Liquids to Solids
Solo Project
In this project, we were tasked with creating a set of CAD renders, then translating one of them into a 3D artefact through a traditional making method. My renders revolve around liquids and containers, allowing me to see how I can translate liquids, something organic and free flowing into a digital format. I then picked one render to 3D print and metal cast, therefore turning liquids to solids.
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For a liquid to take form, it must also have some form of restriction. This is where the containers come in, manipulating the motion, direction and force of the liquid interacting with it. In my digital files, I used Fusion 360 to create both the containers and bodies of liquid, then exported the file into Blender to create the movement of the liquid via the liquid simulation tool. I picked metal casting as the making method, as they were both making methods I had not had the opportunity of working with before at this point. Since my Stein Snacker project also involved metal casting, this was a good way for me to kill two birds with one stone.
I created 6 sets of 3 renders, each consisting of a different type of liquid interacting with their containters in different ways.
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Water Cooler Spill: A water cooler bottle left sideways, spilling onto the floor and creating a pool of water as it slowly but steadily pours out of the bottle.
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Oat Milk Splash: An oat milk carton violently thrown across the room, creating many droplets of oat milk splashing out of the carton rather than in one continuous stream.
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Beer Clinking: A beer pint, a beer bottle and a beer can fused together, intersecting with each other while the beer splashes from the clinking motion of the containers.
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Paint Bucket Slam: A paint bucket dropped from a high ground, with paint splashing upwards and to the side unevenly, creating a rippling effect at the center of the pool of paint.
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Popping Champagne: A champagne bottle being popped, but the bottle is removed to show the champagne splashing and rippling both outside and inside of the bottle respectively.
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Honey Drip: A honey dipper scooping up honey, which slowly wraps around the honey dipper and drips much slower compared to water or alcohol due to its viscosity.
I picked the paint bucket slam to metal cast as I really liked the interaction of gravity causing the paint to splash upwards, while creating the ripple in the middle of the bucket.
To metal cast the paint bucket, I first 3D printed the paint bucket, then made a wax tree for the print. Next, the 3D print and wax tree were completely covered in plaster before sent to the kiln. The plaster molds were placed into the clay pit, where molten aluminium was then poured into the molds. After leaving the aluminium to set overnight, I sanded off and polished any rough edges and surfaces on the paint bucket. All of the details on the paint remained the same as in the CAD renders, with not a single detail missing. In retrospect, this project went from liquid (CAD renders) to solid (3D printing), then liquid to solid once again (casting liquid aluminium to solid), bringing this project full circle.
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