Skills Week : Model Making and plastics

To round up skills week, the last workshop I went to was model making and plastics. Most of the elements of my design will be made using the materials in this workshop so it was good to get familiar with it. 

Firstly we went through the health and safety methods and equipment such as wearing eye protection, where the first aid kit is located and the traffic light system used for the machines. We also went through the appropriate clothes to wear such as shoes that cover the foot and no loose hair and clothes. The different materials that can be used in the workshop are expanded foam, modelling foam, chemical wood and plastics. The equipment we were introduced to were the hot drape former, vacuum former, the oven, sanders, drills and hot wire cutter. Once that was done we started with some practical work

We were each given a block of grey foam and a scalpel and we were going to attempt to make a chair. Using the templates I was given for the chair I stuck them onto the front and side of the grey foam using tape.

Using the hot wire cutter, I carved around my template carefully in order to get the shape of my chair. While doing this I observed the safety precautions such as not touching the wire and making sure to use the extraction to get rid of the fumes when working. Once I had finished using the machine, I cracked open the grey foam and I had my 3 dimensional chair.

 

 

The last machine we used was the drill, we practiced how to assemble it with the right parts and also how to use it. Once that was done we had come to the end of our session. 

The workshop was very informative and it allowed me to consider what I could use for my project. For example, I can use the vacuum former in order to get the dome shape of my building and also a clear plastic to imitate windows.