Heart Shape for Molding

For this project, we were tasked with creating a shape that could be used in creating a mold.

1. Fusion 360 to design the shape
2. 3D printer
3. Silicone to create the mold
4. A casing to hold the silicone and shape (we were provided with one)
5. Choice of chocolate

I wanted to continue with the theme of hearts, so this time, because 3D printing allows for a more complex shape, I wanted to design a gem with facets.

I made sure to take note of all the specific dimensions that were provided to us and made sure it fit inside the casing file. Additionally, I printed some half-hearts in case the whole body gets stuck in the silicone.

The STL file was sliced into G-code and then sent to the 3D printer in the makerspace.

The parts came out pretty good. Hopefully, the whole heart works with the silicone, but if not, I think the half-hearts will come out nicely as well.

After creating the silicone mixture, gluing the half-heart to the lid, and then filling the casings, we waited a day for them to set. I also realised at this point that the whole heart mold wouldn't be easy to remove from the casing or create a chocolate with.

We removed the molds from the casings and then filled them with melted, tempered chocolate (which was delicious). They were placed in an iced cooler to harden, and because the half-heart was a relatively thin shape, it hardened in a relatively short amount of time. The whole heart had to be taken home and was placed in a freezer. As expected, it couldn't be removed without cutting into the silicone and prying it open, but the shape came out pretty well.

The reading was an interesting one since it was a study paper. It started by talking about the future potential of digital fabrication for personalization and commercialization. But even with all the advancements in technology, digital fabrication still remains a complex and resource-intensive process. However, the authors argue that understanding how professionals combine computational tools, materials, and processes can inform the design of better systems. For example, section 5.2 talked about how important prototypes were, because in the past, designers could only make changes and then trust the process, not knowing what the final outcome would be. So the only thing that guided them was their prior knowledge of the materials, machines, and fabrication processes. To me, this sort of applied when designing my shape because I needed to take into account 1) the orientation of my shape since it might not come out of the silicone if done wrong, and 2) how it would be printed since it would need supports.