April 2021 - June 2021
Iron Pour
A Special Topics in Design class at Northwestern gave me the opportunity to create any object I wanted in cast iron. I chose the impossible triangle because I am fascinated by illusion and wanted to challenge myself to bring one to life.
Mold Design
CAD, Additive Manufacturing Techniques
I quickly learned best practices for iron casting mold design. Next, I modeled an impossible triangle illusion in CAD, then added casting components (sprue, gating, vents, runners) to make a positive of the desired iron pour product. Finally, I inverted the design to make a mold containing a negative of the design. I split the mold into three parts to provide access to all internal surfaces for preparation before casting.
Fabrication
Iron Furnace Assembly, Iron Pour, Post-Processing Techniques
The CAD mold was used to 3D print a sand mold, which I prepared for casting by removing excess sand, coating with graphite, and assembling with glue and metal bands. I then worked with my classmates to set up a furnace and was on a ladle team that poured molten iron into the molds. Once my part had cooled, I used a bandsaw, handsaw, grinder, and sandblaster to remove the excess iron and improve the finish.
