For my final project I choose to work with 3D printing and mold making. My project and lesson were inspired by chapter 30 and 31 of Meaningful Making. I started by designing my project using the program Tinkercad. I began with inspiration from other coins I researched online and used simple shapes to create the foundation and a rim design. I then added words to my coin.

When I went to add symbols and my profile, I first used a shape in the program that I could import images onto and it  would create an embossment of the image. However, I had a lot of difficulty with getting it to print properly for my finished product and had to redo the symbols but creating them on my own with other shapes.

 

 

I also had trouble printing the coin double sided. As a result, I ended up splitting the two sides in half so the bottoms would be a flat surface and easier to print. Finally, once I increased the size by half an inch, I was able to successfully print my coin.

 

 

Then I moved to the next part of my process. I created a mold for my 3D print out of silicon. I researched this method and used the process in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmO5VoB7QVg.

I used dish soap, a bowl, all purpose silicone, water, and a metal tin to mold the material around my print.

Once my mold dried, I cut it in half and cut a small round hole at the top to use to fill it. When casting, I put rubber bands around the mold to secure it. I casted using plaster of paris and found that it was important to pay attention to the consistency of the material. For this part of the project, I found the process to be a little messy and if I were to repeat the project I would look into using a different material to cast the mold. After a few hours, I was able to remove my cast and then filed any edges and imperfections with an x-acto knife. I casted multiples of my coin and once they were all dry I used metallic paint on them.

 

Overall, I enjoyed all of the steps in this process. I really felt that I was able to experiment more with Tinkercad. I learned a lot through trial and error and was able to explore different possibilities of the program. I also liked how I could use what I created and make duplicates by creating a mold.