Durable Ceramic Output for the Rapid Prototyping Process
The purpose of our research effort is to create original, fine art ceramic objects using a highly efficient, unique and unprecedented modification of current rapid prototyping technologies. This project has significant implications in both the Ceramic and Digital art fields, as well as far reaching applications in research, industrial and commercial marketplaces.
The technology of rapid prototyping we have selected for our research uses computer applications to interpret digital 3d objects as cross-sections and “prints” each cross section sequentially in physical space to a physical substrate, until the virtual object is rendered tangible. However, the objects produced are frequently limited in their uses because the qualities (physical or thermal tolerances) of the physical substrate are too fragile to be useful in most real-world situations. The current solutions to this limitation involve the prototyping of negative molds to use in the creation of durable, ceramic positives. Our process allows for original, durable ceramic positives to be directly rendered from a digital file without the use of a negative mold, and then glazed and fired in a kiln. In our current experiments we have successfully invented specific ceramic recipes and binders for use in Bowling Green State University’s Zcorp rapid prototyping machine, producing a 3d print of a full-scale teapot. The object was then successfully fired in the kilns in the ceramic studio. The result is a fully functional, durable, watertight, inert, ceramic teapot. To our knowledge we are the first to succeed at this process. The proposed grant would allow our team to focus on perfecting, exploiting, and distributing the fruits of this new innovation through applying a scientific experimental methodology to the production of Fine Art objects for the purposes of technological discovery and exhibition. Possible applications in manufacturing and engineering include the direct rendering of an almost unlimited variety of precision, inert, and heat-resistant ceramic parts, including insulators, gaskets, filters, and engine parts. Architects and designers can create ceramic components directly from digital drawings of portions of walls, floors, and details of custom patterns in three dimensional reliefs which could then be directly executed by printing the product rather than going through an elaborate production process. The brick Industry could produce bricks with sculpted or inscribed faces to accentuate buildings. Using this technology, damaged or missing architectural elements of historic buildings can be more easily and accurately replaced than through complicated and indirect molding and casting techniques currently in use. Archaeologists, paleontologists, and restorers can use this technology to quickly complete, reconstruct, or repair ancient fossils or artifacts through 3d scanning and modeling techniques.
Our research has proved that there are many direct applications that could result from using 3D RP technology to form ceramic objects. We believe, for instance, that the use of 3D modeling can allow an artist to create objects without the limitations of traditional forming processes. Ceramic artists in the past have been largely limited to what can be constructed while the force of gravity is acting on the wet object. Our process avoids some of the constraints of gravity because the object is supported on all surfaces by the dry medium. The ability to create a virtual object in a gravity neutralized environment is not only a very thought-provoking concept for ceramicists but could also present structural solutions for the building of a rendered ceramic objects in industrial applications. Rapid prototyping also allows for the creation of trapped negative volumes and internal structures that would be extremely difficult if not impossible to create in any other means. This property has potential impacts that have yet to be fully grasped by engineers and manufacturers.
Ongoing research conducted at Bowling Green State University, 2007
BGSU TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS ENHANCEMENT GRANTS