iDesign Hub

Over the last two weeks the first year interior design students have had small groups of glass inductions. We experimented with different textures of glass such as stringers (thin rods of glass), powders and "flakes"  by making different patterns on glass as shown above. We then put them in the kiln at low, medium and high temperatures to see the differences. High temperatures give the glass a smooth texture with rounded edges and medium and low temperatures give the glass more of a rough texture with sharp edges which can be filed down on the Diamond belt sander.

 

In the second week we learnt about sand blasting and water jet cutting. There are three ways to get a pattern blasted onto glass using the sand blaster. You can use PVA glue to draw your pattern and let it dry; tape a textured material such as lace onto the glass tightly; or use tape and cut out the parts you want to be sand blasted. You can also use the laser cutter or water jet blaster to help create intricate patterns. We learnt how to use the sand blaster machine safely and produced many different patterns as shown above. The sand blasted parts of the glass have a rougher texture than the clear glass.

 

These techniques are all great to use for model making as you can make any pattern or logo on the glass!