Ferro tiles research
Working with scientists at the Wyss Institute, we built tools for casting ferrofluid patterns into hardening solids, letting a single mold produce intricate tiles in different materials. I expanded the material range and used image processing to quantitatively predict the finished pieces’ aesthetic attributes.
read the paper
- publication
- material science
- image processing
47 prototypes to get it right
Casting process
To demonstrate commercial viability, the original process has been modified for clay bodies, which are commonly used in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries.
Results
Our research confirmed that patterns can be cast into epoxy resin, gypsum cement, self-drying gypsum cement, hydraulic cement, terracotta, porcelain, and stoneware. We achieved textures with material-specific patterns that could not be reproduced by any other molding method.
Analysis
To understand the appearance of the patterns below the surface, I scanned the casts using X-ray microcomputed tomography. This yielded a series of snapshots of the tile along the z-axis that stitched together into a 3D model. I then performed a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis on the images. My findings demonstrated that the cast resin samples have higher, more uniform features. Gypsum and hydraulic cement samples, on the other hand, have lower frequency patterns with irregular boundaries.
