Booklet 3: Materials

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MATERIALS silicon e

c1 00 nite a jesmo

liquid

base

2.5

1

:

resin

concrete

wat er

powder

1

:

2

1

acrylic

:

floresce nt

white

black

yellow

blue

red

Exploring alternative materials besides 3D Printed plastic

1

3

MATERIALS silicon e

c1 00 nite a jesmo

liquid

base

2.5

1

:

resin

concrete

wat er

powder

1

:

2

1

acrylic

:

1

floresce nt

white

black

yellow

blue

red

Exploring alternative materials besides 3D Printed plastic

1

Contents 5

12

16

19

Introduction

6

Jesmonite AC100

14

Resin

18

Acrylic

Concrete

Silicone Rubber

Soft Clay

4

Introduction

In a typical 3D printing process, materials are often limited to the kind of filaments available in the market.

The following experiments seek to test out new materials beyond 3D printed materials by borrowing traditional casting techniques and testing on new materials.

I wanted to experiment with toxic-free materials that cures naturally without heat or firing in a kiln. Therefore, the materials I sourced are affordable and readily available locally, making it easy to experiment with.

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Jesmonite AC100 Jesmonite AC100 is a water-based composite material suitable for casting on flexible moulds such as silicone. It has a fast curing time and raw concrete finish. It is able to capture fine details from silicone moulds.

liquid

base

2:5

:

cures in 5-15 mins

1 sgd $75/3.5kg

Mixing Jesmonite base and liquid

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Casting Jesmonite onto silicone mould

Jesmonite Base and Liquid from PaperMarket, Singapore

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8

22 August 2021, sunday

Jesmonite Coaster Making Workshop, The General Co. I was first introduced to Jesmonite when I attended a Terrazzo/ Marbling Coaster Casting Workshop held by The General Co. This sparked my interest in Jesmonite and I started thinking about the possibilities of using this material on 3D-modelled designs.

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Terrazo Technique 1

Mix different terrazzo small bits together.

4

Pour the Jesmonite liquid into the silicone coaster mould. Slowly let the liquid seep into the corners to reduce air bubbles.

7

Sand it using two kinds of sandpaper.

Complete.

10

2

Mix Jesmonite powder + activator together.

5

Wait 10-20 minutes for it to dry.

3

Pour the small bits into the Jesmonite liquid and mix thoroughly.

6

Demould.

Marbling Technique

Prepare reference photo2.

Base: Pink | Swirl: White

4

Pour the Jesmonite liquid into the silicone coaster mould. Slowly let the liquid seep into the corners to reduce air bubbles.

2

Mix Jesmonite powder + activator together for both Base and Swirl.

5

Wait 10-20 minutes for it to dry.

3

Mix pink colouring into the Base, then pour the white Swirl in. Stir 3-4 times.

6

Reference photo from https://concrete-everything.com/products/marbled-coaster-diy-kit.

1

Demould.

7

2

Sand it using two kinds of sandpaper.

Complete.

11

Concrete Concrete is an affordable material to experiment with, compared to Jesmonite. It cures by mixing cement powder with plain water. While the curing time takes at least 12 hours, the finished look took me by surprise as it was able to successfully capture fine details just like Jesmonite.

cures in 12-24 hours powder

1

12

water

:

2

sgd $5.50/kg

Concrete powders from Concrete Artz, Singapore on Shopee

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Resin I was introduced to resin by a fellow maker at the makerspace where I conduct my experiments.

Unlike Jesmonite and Concrete which are solid in colours, resin is a clear transparent material that looks like plastic once it has dried up. When experimenting with resin, it is important to work in a well ventilated area.

cures in 24 hours

resin

hardener

sgd $80/320z

1

:

1

Waiting for resin to dry inside my silicone moulds Mixing resin and hardener together

14

15

Silicone Rubber Silicone is a type of rubber material often used for mould-making. The flexibility of silicone makes demoulding easy. When mixed properly, the RTV Translucent Bubble-Free Silicone Rubber from Resin Play is able to accurately capture 3D-printed details without trapping air bubbles.

cures in 2-3 hours

sgd $22/600g 1

:

1

The silicone is able to accurately capture 3D-printed details without air bubbles

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RTV Transparent Bubble-Free Silicone Rubber from Resin Play Singapore

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Acrylic Jesmonite only comes in one colour and the colour pigments are expensive. However, acrylic paints can be mixed with materials like Jesmonite and Concrete to create variety of colours.

Leftover coloured Jesmonite can also be used to turn into Terrazo chips for future craft projects.

Recycling leftover coloured Jesmonite by turning them into Terrazo

Colouring my Jesmonite objects using acrylic paints found at home

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Soft Clay Unlike liquid materials such as Concrete, Jesmonite and Resin, clay is a soft solid material that allows one to form shapes by hand. Because of the soft material, it is possible to add textures on it using rolling pins and stamp moulds.

Air dry clay from Daiso Singapore

Adding textures onto air dry clay

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A new digital revolution is coming, this time in fabrication.

Neil Gershenfeld

©️ 2022 Crafted Objects.

No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

LASALLE College of the Arts Bachelor in Design Communication Designed, Illustrations and Images by Toh Yi Qing. Class BADC6C.

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