PS70: Intro to Digital Fabrication

PS70: Intro to Digital Fabrication <head> <style> body { background-color: #f0edfa; } </style> </head> <body> Final Project Proposal(s) In general, my ideas for the final project revolve around different types of equipment for a small or at-home printmaking studio to do relief and etching processes that require little to no use of solvents or acids. This would also be a nice addition to the AFVS printmaking facilities, as it is very difficult to find adequate ventilation to safely do printmaking processes in the CCVA due to its architectural protections (though selfishly I am mainly interested in this for my personal use): Idea One: Automated Mezzotint Plate Rocker Context: <a href="https://clarklibrary.ucla.edu/blog/seventeenth-century-printmaking-mezzotint/">Brief introduction/definition of the mezzotint process<a/> Example of a mezzotint (artist Erin Wohletz): <img src="mezzotint example.jpg" alt="print" /img> Traditional mezzotints are created by using a <a href="https://eclyons.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=263">specialized metal tool<a/> to create a layer of rough indentations into a metal plate (typically copper) that will hold ink and print completely opaque. This is referred to as "rocking the plate" The roughened surface is then gone back into with burnishing tools to create lighter values. The prep-work to create a mezzotint print is painstakingly time-consuming - most mezzotint prints are small in scale as rocking even a small, 5" x 5" plate takes at least a few hours. The mezzotint rocker must rock in at least 24 different directions on the plate to achieve the rich dark foundational values images have. This does not incude the time it takes to go back in to burnish the plate. This, as well as the steep price of the plate rocker tool itself, can be discouraging and inaccessible to those who do not have the funds or time to commit to this process. There are also options to purchase pre-rocked plates, but they are very expensive and often do not go beyond 8" in size. Proposal: <img src="mezzotintrocker.jpg" alt="drawing of a possible automated mezzotint rocker" /img> A circular base (similar to how lazy susans work, but automated?) where it will mechanically rotate the plate and move the rocker tool around an X/Y axis to rock any size plate (that will fit on the base) - much like a slow cooker, you can set it and forget it. Goals: rocking any size plate, programming it to act on a timer, and rocking it in different types of patterns (crosshatch, spiral, etc). Also possibly fabricating my own mezzotint rocker tool since the rocker tool is very expensive (~$200 for a 5" long rocker) Challenges: May be limited to those who already own a mezzotint rocker tool (I would have to purchase a mezzotint rocker tool) (or fabricate a mezzotint rocker tool). Also not sure how to draw/think of how the mezzotint rocker tool would be attached or how it would move along an X/Y axis. Idea Two: Portable/Miniature Letterpress Proofing Press <img src="letterpress.jpg" alt="drawing of a diy letterpress press with built in drawers" /img> Portable letterpress proofing press - there are many DIY letterpress proofing presses that have been done in the past (see bottom links). Some changes from the standard printing press that I'd like to explore: adjustable bed or adjustable roller that automatically lowers and raises based on the height of what's placed on it (standard letterpress proofing presses can only print a specific height of type (term is "type high")), a press bed that automatically levels itself (so everything prints evenly), a grid press bed where each square of the press bed's height can be adjusted so you can print items that have different thicknesses at the same time. A larger diameter roller to get more pressure while printing. Built in drawers/storage underneath the press for letterpress type, a fold out flat surface to hold materials while printing. Side goals: I would also want to use the laser cutter/CNC router to create custom letterpress type out of wood, metal, or an experimental material. Also would want to cast custom <a href="https://shop.takachpress.com/4-75-diameter/"> rollers<a/> and/or make custom <a href="https://shop.takachpress.com/takach-specialty-brayers/"> brayers. <a/> Other DIY presses/inspiration: <a href="https://www.briarpress.org/41110">Winking cat press wooden proofing press<a/> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wa0a3vTafE">This Designed That letterpress proofing press with metal components<a/> <a href="https://competition.adesignaward.com/gooddesign.php?ID=39281">Bill Ritchie Miniature etching press<a/> <a href="https://www.thearm.org/perohaus/showcard-model-b-proof-press">Showcard model press<a/> Idea Three: Somewhat safer Aquatint Box/Grinder Context: Aquatint is a printmaking process where a metal (copper, zinc, aluminum, etc) plate is covered in a fine layer of rosin dust. The dust is heated to bond to the plate, and that plate is then etched in acid, where the open areas of the plate will be eaten away by the acid, and the areas the rosin dust are bonded to are protected. This is a way to produce tonal values and gradients in prints (very similar to mezzotint). Traditional aquatint involves grinding down lump rosin with a mortar and pestle or (the modern way) with a coffee grinder. The rosin powder is then placed inside an aquatint box (basically a large box enclosure with a fan at the bottom and a grate in the middle to hold your plate), where the fan blows the rosin powder up to the top of the box, the particles start to fall, and then the aquatint box is opened to place the plate inside (the plate cannot be placed before the fan is turned on because then *too* much rosin powder will cover the plate and it will not etch correctly). This, even with precautions (like PPE, ventilation) taken, still puts the user at risk of inhaling rosin. In a building like the Carpenter Center where there is not yet up to date ventilation, the risks of inhalation are higher. Proposals: Creating an enclosed automatic rosin grinder that can go into a readymade <a href=https://aquatintbox.com/>aquatint box<a/> and/or creating a custom aquatint box that monitors rosin powder levels and places the plate inside itself without the user opening the box. All the user would need to handle is the lump rosin and the covered plate. Challenges: Creating something that will NOT ignite the rosin?