mycelium lamp Gaspard

MYCELIUM
LAMP

asambeling of the lamp and sketch

a while ago I bought a led lamp to hang above my desk. Unfortunately it's not as nice as I thought and I want to use all the parts to make a new frame. I want to make the hanging system in a mould. By growing mushrooms in the mould I hope to have a solid and durable material.

foto of model 5 small

I drew the shape I want to get out of the mould in Fusion 360. To see if this shape fits around the profile I first printed it in 3D to be sure.

I noticed that the parts I draw must be 0.25 larger than I measure them. This makes them fit easier but also more beautiful. It took me a couple of times to discover this.

foto of mold 2.1

foto of model 5

because I had this shape I could easily make a mould by cutting the shape out of a block. I added holes to make sure the parts of the mould fall over each other easily.

foto's of 3D printed mold 2.1 and 2.2

foto of model 5 big

1

2

3

4

5

5 small

5 big

5 small

I first made a 1:1 model to see if my idea works the way I would like it to and if all parts work the way I would like them to before I went on to develop the mould.

foto of model assembling 1:1

foto of mold 1.1 and 1.2

this was the first mold I made. a lot didn't work! the slots I came up with didn't work and the shape was printed sloppily and didn't fit.

MAKING OF MYCELIUM

I would like to work with a material I haven't worked with yet. I have made moulds for ceramics before. And I would like to challenge myself by making a press mould. I would like to use Mycelium and press it into the mould.

shredding of egg cartons the mould needs a base to feed itself.

1.

2.

cooking the shreds. +- Stir sometimes for 20 minutes. this will release the fibers.

3.

Drain the drap in a tea towel so that most of the moisture is out.

4.

mixing flour with water. this way you attract yeasts that will start the process.

5.

Mixing the flour mixture with the paper.

RESTING THE MATERIAL

If you have caught the right fungi you should be able to see this in 5 to 7 days.

DAY 1

DAY 3

DAY 5

DAY 7

So far I haven't been able to attract the right fungi. This will require more experimentation than I have now so I want to focus more on getting the mould to work and see if I can get a pressed form whole out of my mould.

filling the mould. Again, I boiled the egg cartons first to loosen the fibers. I put this clay-like substance in the mould and then pressed it.

mold 2.1 filled with carton

mold 2.1 and 2.2 filled with carton

mould compressed
difficult to keep it ready and press it properly

mould compressed
difficult to keep it ready and press it properly pressed for 1 day

mold after a few days drying the layers are not stitched drying 3 days

result of shapes I got out of this mould. I do see potential and surprisingly much detail you get.

foto of model 6 big

foto of model 6 smal

I modified the shape and closed the delicate thin hole at the top to drill a hole later in the prose if the material is hard. I also made the shape a little thicker.

foto of mold 3.1

foto of mold 3.2

I've also added holes so the water can drain away and evaporate faster. and 2 new slots that lead the mould parts straight over each other.
I can also easily push the shape out of the mould through the holes.

foto of mold 3.1

foto of mold 3.2

foto of mold 3.2 in the printer

photo or mold 3.2
holes were too small I couldn't open the mold anymore

photo or mold 4.2 and 4.1
holes made bigger and reprinted

mould filled and pressed for 1 day

result from mould 4.1 and 4.2 material does not hatch again

moulds drays for 3 days

PRESSING OF FIRST MOLD

PRESSING OF
SECOND MOLD

NEW 1 PIECE PRESS MOULD

In my last mould the shape still didn't bond. I want to make a solid shape by pressing 1 shape that has no separating edge.

mould 5.1 and 5.2
5.2 does not fit in 5.1

mould 5.1 and 5.2 and 5.3

mould 5.1 and 5.3

mould 5.1 and 5.4

made 5.4 higher so that I can pull the shape out of the mould more easily and put more pressure on it.

5 big

ASSEMBLING

MODIFIED
THE MOLD

mould 5.1 and 5.2

mould 5.4

Render od assembling

If I had had a few extra weeks....
I would have continued making a better working mould or strengthening the material I press into the mould.
As long as the material doesn't come out of the mould in one piece it won't be strong enough to lift my 500 gram brass U profile.

I have seen that I find this an interesting technique! I see a lot of possibilities. I'm very curious about scale and how big something could become.

If I had had a few extra weeks....