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 is an adaptation of Agar biofoil by Cecilia Raspanti, Textile Lab, Waag Amsterdam for Fabricademy 2019-2020, Class pages, link.

It is published under an Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence.

##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