Digital Foundry Class

September, I took a two week class at Anderson Ranch entitled "Digital Foundry".  In this class, we designed pieces on the computer, printed them with a 3D printer, and then cast them in metal.  We were using Rhino to do the computer design.   We printed the pieces on a Prusa 3D printer, then attached wax sprues and vents to prepare for casting.   After that, we coated the pieces with ceramic, using a slurry and ceramic sand.   Then we burned out the PLA plastic, like one would burn out wax in the lost wax process. Finally, we poured liquid bronze or aluminum into the ceramic forms.   The lost wax process is thousands of years old, and is still used today. 

This class was a stretch class for me, as I had not done any casting before, nor had I done much computer design.  I learned a lot.   I will be taking time to decide how I am going to use this going forward.  

The results are below.