Lecture at National Conference for Cast Iron Art

Recently I attended the National Conference on Cast Iron Art held at the historical Sloss iron foundry in Birmingham, Alabama.  I was lucky enough to present a lecture on my recent research into the application of Additive Manufacturing technologies to the process of Metal Casting.   What follows are the first 22 slides.  The next post will contain the final images.

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Glass Casting in Printed Molds: Part I

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My name is Charlie Wyman and I am currently a graduate student at the University of Washington in Mechanical Engineering.  Prior to beginning my studies at the University of Washington, I received my B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Whitman College, and upon graduating I spent several months designing and fabricating metal sculptures from copper and steel.  This quarter I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work in the Solheim RP Lab under the guidance of Prof. Mark Ganter.

Recently, under the direction of Prof. Ganter and Prof. Laura West, I have been experimenting with “kiln casting glass” directly into printed molds.  The primary material that has been used thus far is hydroperm, a material that is ready to use out of the bag.  For the first few tests, I used a standard glass firing schedule and System 96 glass, which is more viscous that typical casting glass. I also used an open-faced mold of a mask I designed as the test mold.

Preliminary results have shown promise, but we still have some details to work out.  We initially had some problems with mold burn-in and devitrification, but I believe this was due to discrepancies in the firing schedule.   These issues have been significantly reduced.

Future tests will include varying the firing schedule and temperatures to minimize the frosty surface, spots, and devitrification, and to determine at what point mold burn-in occurs. I will also experiment with different types of glass and mixing other materials with the hydroperm.