7. BioFabricating Materials

Research

This week's topic was biofabrication, or the process of creating new materials rather than depending on pre-made ones. We talked about how academics and designers are working toward regenerative, biodegradable materials that have less of an impact on the environment. We studied how organic waste, bacteria, enzymes, and biopolymers can be transformed into textiles, coatings, and structural materials. For me, the most important lesson was that biofabrication is design altered by science rather than only being mindful of the environment.

References & Inspiration

The human body continues to be my source of inspiration, but this week I wanted to examine the brain, which has an impact on design before anything is materialized.

The brain is the representation of:

• Creativity and problem solving
• Emotion impact
• The invisible work that goes into what we create

I searched online for an STL file of a human brain on Thingiverse and Cults3D. What drew me to the model that I chose was how detailed it was and made me think of the creative process and how thoughts and responses travel and communicate throughout the brain. I wanted to use the brain as a metaphor for how fashion is created in the mind before it materializes, rather than using it for its physical and literal use.

Tools

- Thingiiverse
- Ultimaker Cura
- 3D printer
- Mixing tools (scale, pot, heated plate)
- Gelatin/ glycerin/ water
- Container

Process and workflow

Step 1: Scaling 3D Models

I prepped my STL brain file for printing by uploading it to Cura. My Initail print effort was unintentionally quite little, I realized I was creating a tiny brain when the print bed began to move. I aborted the print to resize the file and restarted. This is where I realized the time it took to print larger items, I allowed my design to print overnight because my second attempt took an estimated 19 hours and 50 minutes.

Step 2: Biofabrication

I started experimenting with a bio-based mixture using gelatin and glycerin while the brain was finishing printing.

Ingredients & Recipes

Prepare this recipe ¹ by collecting the ingredients necessary, to be found in the list below:

ingredientstoolsrecipe fishleather and fishskin bio-plastic (food waste)

* xxx gr
* xxx gr
* xxx gr
* xxx ml
* xxx gr

* xxx gr
* xxx gr
* xxx gr
* xxx ml
* xxx gr

* measure - measure - measure
* add, combine, mix..
* simmer, cook, boil, freeze, burn, crush...
* mix, smash, stack, overlay..
* cast, pour, press..
* dry, aereate, dehydrate..
* remove, peel, unmold..
* finishing touches

Documenting and comparing experiments

TEST SERIE BIO-PLASTIC

Material pic	Material name	polymer	plastifier	filler	emulsifier
	bio-rainbow	biokelp powder 12 gr	glycerol 100 ml	rainbow dust 1 kg	green soap a drop
	bio-rainbow	biokelp powder 12 gr	glycerol 100 ml	rainbow dust 1 kg	green soap a drop
	bio-rainbow	biokelp powder 12 gr	glycerol 100 ml	rainbow dust 1 kg	green soap a drop
	bio-rainbow	biokelp powder 12 gr	glycerol 100 ml	rainbow dust 1 kg	green soap a drop

RESULTS

Two ways of showcasing and comparing results with images below

On the left an image of a sample made by xxx with xxx. The dye is more xxx. On the right, an image of a sample made by xxx with xxx and xxx. Here the dye is more xxx.

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Recipes

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1. recipe: salmon skin fish-leather ↩