Shumyla Lopez Final Project Mixed Techniques

Process

The original concept of my final project was to create earrings made of fish hooks and a frame using the 3D printer. The idea has evolved into engraved aluminum earrings and a baroque-style heart frame. I originally wanted to have an asymmetrical design for the earrings, such that one earring would have a floral image, whereas the other would have a star. I have decided to make the earrings have the same design (floral design) to make them consistent. Throughout the process, I had drawn my design for my earrings and uploaded them into the XTOOL with Josh (shout out to Josh!) to engrave some elliptical aluminium pieces cut by Ryan (shout out to Ryan!). I problem-solved the 3D printed frame with Elizabeth, who helped me navigate the split tool function in the 3D printing menu (shout out to Elizabeth!). The split tool function would allow me to separate connecting pieces of the frame, which would allow me to glue/weave/include fabric as a hold for jewelry pieces.

Result 

The prototypes of the engravings were pretty rough. I realized that I was using the wrong setting for the XTOOL, which limited the depth of the design in my earrings. The settings needed to be switched to emboss the engravings rather than simple surface-level engravings. After messing with the design, I decided to try to use a drummel to emphasize the design, but the drummel bit was too large and ruined the design.

During the next few attempts and some setting changes to the XTOOL, I was able to have more depth in my design, which created a clean floral look!

I decided to give it another run, and Josh helped me include more layers in the passes, which really emphasized the lines of the design. Regarding the 3D frame, I had to figure out how to include connecting pegs between the two slices of the frame to get them together. The first attempt did not go wrong, but there were many technical issues, such as the heating of the plates and the filament errors.

After gathering the pieces of the frame, I cut some red fabric from the Tiger Den and shaped it into the heart's outer rim. I had printed the frame in two different colors to add more depth to the frame. The splut function allowed me to create little connecting pegs, which helped fasten the fabric in place. In addition, I hot-glued the fabric into the frame for extra security.

Reflection

I wish I had experimented more with the design of the earrings as well as the metals. I believe I would have benefited from figuring out ways to fill in the design with some sort of colored enamel to give it a unique finish. However, I think this process overall taught me how to use the XTOOL and 3D printers more, especially in experimenting with the settings. I was to give it another attempt at altering the shapes of the earrings as well as the style of the frame. I definitely considered using the CNC machine, but the time span of the project, as well as other finals, did not allow me the opportunity to experiment. However, I am very satisfied with how the project turned out!