Geometric Heart Chocolate Mold

Ideation

After discovering we were making chocolate molds, I immediately knew I wanted to created a heart. However, I was interested in implementing geometric, as opposed to rounded edges to the design. I first began with creating a simple 2D sketch with dimensions and then made my design more elaborate after deciding which additional operation I wanted to choose, ultimately going with the chamfer option to create straight edges. Additionally, I made the choice not to add the operation to the two middle sides of the heart to make the design more unique.

Reading Reflection

After reading Nothing Like Compilation, I found myself influenced by various of its areas of discussion. To begin, I found myself thinking about the concept of process prototyping. While this is my first project working with 3D printers, my production steps and design choices were influenced by the material and form of fabrication I knew I would be working with. For instance, when deciding the style of heart I wanted for my print, I considered the lines which are often visible in products of 3D printing. In efforts for these lines to work in my favor visually, I felt assured in my choice of sharp lines as opposed to curves. Furthermore, as I reflected on the final state of my object, taking note of the lines, melted areas, and scratches, I found myself thinking of the section on molding and casting. Specifically, how the surface finish of a mold can impact the surface finish of final objects. While I am unsure as to how sensitive the material we will be casting into our molds is, I am curious as to whether these minor defaults will impact the visual appearance of the final chocolate piece.

Digital Design

Creating the digital sketch for this model was relatively straightforward as I had a clear idea of how I wanted my shape to look. After connecting my lines together, following my hand-drawn sketch, I created and later implemented named parameters for each corresponding edge of the design. The most challenging aspect of the digital design phase was constantly checking that my measurements fit within the assignment requirements, reviewing details such as the object height and taper angle. After extruding, adding the taper angle, and implementing the chamfer operation to all the top edges of the heart except for those in the middle/side, I wanted to see how my piece would fit into the container. However, when copying the container bodies from the class file, it had imported sideways and I was having trouble adjusting it back upright. After reaching out for assistance with this, I was able to assure that my print would fit properly into the container by turning my object into a different component and modeling the maneuver.

Fabrication

Once I was done with my digital design process, I saved the STL file to my computer and uploaded it to 3DPrinterOS, laying it out upright, slicing it, and selecting the organic support option. I also verified the tool path by watching the animation preview of the printing process, making sure the object would fit properly in the build plate. I then sent the print to the Makerspace printers system, selected the machine that uses pink filament, and sent my design to its printing queue. I then waited to be notified that my design had been fully printed and went to the Makerspace to pick it up.

Finishing & Outcome

The shape and size of the final outcome of my mold turned out as I had desired it to, allowing me to reach the final stage of my fabrication process, without requiring any finishing touches. As I analyze my object, details I would have liked to improve are the scratches on the bottom and the melted appearance of the lines on the top.

Silicone Casting

For the silicone casting step we first cleaned up the container pieces. We then sprayed Gorilla Glue adhesive onto the bottoms of our molds and placed them into the middle of the bottom plate. After this step, we assembled the remaining container piece. Following this, we combined the silicone material and stirred while attempting to avoid bubble formation in the mix. Once it was ready, we poured the mixture into our containers, keeping a thin stream to avoid bubbles until we reached about a centimeter above our pieces. We then spent some time tapping our containers onto the surface and stored them away for the silicone to solidify until the following day when we would perform the chocolate casting.

Chocolate Casting

From the containers, we pushed out our silicone molds. We then melted and poured chocolate into our molds, using a craft stick to wipe off the top layer. We then tapped our molds on the table surface to minimize any bubbles and placed them into the cooler to accelerate the hardening process. Once the chocolate solidified, we pushed them out of their silicone molds to reveal our pieces. Looking at the final outcome of my chocolate, I am mostly satisfied with the outcome despite the small gaps that appeared in the result likely due to bubble formation. In the future I may repeat the tapping step a few more times in order to try and prevent this from occurring.