agarcomposite.md

AGAR COMPOSITE

Tactility & sound impression

Description

A light composite of textile and agar foil.

Physical form

Solids

Color without additives: color of the textile used

Fabrication time

Preparation time: 1 Hour

Processing time: 7 days

Need attention: N/A, let dry in place with lots of airflow

Final form achieved after: 10 days

Ingredients

• Agar - 5 g
  • Polymer (makes it hard)
• Glycerine - 15 g
  • Plasticizer
• Water - 250 ml/g
  • Solvent, to dissolve and heat the agar
• A piece of textile large enough to fit over the mold
• A mold for example a bowl, or other 2.5D or 3D surface

Tools

1. Spoon
2. Scale
3. Bowls to weigh ingredients
4. Cooker (ideally temperature controlled)
5. Thermometer (optional) if you don't have a temperature controlled cooker
6. Small molds - 2x such as two glass bowls of about 8 cm diameter (or equivalent) that slide into one another.

Yield before processing/drying/curing

Approx. 200 ml this is enough to make a small 15x15cm composite and the agar foil found in this recipe

Method

1. Preparation

   • Weigh your ingredients
   • Prepare the casting surface and find a place where you can leave it for a while, ideally near an open window where there's air flow.

2. Mixing and dissolving the ingredients

   • bring the water to the boil
   • optional: substitute part of the water with natural dye if you wish to use color
   • add the glycerine
   • add the agar
   • bring the mixture to the boil while stirring gently, to dissolve the agar.

3. Cooking the ingredients

   • when the agar is dissolve completely, lower the temperature to 60-80 degrees (make sure it doesn't bubble), and let it simmer and evaporate water for 40 mins while stirring slowly and continuously.
   • the agar should have the consistency of a light syrup, you should be able to leave a "trace" with you trace your spoon across the pot.
   • If your mixture is thicker it will spread slowly resulting in a thicker foil, if it's more liquid, it will spread wider, resulting in a thinner foil.

4. Casting and molding

   • Dip the textile(s) into the hot liquid
   • Take it out and position on the mold, press it down with the second bowl.
   • After an hour, take off the second bowl and let the composite airdry on top of the mold

Drying/curing/growth process

Allow the foil to dry for a week for best results (or 3 days minimum).

• Mold diameter: 8 cm
• Shrinkage thickness 0-10 %
• Shrinkage width/length 0-10 %

Shrinkage and deformation control

When used in a composite with textile fibres, the foil shrinks a lot less. The fibers prevent the shrinking.

Curing agents and release agents

None

Minimum wait time before releasing from mold

3 days

Post-processing

N/A

Further research needed on drying/curing/growth?

Not sure

Process

Dissolving the agar while stirring, Loes Bogers, 2020 Making a trace with the spoon, consistency of syrup, Loes Bogers, 2020 The composite inside the "two-piece" mold of the two glass bowls, Loes Bogers, 2020

Variations on this recipe

• Substitute part of the water with a dye
• Try different molds and textiles
• Design your own mold

Cultural origins of this recipe

[Free text]

Needs further research? Yes/No/Not sure

[Notes]

This recipe draws together information from these other recipes

This is an adaptation of Flexible bio-foil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link. A longer cooking time is recommended to create a thicker foil.

Known concerns and contestations*

Yes/No/Needs further research

[Describe them here free text]

Sustainability tags

• Renewable ingredients: yes
• Vegan: yes
• Made of by-products or waste: no
• Biocompostable final product: yes
• Re-use: not sure

Needs further research?: Not sure

Do not recycle in PET-plastics waste streams to avoid contaminating it.

Material properties

Comparative qualities

The composite feels less flexible and rubbery than the agar foil. It makes a crackling sound like paper.

Technical and sensory properties

• Strength: medium
• Hardness: resilient
• Transparency: opaque
• Glossiness: matte
• Weight: light
• Structure: variable
• Texture: medium
• Temperature: medium
• Shape memory: high
• Odor: none
• Stickiness: low
• Weather resistance: needs further research
• Acoustic properties: needs further research
• Anti-bacterial: needs further research
• Non-allergenic: nneeds further research
• Electrical properties: needs further research
• Heat resistance: medium
• Water resistance: water resistant
• Chemical resistance: needs further research
• Scratch resistance: high
• Surface friction: medium
• PH modifiers: none

About this entry

Maker of this sample

• Name: Loes Bogers
• Affiliation: Fabricademy student at Waag Textile Lab Amsterdam
• Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Date: 16-03-2020 – 24-03-2020

Environmental conditions

• Humidity: not sure
• Outside temp: 5-11 degrees Celcius
• Room temp: 18 – 22 degrees Celcius
• PH tap water: 7-8

Recipe validation

Has recipe been validated?

Yes

By Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam, 9 March 2020

Estimated cost (consumables) in local currency

0,50 Euros, for a yield of approx. 200 ml (enough to make a small composite and a sheet, or larger or multiple composites)

Copyright information

This recipe is in the public domain (CC0)

Yes

This recipe was previously published by someone else

Yes, this is an adaptation of Flexible bio-foil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link.

##References

• [Title of publication 1] by [First + Last Name Author]([Affiliation/Institution]), [Publication name or channel], [YYYY], link.

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Images of final product

Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020

Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020

Agar foil, Loes Bogers, 2020