutting using a 6 mm end mill.
When you click "Calculate," the milling toolpaths will appear.

-Next, set up the cutting process using a 3 mm end mill.
-Tool settings: Attach and use a 6 mm end mill on the actual machine for CNC milling.
-Then, the toolpath will be generated as well.

Files:

Umeshita

Umeue

Result of Leather molding (Wooden mold)