Inflatables 2D to 3D

In this assignment i'm going to experiment with inflatables. For the assignment of the week my contrast is "smooth - sharp" and i allready wanted to try that out with inflatables to see how to get from something smooth to something sharp.

Things that I used are:

• Latex

• Baking paper

• A straw

• Iron and ironing board

How does it work?

I cut a piece of latex and then I put a cut out form of baking paper on it with a strip that comes off the latex. The strip is important because later on you stick the straw in it so you van inflate it. After i put the baking paper on the latex i fold it and put a sheet of baking paper on top to iron over it. The latex will stick together except for the part where the baking paper is located. That is the part that wil inflate.

First try

In my first experiment, I wanted a "sharp" point to pop up during inflation. First i cut a circle out of baking paper and i turn it into a cone. In addition i cut out some strips.

Circle I cut out. Photo: Andrei Motian

Cone made from a circle. Photo: Andrei Motian

Now I'm going to cut a piece of latex.

Cutting a piece of latex. Photo: Andrei Motian

This is what i have so far, a piece of latex, some strips and a circle that i turned into a cone. I also cut out a second circle in case i mess up.

The pieces I have so far. Photo: Andrei Motian

Now I am going to put everything in place on an ironing board to iron. I crushed the cone because I assume it will rise again during the inflation.

Putting everything in place. Photo: Kaz Bison

Now i'm folding the latex over the baking paper. This is a little hard to do because the baking paper will move out of its place.

And next I put a sheet of baking paper over it and I start ironing. Sam told me to do this on the lowest temperature of the iron.

Ironing with a sheet of baking paper on top. Photo: Sam Edens

Because of the ironing, the latex is fused together except for the piece where the baking paper was.

After ironing I could pull the strip out before sticking the straw in. Photo: Andrei Motian

I stick a straw in the part where the strip was and through the straw i can inflate my design to see if it will point up.

The first thing i thought was a lollipop. Photo: Andrei Motian

When I blown air into it, I discovered that I had not ironed properly and air came out of the side. Instead of a cone coming up, a sphere formed in the middle when I blew it up.

I was holding my fingers on the side so the air couldn't get out. Photo: Andrei Motian

This experiment failed so i take my loss and try something else.

Second try

For my next experiment i will try it with triangle shapes so the sides wil look shawp while inflating it.

I've cut triangles out the baking paper and used my extra strip from the previous experiment. I cut another piece of latex, put my baking paper in it and a sheet of paper on top of it and I start ironing again.

From my second circle I had I cut out triangles. Photo: Andrei Motian

After ironing, I discovered that in the process of laying the baking paper over it my strip was lost. Because of this all sides were melted together so I could not blow up my design.

foto mislukte poging

Third try

Now i want to be sure not to mess this up again so I made a new shape from baking paper where the strip is no longer loose but stuck to the shape.Afterwards i also cut a new piece of latex.

This is my new pointy shape. Photo: Andrei Motian

Now i fold it again and try to get the pointy side as close as much to the border where its folded. Then i put the sheet of baking paper on top of it again an start ironing it.

Putting it once again on the right place. Photo: Kaz Bison

Preparing for ironing. Photo: Kaz Bison

Ironing again. Photo: Kaz Bison

The result after ironing.

Done with the ironing part. Photo: Andrei Motian

Now i stick the straw in it and try to inflate it. As you can see in the photo below, it partly blows up. I will have to iron again to make sure that everything is fused together.

It's sharp enough yet. Photo: Andrei Motian

But first i cut out the unnecessary space and try to be as close as possible to the pointy side and iron it once again.

After cutting the unnecessary parts. Photo: Andrei Motian

Result after one last time ironing. Photo: Andrei Motian

Now that I blow it up, you can see it has a sharp shape. I can finally say that this was successful.

Me inflating. Photo: Sam Edens

Close up from the sharp/pointy shape. Photo: Sam Edens

Final result. Photo: Andrei Motian

I've learned that even the easiest looking experiments could go wrong and that you sometimes have to be very precise and be careful. It took me three times to get something i wanted. In retrospect thinking about my first experiment it was logical that you cannot inflate a wrinkled piece of baking paper to make it come up and the latex is too firm to make it stick up.