Jesmonite Coasters Made With Robotic Arm

This Instructable is designed to teach you how to create your own coaster set with the assistance of a robotic arm

This project is created as a course assignment at the California State University, Long Beach; taught by Behnaz Farahi: DESN 551: Materials, Tools, and Techniques of Prototype. This project was made in collaboration with Patrick Brennan and Bill Qiao.

-Industrial Robot Arm (we used a UR-10 model)

-Midjourney Ai

-Adobe Illustrator

-Rhino with Grasshopper

-Jesmonite AC100 link to buy https://jesmonite.com/about/

-Silicone Coaster Molds (4)

-Pigments

-Stone and Concrete Polish

-Sandpaper (80 and 600 grit)

-Cork sheet with adhesive backing

For this project we are utilizing a Universal Robots UR10E robotic arm with a dispensing kit by Fancort Industries. The regulator box must me connected to some form of air compressor in order to dispense liquids through the syringe. For this material a large gauge needle is preferred.

To develop and execute our visual concept our team Midjourney AI, Adobe Illustrator, Rhino 3D, and Grasshopper. Midjourney was used to develop initial concepts for our line patterns which were then traced as continuous paths in Illustrator. These lines were imported directly into Rhino and connected to Grasshopper which we used to control the robotic arm and dispenser.

With our digital files set up, we were ready to experiment with our materials. For this project our group used Jesmonite AC100. We selected this material for its viscosity, which is similar to a pancake mix, and its ability to harden into a stone-like material. Our initial batch was too viscous and was dripping from the syringe so we opted to add more powder to thicken it. The first prints we completed showed us that continuous curves produce higher fidelity results, a low PSI was needed (around 1PSI, batches vary slightly), and a bit of patience is required.

When we were confident that our methods and models were working, our group moved on to developing our final coaster set. To get the proper alignment of the coasters, we placed a sheet of paper on the table and added a pen to the end of the robotic arm where the syringe would sit to trace the lines out. The silicone coaster mold was then placed over the drawing for printing. Using the settings from our tests, we ran our program that dispensed Jesmonite in a pattern inside the mold. Minor adjustments were made based on the viscosity of our Jesmonite batch. Any misprints were wiped out of the molds and cleaned off to test another print.

We waited about an hour for the Jesmonite pattern to cure before finishing the rest of the coaster. We measured out the recommended amount of material for this mold and poured it directly over the pattern. We made sure to pour the material slowly to decrease the amount of bubbles that could potentially form on the surface. To ensure the coaster was fully cured our team waited approximately four hours before de-molding the coasters. The final steps we took to finish our product was sand the base of the coasters with 80-grit sandpaper and gently sanded the top with 600-grit to assist with revealing our pattern. Lastly we added a stone sealant to waterproof our coasters.

Introducing the Petri Collection!