Week 6

May 12, 2017

We started a 3D print of a press modeled in Creo that would be used like a strainer with tiny 0.1 mm holes that shape alginate pressed through them into very fine strings. 

How the part will work

We defined the size of the holes based on an article describing a similar process of forming alchite strings as well as the constraints of the 3D printer. The article created pinholes of size 0.04 mm, but the Innovation Studio's 3D printers only print as finely as 0.1 mm.

How to operate the part

In the article described earlier, the researcher utilized wet spinning techniques and pressure from nitrogen gas to shape and weave their alginate strands. Our technique is purely manual, so we will need to invest additional care in order to produce similar results.

We made a calcium chloride solution using 0.7g of solid calcium chloride dissolved in 35 mL of water.

We also observed differences in the properties between alginate beads dipped in chitosan solution and alginate beads not dipped in chitosan. We found that the beads dipped in chitosan were softer while the normal alginate beads were stiffer. This contradicts the observations we made last week, where alginate strings dipped in chitosan were harder than strings not dipped in chitosan.