In the intro week of the minor we had to make a randmomnized zine as a practice. The drawing is mine and the text is from Desiree. In this process we learned how to prep a zine with the class.

Results:

1. Origami

For the first Dense page I wanted to make something that really responds to each other. I got great inspiration from the book binding lady who showed us this book opening:

So I tried the principle out with a simple yellow paper:

I bought some black 300 gram paper and tried it out for real, but I couln't really figure out how it worked and I couldn't find anything about it on internet.

I dind't figured it out, so I started with a new origami project:

Waterfall origami: O [Origami]. (2018). How to make waterfall card easy [Videobestand]. Geraadpleegd van https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5uz7fcU-HA&feature=youtu.be

Needs:

• Paper 4x 5x5 cm

• Paper photo 4x 4 cm

• 20 cm paper

• Glue

I added something extra for a cute surprise. It works great!

2. Cramped Tiger

For this little project I used the laser cutter and some recycled cardboard from the makers lab.

I came on the idea of a lion because of the Japanese garden I had in my moodboard. I saw a lot of Japanese tigers in the Japanese paintings I found so I would love to make something with a tiger.

It had to be a 3D dense effect with a lot of layers, so it would look like if the tiger really was in a dense situation.

Inspiration:

I came up with this design:

So I went to the laser cutter and cut and engraved a beautiful piece for the sample book.

The settings were a little bit more complicated than the settings I showed you before, here is a picture:

Material settings:

I had to add different settings to the scan layer:

As you can see I had to make different layers, so the machine knew what to cut and what to scan/engrave.

Outcome video:

As you can see I made serveral layers which I will glue on top of each other.

I really love the outcome! It has something dark and dense and that's exactly what I had in mind.

Tip: After the laser cutter was finish I wiped it clean with some dry (toilet)paper, else everything becomes a bit black.

3. Connected flowers

Fot the third page I wanted to create a sort of middle point of the dense - clear situation. So I used flowers in a mild origami way. It's a free feeling with a strong connection between every flower.

The tutorial I used was:

B, B. [Basteln]. (2017). Pop Up Kaarten maken: Bloem - Bloemen maken van papier - Cadeau maken [Videobestand]. Geraadpleegd van https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFkMtX6PX78&feature=youtu.be

Needs:

• A few papers

• Glue

• Decorations (Colorful pens)

• Scissor

To get an idea of how I did it:

I was a bit unsure if it would really workout the first time I tried the tutorial, but the flower worked and had a really cool effect.

See the end result here:

4. Cohesive birds

The inspiration for the birds also came from the Japanese garden dense moodboard, but I wanted to make the image more clear with just a minimum connection between everything.

So I came up with this design:

Settings:

The outcome has turned out fine after some adjustments, because the design is not optimal. A lot of things were cut of and to fragile. I think it's because I wasn't patience enought to check if every line of the design went alright and I ran the laser cutter too fast.

But I had an open mind and worked with the outcome I had. It turned out that it fitted my idea perfectly.

5. Free Sky

I didn't really knew what to do with the last one. So I started to brainstorm about what was not really connected with eachother and what made people truly feel free. I came up with:

• Nature

• Moon/Sun

• Stars

• Beaches

I started thinking about surfing and hearing the waves. So I started googling some surf inspirations and guess what... Almost all surfers have a mountain tattoo (So says the internet). I never really climbed a mountain, I live in The Netherlands so I think I can't even imagine what a mountain would look like except really high. But I found a really nice image. Waves are directly connected to eachother, but (I think) mountains are not. So I wanted to mix some beautiful mountains with a starry night.

Inspiration:

Design:

Mountains:

I wanted to cut out the mountains and engrave their shapes and textures in it.

Cut settings:

Engraving settings

Outcome:

The cut function didn't really worked on this on, I think the paper might have been a little more thick than I thought it was. So I had to cut the mountains out myself and make some folding lines. But I really love the engraving and the color of it.

Stars:

For this one I used one A4 300 grams paper.

It had the same scan settings as the mountain engravings.

The outcome was amazing! You could even feel the stars a little bit:

Dense - Clear Final Sample book

For the final result see:

Lessons By Loes Borgers

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

We will build upon the work done by artist/engineer duo EJ Tech, Plusea (Hannah Perner-Wilson) and soft circuiteer Liza Stark.

Assignment 0 - with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads (minimum 150 words + original imagery).

Reflect on your making process this week and discuss how (an aspect of) this week’s work relates to a workmanship of risk/certainty (Cole & Perner-Wilson), and/or one or more of the concepts from the Unmaking: 5 Anxieties card set.

Assignment 1 - individual

Document the in-class assignments (worksheets) on your gitbook documentation page

• Post GIFs of the working paper circuits and explaining how it works

• Explain Ohm’s law in your own words, using the changing values you measured in the dimmer circuit with the multimeter (you can do this by making a video too)

• Hand-draw and upload a schematic (or make a Fritzing layout) for each of the circuits

Assignment 2 - in pairs

• Make one or more DIY soft speakers using the laser or vinyl cutter. Some options:

  • use conductive thread (design a dot pattern and embroider the coil onto membrane)

  • use conductive iron-on textile (design and cut the coil itself, iron onto membrane)

  • or use copper sticker foil and the vinyl cutter

  • other

• Solder together a mono amp + jack connector

• Connect it to a power supply (2-5V) (bench supply or 5V/500mA power bank)

• Experiment until you get some sound out of it, make noise!

• Experiment with the form factor

• Sketch an idea for an application of your soft speaker

• Document all the steps, tricks, tips, settings and outcomes as described on gitbook

Week introduction

Personally I didn't knew anything about this subject. I have woked with electronics like Arduino and I have had science lessons in the very past but I have forgotten everything (really bad, I know). So I was happy that Loes, our teacher of this week started with a litte introduction. I'll start with a little introduction as well so you know a few basics which I will might use.

This week is called 'Connecting Materials', so yeah we will connect some materials, but how? Well we will connect them on an electronic circuit. Don't panic! It's actually very simple.

We started the week with connecting and debugging but mostly understanding the circuit.

Differences you have to know for understanding good and working circuits:

Tips and facts for making circuits:

• Go from the + side of the battery to the - of the battery

• Current = the same everywhere

• The cicuit has to be closed, so no broken circuit

• V = the difference between the + and - side in the circuit

• V = Volt. You have V ~ = AC ( Alternating Current ) & V --- = DC ( Direct Current ), we will be using DC this week.

• R = Resistance = Omega = Ohm Ω

• Magnets: One side attracks, one side attacks.

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL)

A few rules if you want to know how the energy is flowing in your circuit and what all the elements changes for the V, R anf I (Ampere).

• V = I * R

• R = V/I

• I = V/R

Circuit practice

In class we made simple circuits with:

• Paper

• Copper tape

• Resistor

• LED

• Batteries

1. LED & KVL Circuit

This is the first circuit we tested. Make sure you always test if your LED works! The green one did'nt worked so I went on with a beautiful blue working LED. I connected the tape to the resistor, the LED endings and the battery. The last thing you have to do is get another battery and put it on the + spot, fold the paper on the folding line and get the + and - sides of the batteries connected.

Then you get a fully working LED:

The Voltage = 270 V

2. DIMMER & OHM'S LAW

For this circuit I used velostat so the copper tape won't be conductive at some places to keep the circuit closed.

The + battery side is connected with the resistor, the resistor is connected with the velostat and the velostat is connected to the Led and the LED is connected with the - battery side. If you connect the batteries and make the circuit close by connecting the copper tape from the resistor with the velostat, you get a nice dimmer:

4 Ohm

If you press less on the velostat you can see that the light dims.

Ohm's Law

Ohm's law is an important formula that determines the differnces between V (Voltage) current and R (Resistance). For this project it's really important to find a good balance of 4 Ohm, so you now your speaker can handel the I-V-R currents.

Week Assignment

This week we will make our own speakers with some help from the laser cutter and conductive materials.

Needs:

• We will make it on a 10x10 cm worksheet.

• Coil must not be more than 4 Ohm

• Headphone Jack

• Amplifie

• Multimeter

• Batteries

• Soldering device

• Connecting dreads female - male

• Sold these adriuno tools together:

End result :

Global steps:

1. Make a desing in Illustrator

2. The coil or copper tape must not have a more resistance than 4 Ohm

3. Start making and testing

This week I worked together with Laura. We wanted to use copper tape and stick the tape on a soft fabric. We tried out the Vinyl cutter, but it was a disaster! The tape was to sticky, we cut it to tight and couldn't fix it.

Here is the file we used:

We put a lot of time and patience in cutting the tape with the vinyl cutter and it didn't worked. So we came in a time shortage and we had to try something different each. Laura took the copper tape and made beautiful spirals on different sorts of papers.

Tip:

• Keep in mind that the copper tape should be one unbroken line and try not to fold it that much.

I wanted to work with the laser cutter and copper dread. The spiral will be cut out by the laser cutter. And I will sew (with a needle and a copper dread) the copper dread until it becomes a good spiral coil. I tried out different materials.

Here is the file:

Laser cutter outcomes:

The installations I set for the laser cutter:

Denim spiral

The denim fabric was to stiff to get the copper dread trough it. Because it was so stiff the fabric broke easily.

Viscose/Cotton soft fabric

The spiral dots really worked out well. Some dots are bigger than others or more burned than others, but with this fabric it didn't seemed like a porblem. I tested some dread for my coil and any dread could easily be sewed.

So the next step is figuring out how much coil dread you need to make it to 4 Ohm. I did some mathematics (after many years) and found out that the copper dread was the best option for my 4 meter long coil. The copper dread has a resistance of 1.5 Ohm per meter. So I had calculated 4 meters for my coil, so that will make: 1.5 Ohm x 4 meter = 6 Ohm (6 Ohm is fine, just don't get higher than 10 Ohm).

It took me 6 hours to finish less than half of the coil, so I couldn't make it to the final test. We did tested what I had, but the resistance was I think around 2 Ohm. My stereobox didn't worked.

But the paper coils Laura and I (mostly Laura) worked on did work! They had a very good sound and their resistance was:

Not tested yet

I did finished my coil, well the half of it. I think right now it is about 3/4 Ohm, but I would love to test my stereo box when I can get back to the Makerslab.

Soft Stereobox ideas

You might have heard it before, but this is perfect to implant to our daily clothing life.

A beanie is super nice for colder days. For my personal experience I never like putting in earbuds when its freezing or just really cold, so this beanie could keep me warm and entertained. The scarf/poncho is also for the colder days and it's a nice idea because if you put your box there you could still hear your surroundings.

When you travel alone it sometimes can become a little lonely or silent, so I think it's nice to add some music to this situation. And If you play music on your suitcase or backpack you are not likely to forget them somewhere.

Class Discussion notes by me:

Sharing knowledge is op mijn opleiding iets wat je eigenlijk niet wilt doen, maar je hebt er zelf wel veel profijt van als je het werk van iemand anders wel kan inlezen. Daarom vind ik het interessant dat de basis van het project in het boek over sharing knowledge gaat.

Het proces laat goed zien wat er fout kan gaan, daarom is het ook handig om het proces te delen.

Als ik iets nieuws wil leren en een tutorial kijkt zie je hoe iemand stap voor stap het proces aanduid en dat is altijd fijn. Uit de tutorial kan je zelf veel experimenteren.

Voor school kijk ik tutorials, voor programmeren of in mijn vrije tijd als ik iets wil tekenen of wil verven.

Het nadeel van tutorials is dat je er zelf niet op kunt reageren en zij kunnen mij ook niet persoonlijk helpen en geven ook geen reactie op mij proces. Als je op YouTube een reactie plaatst moet je gewoon afwachten of je een reactie terug krijg, maar vaak niet. YouTube is daarvoor niet het juiste middel om feedback te verwachten van de maker van de video.

Op forums (Reddit) helpen mensen je wel liever, omdat ze ook meer passie hebben voor de onderwerpen. Op Youtube kan je ook alleen met tekst reageren en er verder niet helemaal op in gaan. Het medium is daar ook niet voor bedoelt.

Wie heeft ooit een vraag gesteld over code op een forum en kreeg veel trolls over je heen? Jaa soms krijg je veel antwoorden en snap je het nog steeds niet of je krijgt opmerkingen over dat je het niet zo moet vragen. Je moet echt zo specifiek mogelijk iets vragen om een duidelijk antwoord te krijgen. Ook krijg je veel mensen die in het zelfde schuitje zitten en met jouw gaan wachten op een antwoord die nooit komt.

Misschien ligt het aan de niche van het onderwerp waarover je vraagt. Des de meer mensen het programma gebruiken waarover je vragen hebt des de eerder je kans hebt op een antwoord. Je moet vaak ook de regels lezen over hoe je een vraag moet stellen. Je moet je vraag vaak iets persoonlijker maken, zodat mensen weten hoe moeilijk je het hebt als beginner om iets te begrijpen.

Je kan niet zonder een form op internet als je er zelf niet zo veel over weet. Een form is meer voor masters die hun kennis kunnen delen voor degene die het niet zo goed weten. Het nadeel van een klein groepje intelligente mensen die maar naar een kleine groep hun knowledge deelt helpt er niet mee om de maatschappij meer te leren. Maar moet de maatschappij innoveren? Moet iedereen innoveren? Het wordt wel van je verwacht door school en de regering om je steeds aan te passen en meer te leren.

Er is ook een andere reden om met techniek bezig te zijn, zoals het overbrengen van techniek naar kinderen, verpleegsters en leraren. Het misschien minder vervreemde van techniek. Een vervreemde techniek is bijvoorbeeld data visualisatie en als je dat kan overbrengen naar mensen in beroepsvelden die er steeds meer mee te maken krijgen.

Techniek moet handelbaarder worden gemaakt, zodat de mens weet waar hij mee bezig is. Verpleegsters kijken meestal e data voor 1 enkele persoon, dus niet over een hele populatie van mensen die in een ziekenhuis liggen. Hier kijkt meer het management naar en onderzoekers.

Als de managers alleen kijken naar data en de kosten vermindering op data uitzien kan de kwaliteit van zorg achteruit gaan. Hierdoor kunnen verplegers de zorg die ze willen bieden aan de patiënten vaak niet uitoefenen. Als je het verplegend personeel ook naar de data laat kijken kan er een ander perspectief worden gekeken naar de bezuinigingen.

Getting lost en kit-of-no-parts zijn interessante woorden. Een kit is een populair woord tegenwoordig. Maar wat is een kit? Een kit bestaat uit een aantal materialen waarmee je iets tot stand kan brengen. Het is namelijk fijn om een doel te hebben, zodat je weet waar je moet eindigen. Je hebt vaak een idee nodig om iets te starten. Hiervoor heb je een probleem nodig met bijbehorende opties. Hoe kom je erachter wat je opties zijn? Voornamelijk door onderzoek te doen over de context waarin het wordt gemaakt, je houd rekening met je eigen kennis en wat er ter beschikking is. Ook zijn mediums zoals Pinterest, mensen, musea en inspiratie die je van andere mensen krijgt toe gestuurd. Uiteindelijk kom je tot een concept, maar tussen door moet je nog aan andere kennis komen. Dit gebeurt vaak door ‘Getting lost’, omdat je veel dingen moet testen en uitproberen zonder een concept te hebben om tot een concept te komen.

Je kan eerder verloren raken als je verwachtingen hebt. Vooral als je verwachtingen niet gehaald worden. Te ‘fuck it mode’ komt vaak met positieve uitkomsten, omdat je verwachtingen dan laag staan en je hebt alles los kunnen laten. Bij iets totaal nieuws zal ik minder snel in de ‘fuck it mode’ komen, want je moet vaak wel research doen.

Hannah heeft het ook over de twee extremen, maar je bent toch steeds risico’s aan het nemen gepasseerd op de kennis die je al hebt. Het is nooit een proces die je helemaal in controle hebt. Als je steeds meer kennis vergaart hoe moeilijker het wordt om speels om te gaan met de materialen die je hebt. Het ontleren van techniek is super lastig. Het idee van community kan het leren spannend voor je maken.

Kits:

Soorten kits zijn bijv. Arduino.

Je krijgt voorbeeld codes waarmee je verder gaat werken.

Maar daar krijg je vaak geen feedback van, dus de codes moet je wel goed begrijpen. Je moet uiteindelijk wel iets leren over de kits.

Je hebt allerlei manieren om techniek in je product te verwerken, dit vergt wel veel meer kennis.​

Algemene opmerkingen over discussies samen op gang houden

Er zijn een paar simpele vragen die je kan stellen die altijd tot iets nieuws leiden, zoals:

• Kan je een voorbeeld noemen?

• Is het tegenovergestelde ook waar?

• Wie wil er op reageren?

• Waarom vind je dat?

Houd het gesprek goed op gang.

Notes on Unmaking: 5 Anxieties

Identiteit en hacker hebben jullie er uitgehaald als hoofdwoorden.

Materieel betrokkenheid is een mooie vertaling.

Wat kan je zeggen over de toon van de tekst?

Er worden veel meer open vragen gesteld en geen antwoorden. Het is erg open en staat niet vast. Het is geen tekst die je zegt wat je moet doen. Maar de tekst wilt je toch aan het denken zetten door veel opties te geven. Het is een conversation piece. Ze stellen dus inderdaad vooral vragen, maar ook beschrijven ze veel ervaringen en quotes. Het is een tekst met veel stemmen.

Ook zijn er checklists en stappen plannen te vinden, wat hieraan opvalt is dat de informatie te globaal is. Ze willen dat je meer over het proces gaat nadenken.

Er is een onderscheid tussen technische hacks en geen technische hacks. We noemen fysieke aanpassingen in het dagelijkse leven vaak geen hack.

Je kan ook een process hack maken, door het proces aan te passen tussen het proces door.

Je hebt dus ook een mentale manier van hacken.

Wat is het doel van het hacken? Het kan negatief of positief uitpakken. Je verstoort de normale processen van een systeem.

Wat heeft het woord hacken te maken met het woord kitification?

Kitification is iets makkelijker maken en hacken is een proces verstoren.

Iets wat efficiënt is omslachtiger maken gebeurt op het moment dat je iets voor een gebruiker moeilijker wilt maken. Voor je creativiteit gaat dat betekenen dat je anders naar het proces gaat kijken als iets omslachtiger is.

Efficiëntie en creativiteit gaan niet altijd samen.

Unmaking is het langzaam loslaten van je creativiteit en laag per laag bekijkt. Het is een soort uitpakken. Met unmaking probeer je iets te begrijpen. Als je bewust wordt van de dingen die je doet kan je ook andere opties bedenken om dingen te doen. Het is een manier van creativiteit.

In the first week of the minor we had an intro week. We saw a lot of special makers:

• Grafishe Werkplaats Amsterdam

Here we had to work with old and authentic letter press machines. We were free to press whatever we wanted. I worked togheter with Laura this week.

Our creatief letter results:

• Course of Studio Overvelde

During the course of Studio Overvelde we got to play with different giometrics and shapes. I was not patients enough to keep my mind to it the whole time, but it was very interesting. The man that was giving us the course researched how shapes can form different materials. We all could make our own version of his giometrics.

• Textile museum Tilburg

The textile museum in Tilburg was really nice and interesting. We got to see some very old textile machines and how they worked. It was fun to see that all those old techniques are often still in use, but with more modern machines.

Some photo's as an impression of the tour we got:

The second zine we had to make was a really fun one. It was about a text we had read and to truly understand it we had to make a small text of a part of the text and make a zine of it.

Disegno zine

Text:

In Making things as ethical practice Nijenhuis wrote about the term ‘Disegno’ as the core concept of architecture. Disegno refers to the word design, which we all know. But Disegno (Design) has a deeper meaning, a meaning which is not so familiar as what comes in mind when we talk about design. Disegno is the visual expression and clarification of the concept that someone has in her mind and that he imagines in her thoughts and builds up in the idea. Disegno is often expressed by the hand through sketches. Disgeno has an abstract and a material side. The abstract version of Disegno is what the maker has formed in his mind and the material version of Disegno is directed by the hands of the maker.

This makes making things a physical affair. Mind and hands have a different representation about your Disegno. Let your mind be free and give your hands a change.

Designed zine:

Outcome on paper:

You can find the process of my porject about biodegredable plastic bags in these weeks:

In week 3 we had one week off from schoolm but still had to make a zine. This week I wrote my zine about what hacking really means, I got my inspiration from the Dutch class discission.

Text:

What about the term ‘hacking’? The group did not know the real meaning of hacking.

A meaning for the term "hacking" is: “Hacking is finding applications that are not intended by the creator of the resource, especially with regard to computers. Complexity does not play a role here, on the contrary, easy and fast alternative solutions are preferred (Wikipedia, 2020).”

In other words, with hacking resources you want to make life easy for yourself. Even though the goal you want to give to the product has not been the end goal of the maker. I think this looks a lot like the "Lifehacks".

What are life hacks?: "The term life hack refers to unconventional use of ICT and other simple tools that help people cope with an abundance of information (Wikipedia, 2020)."

In a positive way, hacking is a way for people to change the purpose of a product that fits their personal needs.

Does this makes us all hackers?

Design

My files are too large so I can't upload any file.But I can insert JPEG images.

Dense - Clear 3D sample book

Files:

For process and product files see:

Little tutorial of how to use Cura with Fusion 360

You open Cura and will get this zero state screen.

Upload a stl file of your 3D shape you made in Fusion360.

Your shapes will appear with the size you gave them while making them in Fusion 360.

On the left you can see a side menu with different options. With there are a lot of options, but the most important ones are these:

• Move your design

• Re-scale your design

• Rotate your design

You also have different pre-installations for the 3D machine you can adjust. Often when you let the settings on standard PLA it will be alright, but if you have really high designs or complex designs you can adjust the print settings in this menu.

If you click on the button slice Cura will calculate the estimated time. This is often the truth. If it takes too long you can check the settings again and maybe change the thickness or the time it takes.

If you want to now how your design will be printed you can slide the slides

Now save the Gcode file for the printer.

Lessons by Sam Edens

In this week, we’ll work on exploring material properties and experimenting with these properties. Material properties can change depending on the state of the material and each of these states offers different venues for experiments. For the making assignment, we’ll focus on turning 2D into 3D with the use of the laser cutter. You will create a sample book which displays manners in which a flat sheet can be transformed into a 3D surface by cutting cleverly and exploring this within one set of assigned contrasting material properties such as soft-hard, organic-geometric, flexible-rigid, transparent-opaque etc.

Core concepts: material engagement, material behaviour, affordances, material dialogues THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 0 - with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads. Write a text of approx. 150 words and create your own image.

Reflect on your process and discuss how you engage in a dialogue with the material through experimenting. How do the materials and the techniques you apply shape your thinking about the design? What kind of tools do you use in various stages of your creative process and how do they each facilitate different engagements, how do they help establish new thoughts?

Assignment 1 - individual

Create your own sample book in which you address the following aspects:

• Explore what the assigned contrast in material properties entails (this can be in the form of mindmaps, collages, moodboards etc.)

• Explore what the available flat sheets materials offer and what material(s) would suit your assignment best (share your results with each other). You can also bring your own material(s).

• Show iterations on the process, work towards a range of experiments that explores the two extremes of your contrast and various stages in between. Document your process and use a template to document the material properties, machine and settings used.

• Bundle your experiments in a sample book which displays your material exploration. Your sample book contains your interpretation of the assigned contrast, your experiments with various materials and techniques (at least 2 iterations with several gradations), and your final range of gradually moving from one extreme of the contrast towards the other end of the contrast (at least 5 gradations).

• Your sample book displays experimenting with the laser cutter. Use the laser cutter at least for one iteration with several gradations.

• Bookbinding is part of the process of creating your sample book.

• Document all the steps, tricks, tips, settings and outcomes as described on your documentation page. Please don't forget to document small experiments that did you perhaps did not include in your sample book (such as cutting/etching, folding/forming experiments).

Assignment 2 - with the entire group

Produce a collective sample book for the Makers Lab. The collective sample book contains a copy of your final material exploration. Each student contributes a spread showing the two extremes of the contrast. As the collective sample book is meant to inspire other users of the Makers Lab, please provide details of the material, machine and settings.

The assignment extremes

I got the words Dense and Clear. The meaning I found of dense is closed (Dutch: dicht). With the words dense and clear I felt I had to make a sort of dense situation to a real clear and comfortable situation. Also I found that dense ment that everything was connected and responded to each other and clear was that they didn't respond to each other and they could just be free. So I wanted to make levels of those two subjects.

Moodboards

Dense:

Clear:

Start lasering

I love working with the laser cutter! it is my favorite thing to do in Makerslab, even though there is so much more you can do, I just really love the laser cutter. It makes me feel free to add anything to (almost) everything I like.

So I started tesing with several materials. I also brought some stuff from home with me: a cotton cloth and a few 'plastic' Easter Bunnies.

Testing

While using the laser cutter we got a handy guide for cutting and engraving:

1. Arabic Lamp

I searched on internet for some nice and clear laser cut designs and I soon came out on Arabic lamp covers. This some inspiration:

I made this:

Laser Cut settings:

Layer 1

Layer 2

Outcome:

The 300 gram paper I used was pretty nice! It worked immidiatly, a few burn marks but it's really functional.

2. Engraved dragon

I have cut dragons before with the laser cutter, but I have never engraved them. I brought a cloth of red/pink cotton with me and I wanted to try some new things. I wanted to engrave a dragon in the cotton cloth.

File:

Laser scan settings:

It came out like this:

It didn't really worked out the way I wanted. Some parts were engraved and some were cut. I think you have to figure out if you want to scan or cut with some materials. So I went on testing a new figure.

3. Engraved Buddha head

With cotton you have to put the mode on scan if you want to engraved it nice and smoothly. So I tried it with a beautiful Buddha head design:

Laser scan settings:

Result:

I photoshopped the image more bright so you can really see the amazing result! The engraving color is a bit grey/yellow-ish. I really love the end result! The cotton fabric is still flexible and strong. A really wan to experiment some more with cotton and engravings. But firts one more test!

4. Easter bunny eyes

Together with Anoush I wanted to test the bunnies. Anoush came with the idea to give it a little face. Beautiful seductive eyes on a bright Easter bunnie. Because Anoush came with the idea a sadly do not have the files, but I do have the cut information.

Outcome:

We found that the eyes were not scanned deeply enought, so we gave it another try:

The eyes came out amazing! It's a really weird Easter bunny, but I really like the outcome!

Inspiration Sample book

• Presentation book binding lady:

The sample book won't be digital, it has to be a real book and we have to bind it, etc. These were some great inspiration to me.

• YouTube videos

For binding and making I used some YouTube tutorials.

Origami flower:

Japanese binding:

Waterfall origami:

The making of: The Sample Book

Understanding the 3D Printer - Ultimaker 2+

Tip: Before you start spray the glass plate of the printer in with hairspray to make the plastic stick better to the ground (glass plate).

First you pick a nice PLA color you want to use and put it on the back of the printer.

You put ont the printer, wait a little while and then click on material. You’ll have to remove the old material that is still left in the printer. So you click on remove material. Then the machine starts to warm up that material and will remove it out with the same input hole you’ll use to put the new materials in. That’s why you can’t put the new material in yet.

If you think the material has been removed you can click on ready. You can now start to insert the PLA material you want to use. Push the button which is displayed on the picture to move the material up better.

Insert the material. Push a little at the start until the machine it self will suck it up.If there comes little plastic out of the 3D printer ‘pen’ you can click stop.

Insert your SD cart en select the right file.

Start printing if you don’t have to change any settings.

Outcome first test

So the whole class was divided in 3 groups, each group had a 3D printer and printed the same file with different materials.

Each material is different. We had 2 pLA materials and one wood based material. The two PLA materials went pretty alright. Only the woody material didn’t survived the printing process.

It became messy and the design didn’t really attached to itself.

But I did a little eye measuring and the measurements didn’t really divert from each other. Maybe one mm.

This week we had to make a zine page with our personal design manifesto.

Text:

My responsibilities as a designer

As a designer I am responsible for the things I want to happen during the use of my design.

I am responsible for the materials that will be used during the design process and the damage it costs for the environment, society and the user.

The danger of being a designer is that your design might won’t be interpreted the way it should. This means that the design is used for a different purposes. These purposes don’t fit with the designers idea of what should happen during the use of the design. If this happens, I find that the designer is not responsible for the damage or the good that occurs to the environment, the society and the user it self.

The designer can prevent this change in behaviour from the user of the design from happening by testing the design with the user. The designer can improve his design by making changes in the design based on the results of the tests. So the design won’t be interpreted in a different way.

Outcome:

Files:

Lessons by Mickey van Zeijl

This week we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the 3D printer and additive manufacturing. The 3D printer was announced as a disruptive technology, but what does this mean and is this still the case? We will think and talk about our responsibilities as makers and the impact of making objects on people, society and the environment. Why and when should we use the 3D printer and for which types of products?

In pairs, you will design and print three different molds that can be used in the open material archive. The aim of these molds is to be able to reproduce material experiments with the same mold but different materials. These molds should create textual experiments for the casted material.

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 0 - with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads (minimum 150 words + original imagery).

Reflect on what your responsibilities are as a maker/designer for making objects and the impact they have on people, society and the environment. Create your own maker manifesto. Discuss how you used this in your making process this week, and how it’s (an aspect of) this week’s work.

Assignment 1 - individual

Document the in-class assignment on your gitbook documentation page, include the tips and tricks that helped you understand Fusion 360, Cura and the 3D-printer.

Write for each mold a tutorial with instructions. Include useful images with annotations to show each step of the design and print process. Another person should be able to follow your steps and reproduce your design.

Assignment 2 - in pairs

Design and print 3 different molds for the open material archive that can be used for casting material samples.

Requirements: all 4 parts should fit on the printing bed of the Ultimaker 2 (20 x 20 cm). So each part is about 8cm x 8cm, height can vary.

Mold 1 :

2.5D Metamold object, for flexible material texture. You will print the object itself and experiment with textures for the casted material. We will use the vacuum former to create mold of the mold.

Mold 2

2.5D Metamold for casting hard material texture. This metamold will be used to create a mold by casting flexible material to create the mold. This flexible mold will be used to cast a hard material.

Mold 3

3D mold (2 parts) of a (poly)spericon or other geometric object. The design should include an airhole and a pouring hole for casting. The design should include fixtures for exact part placement, or the two parts of the mold can be nested.

Understanding Fusion 360, Cura & the 3D printer

If you have never worked with these programmes before, please read my little tutorial:

The molds

2D design

I started with my design and I wanted it to be simple and playful, so I added different dimensions with heights and depths.

We had normal white PLA material so we didn’t needed to change a lot of settings in Cura.

I thought I might needed support because of the heights and depths I created with this design, but the other team which we shared the printer with deleted the support at the end, but the result was perfect so I didn’t needed it after all. But what I did do was changing the speed of the printing machine to print the plastic slower, so the heights could be attached better.

But by night the printer had a meltdown or something and it all went wrong.

So we had to start over. The second time worked out and they came out perfectly!

3D Design

Anoush and I tried to design a 3D Mold but we couldn’t make it and because of the time shortage and everything failing we had to grab a nice file from the internet.

We chose a cute little robot with a letter M (maybe from Makers Lab) inside! How nice!

I uploaded the file in Fusion 360 and checked if the design made any sense and if there were any mistakes in it. But the design seemed fine.

We started looking for a nice PLA material to work with, but all the PLA materials were in use. So we took the PET material. The material has a really nice blue transparant color and is a little flexible if you have one line printed or a few lines printed.

We just uploaded the file with settings for PLA materials to the printer without any setting adjustments.

Well as you can guess it went completely wrong!

We asked some help from Kaj and another team who wanted to join us on the printer. We looked the material up on the internet and found out we had to change some settings for the PET material. In Cura you’ll have to set the settings for PLA (Because there are no PET settings) with a temperature advice of 200 to 230 degrees. And 30 to 70 degrees on the built plate. The ventilator has to be on for the fully 100% and the retraction has to be off. With a printing speed of 40 to 70 mm/s.

On the printer you’ll have to adjust some settings as well. We set the ground temperature around 60, print temperature around 215 degrees and a printing speed of 50 mm/s.

But here we had a problem with the printer as well.

It was the same night as the other mold and there was a power shortage and so the 3D printer crashed.

Now there was a huge time shortage and all the printers were taken... I had lost all my hope for finishing this assignment. My dear classmate Laura managed to get a printer and asked me if I wanted to print something! I was so happy with this opportunity! She took her own white PLA material to school and printed our last mold!

The end result is amazing! Everything fits perfectly into each other.

Link to the digital zine of week 6:

This week we had to understand a few parts of the texts we had to read. The teacher also wanted us to understand some specific subjects. We could chose from these subjects:

Discuss this week’s work in relation to one of the following…

• The difference between digital and analog sensors (if any)

• The different meanings of the word analog

• The relationship between technological development and the military-industrial complex

• Proprietary hardware, software and electronics design

• The ideology of “blackboxing” in design and technology

I had chosen this one:

• The difference between digital and analog sensors (if any)

Text:

The differences between a digital and an analog sensor

The differences are not so big. They both do something when it’s required, but the way they do it is different. The digital sensor can only provide two outcomes or it can only work with these outcomes, which are 0% or 100%. Like on/off, but then in a sensor kind of way. The analog sensors differs in that way, because it can work in outcomes from 0% to 100%. With an analog sensor you can say I want you only to work at 55% or I want you to work only at 55% and a little at 20%.

So you could say there’s a big difference, but I think that depends on what you want to do. If you only want something to work when there is 100% outcome needed or 0%, there is no difference. If you want to make something more specific then there is a big difference.

Files:

Outcome:

Safetyzine

This week me and summer were the editors of the weekly zine. It was the first time the class including Summer and I made a zine with a riso printer. We had to figure everything out and the process was very messy.

We couldn't finish the final zine sadly. So we will try it again in the last week of the project.

Because it was the fisrt week we did everything in Dutch, so here is a little instruction on how to use the Riso printer, but in Dutch:

Riso Printer - Digital Duplicator

Tips:

• Lichte kleuren eerst printen

• Je kan twee kleuren te gelijk printen

• Duurt 1 dag om te drogen

• Alle blauwe delen en knoppen van de printer zijn bedienbaar.

Maak de bovenste klep open en leg het blad dat je wilt kopiëren met de Riso printer onder het rubber. Let hierbij goed op dat je de het papier op de juiste plek neerlegt.

Leg het juiste papier neer bij op het papier vakje. Het papier leg je in de lengte neer.

Kijk goed of de verstellingen aan de zijkanten van het papier goed tegen het papier zitten.

De printer verplaatst het papier zelf in de juiste stand omhoog.

Voordat je een master kan maken met de juiste kleur combinatie moet je goed kijken of de juiste kleuren op de juiste plek in de printer zitten. We spreken hierbij van drum 1 (kleur 1) en drum 2 (kleur 2).

Het is handig om de lichte kleur op drum 1 te doen en ook als eerst te printen. Verplaats de drums waar nodig, vergeet niet dat alleen de blauwe gedeeltes op de printer bedienbaar zijn.

Verplaatsen en vervangen van een drum:

Kijk of de printer de juiste drum aan geeft.

Zo ja druk op de blauwe knop, de juiste drum komt dan naar voren.

Maak ruimte om de drum te verplaatsen en wees niet bang om hulp te vragen bij het verplaatsen van de drums.

Pak de drum vast aan de blauwe gedeeltes en zet de drum in de bijbehorende box.

Pak de drum die je nodig hebt en plaats deze op de plek van de oude drum, de lichte drum moet links komen te staan en de donkere drum rechts.

Kijk goed na of alles er op de juiste manier in staat en maak het deurtje dicht.

Je begint nu met het maken van een master. Per kleur(drum) heb je 1 master nodig. De masters worden bewaard in de printer, indien nodig kan de master eruit worden gehaald. Let op dat een master niet opnieuw kan worden gebruikt, dus wees er zeker van dat je met een master klaar bent en genoeg printjes hebt gemaakt.

Voor dat je begint met het maken van een master moet het scherm van de printer op het beginscherm staan.

De operations mode die je wilt kiezen voor twee kleuren is ‘Dual - color’. Op dit scherm kan je ook meteen zien of de kleuren op de juiste drum zitten.

Je ziet door het blauwe lampje of je een master of een print gaat maken. Let dus goed op waar het lampje staat.

Start key - Master Maken, je kan de master nog verder aanpassen met deze opties: Line, Contrast, Size en Paper size.

Als het lampje op master maken staat kan je op de blauwe knop drukken en een master maken.

Als je de master hebt goedgekeurd krijg je een gratis proefdruk door op ‘Continue’ te drukken.

Als de master goed is kan je gaan beginnen met het printen van je eerste master.

Het advies is hierbij dat je eerst 5x proefdrukken maakt, zodat de inkt goed in de masters verwerkt kan worden. Per print wordt de inkt steeds meer in de master verwerkt. Hierna toets je het aantal kopietjes in dat je wilt en drukt op de grote blauwe knop. De printjes leg je na het printen te drogen op het droog hek.

De printjes die jee wilt gebruiken om overheen te printen met een nieuwe master leg je ondersteboven neer op de papier plek.

Het nieuwe blad die je wilt kopiëren voor de tweede master leg je onder het eerste blad. Zorg dat het nieuwe blad identiek gepositioneerd is als het eerste blad.

Nu maak je dus een nieuwe master met de 2e drum (donkere kleur).

Riso Printer

This is the very first zine we produced with the riso printer. It is called the Safetyzine. It is the first zine and we didn't knew yet that we had to make everything in English.

The files:

Trying to connect a LDR to a LED with NodeMCU

The first code from Loes I am going to try:

/*
  created by David Cuartielles
  modified 30 Aug 2011
  By Tom Igoe
  modified 13 March 2020 
  By Loes Bogers
  This example code is in the public domain.
  http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogInput
*/

int sensorPin = A0;    // select the input pin for the potentiometer
int ledPin = D1;      // select the pin for the LED that has PWM (~) e.g pin D1 on Node MCU
int sensorValue = 0;  // variable to store the value coming from the sensor
int mappedValue = 0;  //store the mapped values

void setup() {

  // initialize serial communication with computer:
  Serial.begin(115200);     //make sure it matches with the number in the serial port

  // declare the ledPin as an OUTPUT:
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  // read the value from the sensor:
  sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);

//// FIND MIN & MAX RANGE FIRST, THEN COMMENT OUT
  // print values to serial to find lowest and highest values (min and max) in serial monitor
  Serial.println(sensorValue);      // met 10K voltage divider: bijv. range 100-850 zonder een fietslampje erbij (beter voor de video)

 /*    
//PUT THE VALUES YOU FOUND (YOUR_MIN, YOUR_MAX) INTO THE LINE BELOW (line 36)
//put your min value and max value (as seen in the monitor) and map to a range 0- 255 for output
  mappedValue = map(sensorValue, 100, 850, 0, 255); 

    // print values for debugging
    Serial.print("Old Value (no mapping) = ");
    Serial.print(sensorValue);
    Serial.print("\t");   // add a tab between the numbers
    Serial.print("New value (mapped) = ");
    Serial.println(mappedValue);

    // turn the ledPin on using the mappedvalue from the sensorpin
    analogWrite(ledPin, mappedValue);
*/

}

I tried to work with this schematic drawing of how the circuit should look like:

I made this out of it:

It didn't worked:

I find the LDR LED really difficult so I'll try some old codes I had and re-install my board.

Step 1

So I started with the basics again. Does my LED really works?

I ran an empty code to see if my LED really worked.

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

}

And it worked!

Step 2

I went back to the slides and found this image:

I wanted to run the same code i did previously and came across this error:

The port of my NodeMCU is not found. I checked my settings and also saw that the serial print speeds were also not the same, that's why I couldn't run my code and open the serial monitor port. The serial port speed was around 4200. So I set everything back to 115200 and restarted my NodeMCU. It now connects again.

But when I run the code again this happend:

Well nothing happened. I send the code to my NodeMCU and I didn't got any variables. I run it again and it still didn't worked, so I started debugging my board.

I changed every piece of cable and finally I found out what was wrong and why my LDR sensor didn't gave any values: The LDR resistor had to be on the GND pin and I think it was not really pushed in it real good.

My values are: 3 to 4 and sometimes 5. I still don't really trust it, but it does shows values, but I know it are not the right values.

I still don't trust the values but I'll go on with the code. So I adjusted my Min and max values on line 36 to 3 and 4.

/*
  created by David Cuartielles
  modified 30 Aug 2011
  By Tom Igoe
  modified 13 March 2020 
  By Loes Bogers
  This example code is in the public domain.
  http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogInput
*/

int sensorPin = A0;    // select the input pin for the potentiometer
int ledPin = D1;      // select the pin for the LED that has PWM (~) e.g pin D1 on Node MCU
int sensorValue = 0;  // variable to store the value coming from the sensor
int mappedValue = 0;  //store the mapped values

void setup() {

  // initialize serial communication with computer:
  Serial.begin(115200);     //make sure it matches with the number in the serial port

  // declare the ledPin as an OUTPUT:
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  // read the value from the sensor:
  sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);

//// FIND MIN & MAX RANGE FIRST, THEN COMMENT OUT
  // print values to serial to find lowest and highest values (min and max) in serial monitor
  Serial.println(sensorValue);      // met 10K voltage divider: bijv. range 100-850 zonder een fietslampje erbij (beter voor de video)

     
//PUT THE VALUES YOU FOUND (YOUR_MIN, YOUR_MAX) INTO THE LINE BELOW (line 36)
//put your min value and max value (as seen in the monitor) and map to a range 0- 255 for output
  mappedValue = map(sensorValue, 3, 4, 0, 255); 

    // print values for debugging
    Serial.print("Old Value (no mapping) = ");
    Serial.print(sensorValue);
    Serial.print("\t");   // add a tab between the numbers
    Serial.print("New value (mapped) = ");
    Serial.println(mappedValue);

    // turn the ledPin on using the mappedvalue from the sensorpin
    analogWrite(ledPin, mappedValue);


}

And my serial still says a lot of thinks with a really high speed:

After I ran this code my computer crashed.

Step 2 fersh start

I still didn't get why my LDR sensor was nog working. So I asked my boyfriend if he wanted to help me with a puzzle. I gave him the image of how the board must look like and all the necessities. He has no knowledge abut coding, adruino or anything like that, so it was a fresh start. He made the board look exactly as the image that I showed, which I had done in my previous attempts. I ran the code, and it worked! What!

I used the min value 560 and max value 611. It worked, but it's crashes my laptop. So I'm going to try it out with a more wider min max value, maybe that will work better.

/*
  created by David Cuartielles
  modified 30 Aug 2011
  By Tom Igoe
  modified 13 March 2020 
  By Loes Bogers
  This example code is in the public domain.
  http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogInput
*/

int sensorPin = A0;    // select the input pin for the potentiometer
int ledPin = D2;      // select the pin for the LED that has PWM (~) e.g pin D1 on Node MCU
int sensorValue = 0;  // variable to store the value coming from the sensor
int mappedValue = 0;  //store the mapped values

void setup() {

  // initialize serial communication with computer:
  Serial.begin(115200);     //make sure it matches with the number in the serial port

  // declare the ledPin as an OUTPUT:
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  // read the value from the sensor:
  sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);

//// FIND MIN & MAX RANGE FIRST, THEN COMMENT OUT
  // print values to serial to find lowest and highest values (min and max) in serial monitor
  Serial.println(sensorValue);      // met 10K voltage divider: bijv. range 100-850 zonder een fietslampje erbij (beter voor de video)
  
//PUT THE VALUES YOU FOUND (YOUR_MIN, YOUR_MAX) INTO THE LINE BELOW (line 36)
//put your min value and max value (as seen in the monitor) and map to a range 0- 255 for output
  mappedValue = map(sensorValue, 560, 611, 0, 255); 

    // print values for debugging
    Serial.print("Old Value (no mapping) = ");
    Serial.print(sensorValue);
    Serial.print("\t");   // add a tab between the numbers
    Serial.print("New value (mapped) = ");
    Serial.println(mappedValue);

    // turn the ledPin on using the mappedvalue from the sensorpin
    analogWrite(ledPin, mappedValue);


}

Trying it out with a flash light the values wil be min 560 and max 955:

/*
  created by David Cuartielles
  modified 30 Aug 2011
  By Tom Igoe
  modified 13 March 2020 
  By Loes Bogers
  This example code is in the public domain.
  http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogInput
*/

int sensorPin = A0;    // select the input pin for the potentiometer
int ledPin = D2;      // select the pin for the LED that has PWM (~) e.g pin D1 on Node MCU
int sensorValue = 0;  // variable to store the value coming from the sensor
int mappedValue = 0;  //store the mapped values

void setup() {

  // initialize serial communication with computer:
  Serial.begin(115200);     //make sure it matches with the number in the serial port

  // declare the ledPin as an OUTPUT:
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  // read the value from the sensor:
  sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);

//// FIND MIN & MAX RANGE FIRST, THEN COMMENT OUT
  // print values to serial to find lowest and highest values (min and max) in serial monitor
  Serial.println(sensorValue);      // met 10K voltage divider: bijv. range 100-850 zonder een fietslampje erbij (beter voor de video)
  
//PUT THE VALUES YOU FOUND (YOUR_MIN, YOUR_MAX) INTO THE LINE BELOW (line 36)
//put your min value and max value (as seen in the monitor) and map to a range 0- 255 for output
  mappedValue = map(sensorValue, 560, 611, 0, 255); 

    // print values for debugging
    Serial.print("Old Value (no mapping) = ");
    Serial.print(sensorValue);
    Serial.print("\t");   // add a tab between the numbers
    Serial.print("New value (mapped) = ");
    Serial.println(mappedValue);

    // turn the ledPin on using the mappedvalue from the sensorpin
    analogWrite(ledPin, mappedValue);


}

It worked a lot smoother then the code with a closer min and max value.

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 0 - Zine with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads.

Zine prompt:

"In a 'post-post-it' society, I wonder what the ultimate design toolkit to train the 21st century designer could be. Rather than the usual canvases or user journey maps, this toolkit would feature a set of basic design exercises that help everyone, not only design students, to make things that move, think, communicate, sense, see, compute or augment. These exercises would help students to control technology, to assertively own it as a material, a tool, and a key factor influencing society today." - Serena Cangiano

Reflect on your experience in the minor thus far. Can you link this to the readings of this week?

This week the zine will be an ultimate design toolkit. Think, create, design an exercise that would be part of this ultimate design toolkit, Cangiano mentions. Reflect on this exercise, why did you choose this, how is it linked to the minor and to this weeks reading.

Zine this week: http://summerdanoe.nl/zine/

Assignment 1 - individual/duo

• Build an electronic circuit with at least one input (made by you!) and one actuator.

• Program a microcontroller in the Arduino IDE to control your actuator with the input

• Design an output swatch of 10x10cm that is archive worthy. How can you make hardware look interesting/appealing/evocative? Use all the techniques you learned in previous weeks.

• Document the design, building, debugging and working results step by step

Testing and prepping

Testing the LED

The first thing I wanted to test with the NodeMCU and my LED is if my LED really worked. So I attached the LED to my NodeMCU and the breadboard and run an empty Arduino code:

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

}

LED blink

Now I'll make a code which will let the LED blink.

I conncect everything like this:

Then I ran this code:

/*
  ESP8266 Blink by Simon Peter
  Blink the blue LED on the ESP-01 module
  This example code is in the public domain

  The blue LED on the ESP-01 module is connected to GPIO1
  (which is also the TXD pin; so we cannot use Serial.print() at the same time)

  Note that this sketch uses LED_BUILTIN to find the pin with the internal LED
*/
int werkend = D2;

void setup() {
  pinMode(werkend, OUTPUT);     // Initialize the LED_BUILTIN pin as an output
 
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
 
  digitalWrite(werkend, LOW);   // Turn the LED on (Note that LOW is the voltage level
  // but actually the LED is on; this is because
  // it is active low on the ESP-01)
  delay(1000);  // Wait for a second
  digitalWrite(werkend, HIGH);  // Turn the LED off by making the voltage HIGH
  delay(2000);                      // Wait for two seconds (to demonstrate the active low LED)
}

And it worked!

LED blink with a button

Now I'll connect the button and LED to the NodeMCU board. I'll send some information to the Serial so I know that the button will respond.

I tried out his code and my LED went on when I pushed the button:

void setup() {
pinMode(D2, INPUT);    //set the button pin as an input 
Serial.begin(9600);  
}


void loop() {
digitalRead(D2);      //reading a digital sensor on pin D1
delay(50);              
Serial.println(digitalRead(D2));    // printing read of D1
delay(50);
}

Reading Resistive Sensors - Light sensor

You can find my new try out here:

Connecting a RGB LED with a button

This worked perfectly after some help form Mickey. Make sure you attatch the button to the D6.

//       RGB LED Color Control
//      circuits4you.com
//========================================================================
//Changes made by Micky van Zeijl 
 
// constants won't change. They're used here to
// set pin numbers:
 
// Make sure to change the pinnumbers when you’re using the Arduino MKR.
// For the nodeMcu you can use all pins except 0. Don’t forget to add a D
// so it’s redPin = D3; for example

const int buttonPin = D6  ; // for Arduino MKR 1010 I used 6
const int redPin = D3; // for Arduino MKR 1010 - use pin 3
const int bluePin = D4; // for Arduino MKR 1010 - use pin 4
const int greenPin = D5; // for ARduino MKR 1010 - use pin 5

int counter = 0;
bool previousbuttonstateLow = false;

void setup() {
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(redPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(bluePin, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {

  int buttonState;
  buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);

  Serial.println(counter);

  if (buttonState == LOW && !previousbuttonstateLow) {
    counter++;

    if (counter > 3) counter = 0;
    previousbuttonstateLow = true;

  }

  if (buttonState == HIGH) {
    previousbuttonstateLow = false;
  }

  Serial.print("buttonstate is:" );
  Serial.println( buttonState);
  Serial.print("previous buttonstate is:");
  Serial.println(previousbuttonstateLow);

  if (counter == 0) {
    digitalWrite(redPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(greenPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW);
  }

  else if (counter == 1) {
    digitalWrite(redPin, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(greenPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW);
  }

  else if (counter == 2) {
    digitalWrite(redPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW);
  }

  else if (counter == 3) {
    digitalWrite(redPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(greenPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(bluePin, HIGH);
  }


}

I got really inspired by this code and a YouTube video of Lisa Spark I saw earlier. I want to try if I can add a switch sensor to the RGB LED with this code.

I got an idea for my output swatch:

I want to have one layer on top with a soft fabric, which people want to touch. And if they touch it the switch goes on or light sensor gets more dark and the RGB LED will turn on.

Process to the final output swatch

Light sensor and RGB LED

I am trying to install a simple LED with the LDR sensor on this page:

Now I'll try it again but not with a normal LED, but with a RGB LED.

I have used my own code, I had made a few years ago when I had to work with a LDR sensor and a RGB LED. I think the code is a little bit more simple and more easy in use for the simple swatch I want to make.

I used the values less or equal to 700 and less or equal to 960.

 void setup() {
   Serial.begin(115200);
  pinMode(D2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(A0, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(D3, INPUT);
}

 
void loop() {
  int lichtSterkte = analogRead(A0);
  
  Serial.println(lichtSterkte);


  if (lichtSterkte >= 700) { 
    digitalWrite(D2, HIGH);
    
 Serial.println("Blauw licht");
 Serial.println("Mooi blauw in prachtig licht");
    delay(50);
    
  }
  
  if (lichtSterkte <= 690) { 
    digitalWrite(D3, LOW);
 
Serial.println("Groen licht");
 Serial.println("Het kan wat lichter");
    delay(50);
     
  }
  
  
}

PHOTO

The code works so I am very happy about that. But now I want to change the concept. So when it gets darker the LED will become blue and I want the normal state of the LED to be green.

Now I used this code:

 void setup() {
   Serial.begin(115200);
  pinMode(D2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(A0, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(D3, INPUT);
}

 
void loop() {
  int lichtSterkte = analogRead(A0);
  
  Serial.println(lichtSterkte);


  if (lichtSterkte <= 300) { 
    digitalWrite(D2, HIGH);
    
 Serial.println("Blauw licht");
 Serial.println("Donkere tint");
    delay(50);
    
  }
  
  if (lichtSterkte >= 350) { 
    digitalWrite(D3, LOW);
 
Serial.println("Groen licht");
 Serial.println("Lichte tint");
    delay(50);
     
  }
  
  
}

Now I can start making an output swatch.

Output swatch

Go to this page to see the final output swatch I made:

THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 0 - with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads.

Assignment 1 - individual

Dive into the world of biobased plastic and speculate about future applications using the Material Driven Design Method. The assignment of this week is to make your own bioplastics and use the Material Driven Design (MDD)-method to come up with future applications.

1. Make your own bioplastics. Try various recipes, add other materials, play with textures and use your mold. Document your process and findings.

2. Material properties sheet: Describe the properties of your material

3. Experiential toolkit: Understand the experience of your material

Future applications: Develop a concept for future applications

Assignment in my own words:

This week we will discover all different sorts of Biobased plastics by ourselves. My plan is to test several bioplastic recepies at home and let it dry for a couple of days. The best bioplastics will be tested in several molds I made during week 5 - Additive Manufacturing.

I will let them dry a couple of days and then I'll come up with an fitting future concept for Bioplastics. I also have to make a proporty card for the materials I made.

Testing Bioplastic recepies

For the tests I used this digital cookbook: https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/s/159731

During this project we had to work at home due to the Corona Virus, so we got a little bioplastic survival kit from our teachers.

What was in the Bioplastic survival kit?:

• 15 g Maizena

• 7 g AGAR

• 68 g Gelatine

• 73 g Glycerin

• Petri dishes

• Some 'waste' from the Makerslab (Not necassary for making Bioplastics)

What more do you need for making Bioplastics?

• Vaseline for the petri dishes

• Cooker

• Pan

• Ladle

• Whisk

• Measuring cups

• Molds

• Extra ingredients for the Bioplastics you want to add (Like herbs)

The first thing I did berofre I started cooking is making sure that there is something underneath your workingspace, like a placemat. So the mess you make is easily to clean up.

I gethered all the products which I described above and started to make my first recipe.

The Gelatine animal based Bioplastic (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/3)

Needs for the most flexible material:

• Glycerine 7.2 g

• Water 60 ml

• Gelatine 12 g

I put everything in a pan cooked it and stirred it until it became more thick.

With a spoon I removed the bubbles and placed it in a different pot. You can also throw it away imidiatly.

I put some flower in a cup and made a mold in it.

I poured the bioplastic in the cup mold and let it dry in the sun for two days.

Day 1

Day 3

Conclusion:

The material has shrunken and the flower really sticks to the material. I find that it still really smells like rotten gelatine. So I don't really like the smell of the recipe. But the texture and strenght is amazing. It's not flexible at all.

AGAR AGAR Foam plant based bioplastic with soap (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/s/159731)

Needs:

• Glycerine 2.7 g

• Water 40 ml

• Agar 1.6 g

• Soap 6 ml (I did'nt really measured the amount of soap I used)

First I put some Vaseline in my Petri dish, so the plastic would come off more easily when it has been dryed.

I cooked the ingredients together and made a real bubble bath in my pan. I poured the foam into the dish and waited a few days. But it never became a usefull material. Maybe my cookings were not so great or I poured in too much soap.

Day 3:

AGAR AGAR plant based Bioplastic with honey (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/4)

Needs:

• Glycerine 5 g

• Water 40 ml

• Agar 2 g

• Honey

First I put some Vaseline in my Petri dish, so the plastic would come off more easily when it has been dryed. I cooked the ingredients together until it became more viscous.

I poured it in the dish and added some honey.

I let it dry in the sun for a couple of days:

Day 1

Day 3

Conslusion:

It has dried really nice! Really love the meterial. It's strong, it's soft and a bit juicy. Really love holding it! Definitly going to use this material in a mold.

AGAR AGAR plant based Bioplastic with yellow curry powder and flowers (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/4)

Needs:

• Glycerine 2 g

• AGAR 2 g

• Water 40 ml

• 3 tea spoons of curry powder

• A few tiny flowers

First I put some Vaseline in my Petri dish, so the plastic would come off more easily when it has been dried.

I cooked the ingredients and added the curry powder. I mixed it together until it became more viscous.

I poured it in the dish and addes some tiny white flowers that had fallen on the ground. I let the dish dry in the sun for a couple of days.

Day 1

Day 3

I have never seen a bioplastic shrunk so much! It's so tiny but really strong. the flowers make it a little bit more flexible and add a funny feeling to the material. It's a cute form of Bioplastic but I'm not going to pour this into a mold.

Making Bioplastics

3D Mold

I decided to fill the 3D mold with the recipe : AGAR AGAR plant based Bioplastic with honey (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/4)

Needs:

• Glycerine 5 g

• Water 40 ml

• Agar 2 g

• Honey

I will make a little change to the recipe, because the bioplastic is really flexible and I want it to become more stable. So I will use 3 g Glycerine. I won't add the honey. I am curious what the natural material will look like.

This is how I held the 3D Mold together and put in the plastics:

1. Holding the two parts together:

2. How I added the cooked plastics in the mold:

3. After three days:

It has not really dried yet. I didn't wanted it to schrunk so I layed the mold out of the sun. That's why it hasn't really dried yet. The legs of the robot are really 3D the rest is a bit flat.

End result after one week with a little sun:

The Bioplastic has shrunken a lot! I really think it became like this because I let it in the sun behind a window for like a week.

2D Molds

I will make my 2D model with the gelatine recipe. I will stick the 2D model on top of the dish so the material can't bow. Needs: The Gelatine animal based Bioplastic (https://issuu.com/nat_arc/docs/bioplastic_cook_book_3/3)

Needs for the most flexible material:

• Glycerine 7.2 g

• Water 60 ml

• Gelatine 12 g

• Honey

Mold 1: Inked honey

I will use some honey in it for a better smell and more flexible feeling. And I will make the material less flexible by reducing the amount of glycerine to 3 g. I'll add some ink for a marble effect.

The smell is really good! The texture is also great. Flexible but firm.

Mold 2: Perfume

I used some leftovers from the cookings of mold 1 and poured it in a new dish. I really find the gelatine Bioplastic smell like poop, so I wanted to do an experiment with perfume. Lets see how it will react!

The smell is again super nice! Love the texture and it is really firm and a little bit flexible at the same time.

Mold 3 : The 2D Mold with gelatine and some parfume

I used the same recipe as mold 1 and mold 2, but I removed less foam. As I poured it in de the dish I noticed that the material is much more yellow then mold 1 and mold 2. I think if you remove less foam (I might be wrong) it will become more yellow. Also I didn't add any honey, only one spray of parfume.

After one week the material has become really thin, but still firm and not flexible at all.

Material properties sheet + Experiential toolkit

I'll test the plastics with my family. Click on the link for the documentation about the test and the material properties sheets:

Future Bioplastics concepts

See my conclusion and final concepts here:

This week Summer and I were the editors again. Because of the weird circumstances we life in these days I had the idea to make a interactive zine this week. So it will not be printed with the riso printer, but it will be shown on a website. On the website you can hoover over or click on the zine pages to see a interactive change.

We made this notion page: https://www.notion.so/Week-8-Dezine-toolkit-56c8d7410b4b4cf295017ebebbdd5cb3

Text:

The final week of the minor its first period went a bit chaotic. We had to work with electronics again and not everyone in the minor was evenly skilled. But that doesn’t have to be a negative thing. My new experiences as designing as a maker have thought me that with everything you make you will have to look at it like it’s something brand new. Don’t ever think you know how the process or the end product will look like, go in open-minded and don’t rely on your skills.

Ultimate Design toolkit for every kind of designer:

Don’t ever think you now everything.

See everything as something new. Every concept or product has its own reason to exist, so don’t compare it to previous projects you had.

Do good research: Why is it a problem? What does the target group think about the problem? Are there any empathic solutions? Will my design make the problem worse or better for the target group? What are the effects for the stakeholders who are indirectly involved?

Just do good research, so you’ll know that your product/concept will be worth making.

Test everything! If you don’t test your concept/product it becomes garbage immediately.

Start sketching ideas and don’t stop at 30 ideas. The best ideas come after 150 ideas.

Brainstorm together.

Make the design understandable for your target group and make it usable.

Simplicity is (often) key.

Love the things you make and show it.

Files:

Outcome:

The website:

Interaction on the website:

This week we had to think about materials and how we use them in our designs and what the purpose is of these materials.

Text:

As a designer of interactive / smart concepts I always thought that the interface of the screen attached to the product was the most important aspect of the concept, but after thinking so much about materials and their attitude, shape and textures I wonder what’s more important: The interface or the material of the product itself?

If the user doesn’t like the material of your product he won’t use it or even stare at it longer than a second. During material centred projects I came across the fact that material research is definitely important for every concept you make. It’s important to find matching materials for your concepts, even if it’s not your job to think about the materials. The materials of your product can change a lot about the concept you have in mind.

Files:

Understanding Fusion 360

Fusion 360

Fusion 360 is complicated at fisrst sight, but if you learn some basics you can acomplish a lot.

I'll show you a simpel design:

This is your zero state screen. You get this screen when you start it for the first time. The top toolbar has many making tools for 3D shapes you want to make. An the left underneath the toolbar you see your layers. The little 3D cube on the right is the surface direction your on.

If you want to make a 3D shape you first have to make a sketch, which later will be formed into a 3D object.

You will get an option for which surface direction you want to place your sketch on:

I always place it on the bottom / ground.

Now you're in sketch mode. You can choose several 3D shapes you want to make in the top toolbar. I'll choose a simple round shape

Here you can see how I made the Sketch. I pushed on the shape I wanted it to have, gave it a size and finished my sketch.

Now I'll make a 3D object:

Now you have to extrude the surface up or down with the arrow. You can also give it several extra's with the menu that appears on the right.

I gave it a height of 3 cm.

Now I'll make a sketch on the surface of the round surface and make the new sketch 'Fall in' the 3D surface.

I’ll extrude the new sketch -10mm in the round 3D surface. This is how I made my 2D (3D) Mold, but I played with the surfaces to go up or in the 3D round surface. It’s the same principle for extrude, only you put a - for it or not.

Testing the bioplastics

Before making the material sheets and making my final conclusion I wanted to test the materials with a few people.

I tested the plastics with my mom(Karin) and my dad(Edwin).

Test with Karin

With this link you can watch the video:

Interview details:

• The first material we tested (Gelatine) was not nice to hold. The material felt and looked a bit dirty, it is also really hard and not flexible at all.

• The second material we used (Agar honey) felt just like rubber. It was nice and soft.

• The third material (Agar Curry) we tested was not nice at all. She found it really disgusting, especially the strong smell of the curry. The flowers didn't came out nice either.

• The fourth material we tested (Agar robot) really looked like the agar honey material. Also soft and cute.

• The fifth material we tested (Gelatine ink) was really shiney, she loved the look of it. It's also a bit flexible and looks just like plastic.

• The sixth material we tested (Gelatine perfume) Was really hard, thin and looked just like plastic. It also smelled like perfume.

• The seventh material we tested (Gelatine texture) Was aslo really hard and not flexible. You could hear her ticking on the material. She didn't liked the texture. The material felt just like a plastic cup.

Conclusion:

The materials that looked and felt the most like real plastics were seven, six and five. Two and four were more like rubber.

Test with Edwin

With this link you can watch the video:

Interview details:

• The first material we tested (Gelatine) was really hard, just like real thick plastic. It looks a bit weird because of the flower on it. it's a bit weird and smells like nothing.

• The second material we tested (Agar honey) is much more flexible, I can bow it! Really want to pull it apart. It smell like honey and has a bit of sticky texture, but also not really. It is transparant.

• The third material we tested (Agar curry) looks really weird. I see flowers. It stinks. Not comfortable at all.

• The fourth material we tested (Agar robot) is really small. It looks like it has the same material as two. Small, but nice.

• The fifth material we tested (Gelatine ink) is a firm material. It's comparable with the first, but the first one is really hard. It smells like soap or something. It's really flexible.

• The sixth material we tested (Gelatine perfume) is way more firm and hard. It looks like a lid or cover of something. Thin and transparant, but also really fragile. Smells like perfume.

• The seventh material we tested (Gelatine texture) is much more hard and firm than the previous ones. Also really round. It has a weird texture. It has also got a bit of a lid/cover feeling and look.

Conclusion:

The materials which are really suitable for a reaplacement of plastic is number six, the Gelatine perfume material. If you want to have something for rubber I would choose number 2, the Agar honey.

Outcome

It's so funny because I never thought that the gelatine materials would be loved by the test group the most. When I made the gelatine bioplastics I was not a fan of them at all. They really smell nasty while making it and when they are dried up. But because I added some perfume in it the materials didn't stank at all! And thet really feel like plastic. Because of the test I look different at the gelatine materials. I first had a negative feeling with them, but after the tests I really think they could be the future. But don't forget to add a little perfume!

Material sheets

Now it's time to make some material sheets. I'll give some specifics about the material I made.

Here you can find the recipes:

1. Gelatine

Material properties sheet

Technical properties sheet

2. Agar honey

Material properties sheet

Technical properties sheet

3. Agar Curry

Material properties sheet

Technical properties sheet

4. Agar robot

Material properties sheet

5. Gelatine ink

Material properties sheet

6. Gelatine perfume

Material properties sheet

7. Gelatine texture

Material properties sheet

Future Bioplastic concept

Fot the final concept go to:

Bioplastic that suits the concept

For the concept I will use the outcome recipe of Mold 2:

Which will be the gelatine recipe with some perfume added to cover the smells of the gelatine. You can find the process and recipe here:

Why this bioplastic?

This bioplastic is really firm, but also a little flexible. It really looks like plastic and feels like plastic. It can handle a little water and UV lighting.

Material properties sheets

Concept

You might have heared it in the interviews, but I think the material is perfect for bioplastic lids and covers for temporary packed products. The bioplastic is suitable for re-use, for recycling and to get lost in nature (not prefered).

It's firm and flexible. So you could stack a few packages on each other and you can remove the lid/cover with a little bending.

The packaging will be really suitable for companies like Albert Heijn To Go, which are already aware of the plastic soup situation:

Suitable lid packaging:

Lessons by Loes Borgers

Assignment: Make a digital/analog switch

Assignment (in pairs):

• make one antiprimadonna on/off switch (archive-worthy!)

• make one antiprimadonna analog sensor (archive-worthy!)

• build the basic tools (a few paperclip connectors, a LED/resistor pad, a voltage divider)

• learn how to connect it to a microcontroller, program it, and get readings from your sensor in the serial monitor and plotter of the Arduino IDE (video!)

• make a video of the working circuits, and the values coming in, the LED changing brightness (video!)

• document step-by-step how you made everything and how you made it work (incl debugging)

• show at least 3 annotated iterations of each sensor

Simple paper prototype Swicth

I found this assignment pretty difficult, so I started to remake this simple example Loes gave us:

Keep in mind that you don't need an adruindo (code) for this, you can also use the + and - of a battery.

What do you need?

• Adruindo

• Breadboard

• LED

• Connectors (cables)

• Paper

• Paperclips

• Copper tape

I use the same breadboard settings for all the levels.

Process:

This video from Loes helped me a lot with prototyping: https://youtu.be/OwZUf2DIHVQ

This is my first test. I don't know if it's going to work, but this is how I did it:

• I put the red cable in the 3V3 and + side.

• The black cable is in the GND and - side.

• I connceted the red LED with the black - cable .

• Then I connected the LED with a resistor.

• The resistor is conncected with the red + cable.

• The button paper is connceted with the LED and GND.

• I put the GND copper tape where it should be. See pictures.

• Then I sticked the LED copper tape where it should be. See pictures.

• To test if the test paper prototype really works I installed my Adruindo to my computer and ran an empty file.

The test needed a debugging methode, I had to switch the connceters of the LED from GND and 3V3. Now it's like this & and it works:

This was my first simple digital switch without any code!

Simple Toggle switch

I have decided to make a digital swicth (on/off).

Toggle switch needs:

• Bread

• Copper tape with a small width

• Copper tape with a more wide width

• Copper rod

• Adruindo

• Breadboard

• Connectors (cables)

• Resistor

• LED

• Paperclips

• Paper

Process:

I tried to make a switch with small breads, but it did'nt work. The hole for the copper wire was to narrow.

1. I found a tube of a tape holder and wrapped the coper wire around it.

1. After I wrapped the wire trhought the tube I wrapped the tape around the tube.

2. Now i got two endings of the copper wire. I think that's good? Not sure if that's going to work. I will tape both endgins without touching each other with a copper tape to the copper rod.

1. Now I'm going to make the paper prototype of the paper that will connect everything.

2. I'll use 3 small copper tape pieces and put one on the left side of the paper, one on the right side of the paper and one on the bottom of the paper. Don't let them touch each other!

3. Put a tiny hole in the paper for the copper rode to go throught.

4. Connect the cables to the tape.

5. The Gnd cable goes on the bottom tape which will be connected with the copper robe.

6. The led cable will be connected to the lef or right tape of the paper.

1. Connect the power and toggle for some light.

2. It works! It doesn't really toggles yet, but the priciple works. Let's start making the real thing.

Tips:

• Find good breads or round abjects that can toggle.

• Bend your copper rob before you attach the toggle.

Final Toggle Switch

I am going to use the priciples which I described in the Simple toggle switch, but i'm going to make the final version which will fit into the series (See assignment).

Again I used paper, copper tape and my self made toggle.

This time I'll use black and more thick paper than the white paper I used before. I think the black paper is about 300 gr thick.

I put the tape on the paper and put a tiny hole in the paper so my toggle will fit. But now I have to find a way how I can secure the toggle on the paper and still be able to move the toggle and receive feedback from the LED.

I'll use some aquipment I already had, but you can also do this with just hand power.

With the tools I bended the copper rod in such a way it would be easily to attach it to the GND tape. But I made a little mistake, so please do whatever suits you best.

Because I bend the copper rod in the wrong way I couldn't secure the rob on the back but I had to secure it on the front, else the rob would not be toggling.

See videos, GIFs and photo's for the final result.

Go to the page of my teammate this week to see the analog sensor:

LDR LED Connection

I will test the LDR again on this page:

Week 12

Testing with clay

At first I thought I had to make a mold and that the ultimate tool for making a mold at home is clay. So I started shaping my clay and made a mold with a cutting board.

But I soon figured out that pouring the cooking hot bioplastics in the clay mold didn't work.

The two clay molds melted immediatly and became really soft. The clay also affects the bioplastic. It makes it shrink more and a bit white.

So for my experience the clay mold is a no-go.

Week 13

Gelatine Mold

So I tried to make a mold out of gelatine Bioplastics. But the outcome was not what I expected it to be. When I removed the cutting board from the gelatine bioplastic I ruined the form of the mold, so that didn't worked out as well.

Recipes

I also tried my first recipe.

The thin layer of the agar Bio foil really worked out great, but in a thicker form of the Bioplastic will create some gray on the top. I think that result appears because of the moisture content of the recipe.

The thin layer of the first Bio foil seemed great, but it was really sticky and fragile.

I'll try to work with less glycerine from now on, so the materials won't become so sticky. And I won't use a vaseline underground.

Week 12

Week 13

Do you love receiving your online order as much as I do? I always wait for my online order in full excitement and when it arrives I only have eyes for the product I ordered, not for the packaging materials. I can’t even remember how the last packaging materials I got looked like and how I threw them away.

Is that packaging even necessary you might think? Well it is, without the plastic packaging bag your freshly received product could not be looking so fresh and brand new. But what can we do with this useless piece of plastic? Make it biologically absorbable and reusable!

In the past ten weeks I’ve been researching the perfect recipe to make biodegradable and reusable ‘plastic’ packaging bags. The result is an Agar Agar based transparant and sealable packaging bag that can be home-composted.

Research Zine

In the Research Zine you will find my research and inspiration.

You can view my Research zine about the Bioplastic packaging bag on ISSUU (See link below).

Bio

My name is Kim Sinke. I am a 21-years old student at the University Of Applied Siences Amsterdam. In my 3rd year as a Communication and Multimedia Design (CMD) student I'm following the minor Makers Lab. During this minor I wanted to learn more about different materials and about the making process of products. During this minor I learned that there are more sustainable ways to make or remake products.

With this project I want to show people that there are sustainable and earth loving ways to produce products and that there is more than dirty plastic.

End Result Pictures

Reframing session with Laura

The first reframing session with Laura was really nice. She took time to understand the project you want to make and she helps you finding new insights for your project.

We really came to the facts that it's important for me that the materials are not necessarily water and heat proof, but that they won't affect the clothing that will be packed in it. So when I have my first usable recipes I'll have to test them.

Also I'll have to find some proof that the problem is really there and I have to document it. I know that the problem is there form personal experiences, but I'll have to make sure it's clear and real for everyone.

So I'll have to do some research on the problem and allready made solutions.

This weeks tests

This week I tested some new AGAR AGAR recipes:

Agar stretch Bio foil

As you can see the molds were I put the bioplastics in are not the best ever, but I had to work with the kitchen gear I have.

This Bio foil dissapeared after one week, like seriuous it just schrank so much that there was almost nothing left on the plate. It was definitly a bummer. I had high hopes for this foil.

Another try of the Agar stretch bio-foil

The results were suprising and I never got to know why the material came out like this:

The material feels soft and rough at the same time. It's really flexible and not fragile.

It's a it heavy and maybe a bit too thick, but it's still flexible.

Agar Flexible Bio foil

Beceause the foil didn't worked the first times, I had changed some things. I didn't used vaseline for the underground of the mold and I also picked it up too early and layed it down real weird so now its shape is a bit odd.

Because I didn't use vaseline this time the material is not sticky at all. In the matter of facts the material feel really dry and just as real plastic. It's a bit too fragile for plastic clothing bags, yet it is a worthy material, which if I have the time I can adjust it and maybe make it suitable for my project.

Until now I am really happy with the outcomes of the Agar recipes, but there is more.

Brainstrom session

This week we had to choose a project that fits our interests. Before we had to make a decision we had a brainstorm meeting with all the students. We had to come up with all sorts of ideas that fit with the projects subjects.

First we had to sketch our room and tell what was in it:

This was for us to think about our surroundings and the stuff we use.

Next steps were idea generation with the group or with a students. Here you see some outcomes:

Project Theme 2

Finally I made my decision and wanted to continue with theme 2: Material Activisim & Archiving. If Corona was not there I would have combined this project with a smart project which I coulf develop with laser printers, 3D printers, etc. But now I will focus on a problem which is not really famous. Platic clothing bags in the fashion industry.

Presentation about my Project proposal:

Presentation proposal in text:

Proposal

1. I found it enjoyable and interesting working with Bioplastics, Material Design and 3D modelling and printing.

2. From the 3 themes, I’m most interested in: Material Activism and Archiving.

3. I explored the resources and will work on Agar Alginate / Gelatine based plastic bags and food/fruit leather bags.

4. I want to contribute by researching how I can eco friendly mass produce the working bio recipe for plastic clothing bags. I also want it to make easier for people to find, share and respond to people their open source recipes by designing a bio plastic material archiving app.

5. This is relevant because right now the fashion industrie uses plastic bags for every clothing piece they ship out of the factory, storage and store. The plastic bags have no further use than protecting the clothing piece while its being shipped in a box to its next location. The plastic bags will be thrown away after the clothes have been unpacked. I think we can achieve a lot by replacing the normal plastic clothing bags for bioplastic clothing bags. With the app w can open source document everything, so everyone has access to de recipes and molds.

6. My first experiment will be to make functional molds of plastic bags with clay and then test my first Agar recipe.

7. List of tools and materials I need to get:

   1. Agar Agar

   2. Clay

   3. Glycerine

   4. Example plastic clothing bags

   5. Alginate

   6. Fruits

   7. Gelatine

   8. Sunflower oil

   9. Sodium Chloride hydrate

8. Lead times of local suppliers:

   1. Holland and Berret Glycerine bottles and Agar Agar powder

   2. Albert Heijn Gelatine

   3. Pipoos Clay

   4. Albert Heijn Sunflower oil

   5. Van Beek Art Alginate powder

   6. Apotheek Sodium Chloride Hydrate / Natriumchloride hydraat

Swatch: LDR Light switch

For the output swatch I used this code:

Needs for the output swatch:

• LDR sensor

• female - male connections

• male - male connections

• Arduino NodeMCU

• Bread board

• RGB LED

• Black 10x10 paper

• Backing paper

• Copper tape

• Soft ball

This is how I made the swatch:

1. I used backing paper and cut it the same size as my black 10x10 cm paper..

2. I made two holes with a scissor in the black paper for the LDR and the RGB LED.

3. I taped the backing paper on the paper with copper tape, just for the look and feel.

4. Put the soft and fluffy ball in the middle so people could push on a soft 'button'.

5. Then I installed my NodeMCU in such a way that the LDR and the LED would fit into the holes. I made the connection cables longer by attatching them with a female-male cable.

6. And run the code!

Installation details:

This week I went on with testing a lot of interesting recipes.

This weeks recipes

Recipe Clara Davis

Link: Davis, C. (z.d.). CLARA DAVIS / looking for a durable design. Geraadpleegd op 4 mei 2020, van

The Bags from Clara look really interesting! So I wanted to give it a try. Gelatine is not the material I prefer, because of it's animal nature and its smell.

I gave it a try:

I followed the instructions of Clara, by starting to mix the water with the gelatine before I heated it. It already became very foamy! It didn't got better after I heated it up and cooked the recipe.

There was almost only foam! So I just let it cool of for a few minutes and got a spoon to remove the foam from the top of the liquid.

A lot of liquid has dissapeared. I kept the foam and it gave me a nice suprise. The outcome was not useful for my project, but maybe it can help others.

The bowl shape made the liquid dry up as a half ball shap and the top became like foam. Really cool!

After one week of drying the Clara bag material looked really good:

It's a strong and flexible material.

Although I must say that I was really scared that I would might break it. The material can be folded a little, but no much further than shown on the picture. Is it suitable for clothing packaging bags? I am not sure yet. I will test this recipe some more.

Alginate Flexble biofoil with olive oil (Instead of sunflower oil)

So I tested my first Alginate recipe and I decided to go for the one with sunflower oil, but i only had olive oil so I used that.

I soon came to the fact that you really should use an electronic handmixer to mix the alginate, with the glycerine and let it disappear in the heated water. if you want to mix it by hand it will take you a lot of muscle strength and time.

I poured it in a new mold, oven dishes work really good!

Result after one week of drying:

There was no layer to grab, the liquid just became a little structure on the bottom of the oven dish. Really dissapointing. So it's a no for this recipe.

Well I thought.. In week 16 I figured out that it was a thin layer which was really nice and strong!

It just came loose fromt the bottom, that's how I found out that there was a real layer on the bottom.

Alginate Flexible Biofoil 2

This recipe looks really clear. Don't forget to spray some Calcium Chloride mix (10% CC 90% water) over the alginate materials after one or two days so it won't shrink:

The result of this recipe after 3 days of drying:

As you can see the material hasn't completely dried yet, that's why it's very fragile. But in the next few days the material kept being fragile and really sticky! It feels good and I feel like alginate can be a good plastic bags if it would be less sticky and fragile.

Alginate flexible thin bio foil

This Biofoil is more like it! Really thin, flexible and strong. Still a bit sticky, but I feel like the stickyness has a connection with the drying process. A few days later the stikyness would have been reduced. But it's still sticky. If you want to have nice and clear sheets, you'll have to be carefull that the sheet won't get stuck on itself.

Agar flexible Bio foil

I made this recipe last week, but wanted to make it more flexible.

New recipe:

• 5 gram Agar Agar

• 20 gram Glycerine

• 250 ml water

This one seems great! Is not really dried yet, but it feels strong and flexible.

The material was dry after 3/4 days:

But it's still too sticky:

Going to test more on the recipes I made this week.

Mid-term presentation

Help the Earth a little by giving your received bag to the Earth. Composting is a simple way to do that. With composting you add nutrient-rich humus to your lawn or garden that fuels plant growth and restores vitality to depleted soil. It’s also free, easy to make, and good for the environment.

How to composte the Agar bioplastic bags?

Steps written by:

Cowan, S. (z.d.). Composting. Geraadpleegd op 17 juli 2020, van https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/

The steps:

1. Start your compost pile on bare earth. This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and be transported to your garden beds.

2. Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep. This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile.

3. Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust pellets and wood ashes. If you have wood ashes, sprinkle in thin layers, or they will clump together and be slow to break down.

4. Add manure, green manure (clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass, grass clippings) or any nitrogen source. This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along.

5. Keep compost moist. Water occasionally, or let rain do the job.

6. Cover with anything you have – wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps. Covering helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost. Covering also prevents the compost from being over-watered by rain. The compost should be moist, but not soaked and sodden.

7. Turn. Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the process to work, and turning “adds” oxygen. You can skip this step if you have a ready supply of coarse material like straw. Once you’ve established your compost pile, add new materials by mixing them in, rather than by adding them in layers. Mixing, or turning, the compost pile is key to aerating the composting materials and speeding the process to completion.

If you want to buy a composter, rather than build your own compost pile, you may consider a buying a rotating compost tumbler which makes it easy to mix the compost regularly.

This week is all about finilising and making the first bioplastic clothing bags.

I made a lot of progress this week, so I'll divide this week in a few subjects.

My main focus is the Agar recipe.

Producing a lot of sheets

For this project I wanted to test a lot of recipes.In the first weeks of the project I was mainly

working with small and different plates, which resulted in having a lot of sheets in all different sizes and most of them were to small for a good bioplastic packaging clothing bag.

So I needed to step up my game and try to

produce bigger sheets. With bigger sheets I could make real packaging bags. So I tried to make my own molds with clay, but that didn’t work. It was such a shame that we couldn’t use the Makers Lab provided by our school AUAS during the Corona crisis. Because I would have made a mold with the 3D printer or the Laser cutter if we were allowed to go to school. But I had to do it with the equipment and space in my kitchen.

After a few weeks I got a tip from one of my classmates, which said that Ikea still had large glass plates available, so I ordered one myself. I ordered a NORDLI glass plate which is 120 cm by 47 cm. With this glass plate I was finally able to make bigger sheets and try to make real

bio plastic packaging clothing bags!

After this reframing moment I was able to test the best recipes on a bigger scale. When the first big sheets were ready I made my first

bioplastic clothing bag by ironing two sheets of bioplastic together. The Agar Agar recipe works great if you want to iron it together. With these steps I finally could bring my project to the next level and develop Agar Agar bio plastic packaging clothing bags.

Ironing a bioplastic bag

New method of sticking a bioplastic bag together

Product pictures

Test items:

I wanted to test 4 recipes I cooked in the past weeks and that looked very promising and bio bag worthy:

• Clara Davis Gelatine Bio bag

  • 480 ml water

  • 97 gr gelatine

  • 26 gr glycerine

• Agar flexible bio foil 20

  • 5 gr Agar Agar

  • 20 gr glycerine

  • 250 ml water

• Agar flexible bio foil 18

  • 5 gr Agar Agar

  • 18 gr glycerine

  • 200 ml water

• Agar bioplastic - 2

  • 4 gr Agar Agar

  • 10 gr glycerine

  • 200 ml water

Overview of the package:

After 3 days I got my package back:

Results of the materials:

All the recipes came in as the exact state as they were send out. No stains on the clothing pieces, no extra stickyness, no meltings, nothing. Each of them survived the joruney pefectly!

So now it's decision day. What do I want my plastic bags to be? Stong, flexible, not sticky, little sticky? Which recipe will be more close to the final recipe?

• Clara Davis Gelatine Bio bag

This material really feels like plastic. But to be honest it's way to strong and unflexible to become a foil-ish bio plastic clothing packaging bag. The material is great for a normal plastic bag! Big advantage: It's the only one which is not sticky!! Just real dry material.

• Agar flexible bio foil 20

The recipe worked great on this one. You would expect that with the high amount of glycerine it would be really sticky, but it’s not the most sticky of them all! Agar bio foil - 2 is more sticky. This one has all the benefits from agar bio foil - 2, but is less sticky and feels more like a strong foil.

• Agar flexible bio foil 18

This recipe worked out great aswel! It’s strong, not fragile and doesn’t seem to be really sticky. It’s a sticky material, but it can work out. The material feels a bit bubbly, almost like real plastic foil. Almost.

• Agar bioplastic - 2

This material looks great! It’s see through and not very yellowish. It’s also strong and flexible. Although it feels like a sticky balloon. So it’s a great start, but not the material I’m looking for.

Conclusion

I know I haven’t tested all the recipes yet, but it’s a good start. In the beginning of this project I was doubting between Gelatine and Agar Agar recipes. I prefer not to use Gelatine, because it is not vegetarian or vegan friendly.

I really have proven with this test that Agar is a go and gelatine is a no-go and not just because of the ingredients, but because of my end product goals. Agar recipes turned out to be more flexible and very close to plastic foil. I was afraid that Agar might melted or damaged the clothing along the way but that was not the case! For my experience and the proof I have: Agar can survive being posted to different locations and it can survive being stuck and shield in a paper bag for a couple of days without material changes.

The recipe that I found most promising was the Flexible Bio foil 20 (5 gr agar, 20 gr glycerine, 250 ml water). It’s a nice recipe and the material can stay in shape for a long time. It’s is less sticky than other recipes, feels comfortable and looks like plastic foil..

Further documentation of this week:

This week was about tetsing recipes and the first materials.

Recipe testing Round 1

Alginate Flexible bioplastic (Without olive oil)

I really loved the vibe of the Alginate flexible bioplastic. But the olive oil made a sort of unnatural and uncomrortable twist to the sheet. So I wanted to test the recipe but than without the spoons of olive oil in it.

Results:

It has turned a bit yellow-ish, but I think the oven dish were I poured the recipe in has some affacts on the material outcome. The structure becomes more rough and the color turns a bit yellow/brown.

But the material is still very strong, flexible and suprisingly good.

The lovely fact about this recipe is that it's not super sticky. I would love to test some more alginate recipes.

Alginate Flexible bio foil - 2

I went on testing some more alginate sheets.

Tip:

• Make sure you really use an electronic handmixer whili making alginate recipes!

This recipe is the most sticky recipe I have been able to test. I couldn't get it smooth again without breaking it.

This one was not suitable for my bio plastic clothing bags.

Agar Bioplastic - 2

Cooked this recipe for 15 minutes long and made sure the water never really reached the cooking pont, so the temperature would stay around the 80 to 90 degrees. The agar dissapeared very smoothly.

End result after two days:

Love the vibe of this material. It's still sticky, but I hope it dissapears a little while I let it dry a few days more. Its flexible and strong. Feels smooth and soft.

Clara Davis Gelatine recipe

Clara Davis her bags:

Recipe:

• 480 ml water

• 97 gr gelatine

• 26 gr glycerine

Before cooking this recipe I mixed the gelatine with the water, until it became a smooth liquid. While mixing and cooking this recipe I saw almost only foam, but just wait for a few minutes and let it cool off a little bit and the liquid will appear again. Still a lot of foam tho.

My version of the recipe:

Outcome:

The material looks amazing and is almost invisible! It's super strong and a little flexible.

Might be suitable, but I am not sure yet.

Let's test the best materials!

The fisrt test

Link to the first test page

Conclusion of the tests

I know I haven’t tested all the recipes yet, but it’s a good start. In the beginning of this project I was doubting between Gelatine and Agar Agar recipes. I prefer not to use Gelatine, because it is not vegetarian or vegan friendly.

I really have proven with this test that Agar is a go and gelatine is a no-go and not just because of the ingredients, but because of my end product goals. Agar recipes turned out to be more flexible and very close to plastic foil. I was afraid that Agar might melted or damaged the clothing along the way but that was not the case! For my experience and the proof I have: Agar can survive being posted to different locations and it can survive being stuck and shield in a paper bag for a couple of days without material changes.

The recipe that I found most promising was the Flexible Bio foil 20 (5 gr agar, 20 gr glycerine, 250 ml water). It’s a nice recipe and the material can stay in shape for a long time. It’s is less sticky than other recipes, feels comfortable and looks like plastic foil.

Recipe testing Round 2

This week my glass plate from 120 x 48 cm came in. So now I can test on a bigger scale. Ain't that amazing!

So I coverd all the endings with black tape, so the fluid wouldn't flow were I don't want it to flow.

I wanted to test the Agar recipe that came out as the best in the test and I'll test the alginate recipe that looks very promising.

Recipes:

Agar Bioplastic - 2 (Big sheet)

• 4 gr Agar

• 10 gr glycerine

• 200 ml water

Alginate flexible biofoil - 2 (Small sheet)

• 8 gr alginate

• 15 gr glycerine

• 200 ml water

This time i waited 4 days, because of the scale I made it had to dry a little longer.

Tips:

• To get the sheet of the glass plate is still a bit of a struggle. I advise to just got the piece out you want and transport it to the place you want very carefully.

• You'll need an extra hand, also for pouring the biiplastics on the glass evenly.

• Don't make your sheets too thin. The thinner the sheet, the more fragile it becomes.

The alginate sheet wasn't dry yet.

Next week I'll focus on making the plastic bags reality and I'll produce more sheets.

Flexible Agar bio-foil 20

General information¶

The material is flexible, strong and has a smooth texture. It's see-through and good for packaging materials. it's a little sticky.

Physical form

Grains & Powders

It's made from Agar Agar. Agar Agar is a jelly-ish subtance made from red algue. And is ussualy used with making desserts.

Color without additives: white/yellow and see-through

Fabrication time

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Processing time: 5 to 7 days

Final form achieved after: 4 weeks

Yield

Approx. 5 to 7 days

Estimated cost (consumables)

including use of disposables likegloves

Pan, dish, mixer, Agar powder, water, gylatine

Recipe¶

Ingredients¶

• Water

  • 250 ml

  • Solvent

• Agar Agar powder

  • 5 gr

  • Plasticiser

• Glycerine

  • 20 gr

  • Stickyness and flexibility

Tools¶

1. Mixer

   • Is this tool optional?No

2. Pan

   • Is this tool optional? No

3. Dish

   • Is this tool optional? Yes

Method¶

1. First you mix the water with glycerine.

2. Heat the mix in a pan.

3. If the the mix is heated you put the Agar Agar powder in the pan and mix it for 20 minutes. Don’t let the liquid boil.

4. After 20 minutes you can pour the liquid on a suitable plate.

5. The sheet will be dry within 4 to 5 days.

Drying/curing/growth process¶

[Describe the setup, including details of mold and tools used (e.g. press, breathers, other) and other details pertaining to the process here]

• Mold depth 22cm x 22 cm x 1 cm

• Shrinkage thickness [20] %

• Shrinkage width/length [0] %

Shrinkage and deformation control

This recipe doesn't shrink in size, only a little bit in thickness.

Minimum wait time before releasing from mold 5 days after molding it.

Post-processing

Store the material on moisture absorbing paper for a few days for less stickyness and the best end material.

Further research needed on drying/curing/growth?

Yes

Maybe trying less glycerine, something like 10 gr.

Process pictures¶

Image guidelines: images should be landscape format and sharp. Please provide captions so the viewer can understand the elements of the setup. Include images of the drying/curing set-up