The circles of logic are so large that the world may as well be flat. Each time I think I have found a new horizon I am back where I started, but with a little more logic in my quest. The quest is currently revolving around screen printing and molding with epoxy versus some other materials. For years I have worked on different methods of making durable printed pieces that could be used or left outdoors and not deteriorate, assuming that we are heading for a great disaster and that all things will eventually end up buried. Much of my work started with plasters, cements and polyester resins that I printed either digitally or with screen printing. I have a bunch of old screens and am always trying to find a use for them, but as I keep needing new screens to experiment with my inventory of old screens just keeps growing. The most durable material that I have been working with, that is also the most frustrating material due to the time it takes to set up, is epoxy. I have gone full circle now and that instead of using epoxy as the method of supporting and bonding my other materials to each other I have been printing with epoxy and reducing my need for other materials, except for the mold making processes.
This being said I have to wonder what is the least I can get away with and every time I think I have reached a minimal amount of materials, I find that I can go thinner. Patience is not my virtue, but to get stronger thinner layers that are durable, I have to wait longer and let my prints and castings set properly, even as much as a week before I tear them out of their molds or cut them into different shapes. I am imagining a world of lightness and although I am not used to super thin veneers being the only thing between me and the world, there are some advantages including the economics.
How thick would I need to build an epoxy and carbon fiber shell to get the same strength that you get from a layer of 2 X 4 's and 3/8 inch plywood? Or if that is overkill, how about 1 X 2 inch frames with 1/4 inch plywood which would be the equivalent of some small boats I used to built as a young man in Sausalito? My fiberglass boat seems to be a good quarter inch or at least 3/16th inch thick. Assuming epoxy is stronger than polyester resin and carbon fiber is stronger than fiberglass then 1/32 to 1/16th of an inch thick would be an accomplishment. I have made a few epoxy resin pieces that seem to be less than 1/32nd of an inch and without any carbon fiber they seem pretty strong and decorative. I am thinking that if I combine a 2 thin veneers, two layers of carbon fiber and a printed layer of epoxy I can create a very strong surface with a water resistant exterior that might be as strong as a tortoise shell.
This hypothesis is still possibly more than I can chew since paying my bills and doing my day job is and should be the most important thing I work on. How then can I use these techniques and materials to build a better mousetrap, i.e. something I can actually sell that people need without redesigning the universe. Coffee mugs, trucker hats and t-shirts are my business, but this includes a rather large swath of other potential products that are kitschy and marketable from the angle of a fun gift. Why is epoxy better or useful as compared to the tried and proven techniques that already exist?
Machining cost are low with epoxy for one. Durability is a plus with epoxy. Availability of epoxy is relevant. Cost of epoxy is quite low.
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