Left: Emily mixing plaster, Right: Modified cardboard boxĪfter Emily mixed the plaster, our group debated whether it was best to place the object at the bottom of the box and pour plaster on top or to pour plaster first and place the object on top. Therefore, Rachel and I taped all edges of the box to close small gaps. I read online that it was crucial all crevices be sealed before pouring the plaster in. We both agreed that cardboard would be a good box material because we could cut the box out of the mold after casting without bending the mold. While Emily and Ariana looked into the proportions of plaster and water, Rachel and I found a scrap cardboard box to contain the mold. We decided to make plaster molds for the spoon and knife because we thought them to be thin and sturdy enough to extract from the mold without bending. On our first day working on this project, our group decided to mold and cast some eating utensils.

Then, we intended to build a silicone mold of the lid and cast it using silicone as well. While doing this, we planned to 3d print our lid prototype. Our rationale for this assignment was to build molds of simple small objects such as utensils, bottles, and keychains to get a sense of how the molding and casting process works without wasting too much materias. Naturally, we also agreed to use silicone to cast flexible objects and plaster to cast rigid objects. We figured that the flexibility of silicone would facilitate easier extraction of the molded object from the mold. As a group, we discussed properties of the two materials and decided to use plaster to mold easily removable objects and silicone to mold objects that would be difficult to extract after mold formation.

However, it appeared that there was not much gelatin left so we decided to work with plaster and silicone. The three available materials were plaster, silicone, and gelatin. Therefore, our first step was to look through the molding and casting materials in Nolop and learn about their uses. Our group had no prior experience with molding and casting.

Casting plaster in silicone mold