Soap-Making Project

Project Instructions: For this project, we were assigned to create a bar of soap for someone meaningful on Valentines Day. On the soap, it was required to include things relating to the person it would be gifted to, such as their hobbies or things they like. Additionally, a catchphrase that is related to the design of the soap was required to be on the soap in some form. The soap was required to have a diameter of 3 inches and a height of 1.5 inches.

Brainstorm (1): The first part of this project was to sketch a brainstorm for the soap bar in Notability. I chose to gift my soap to Shanku. The design I chose was based on Shanku's interests in aviation and geography. The initial design included a plane, the catchphrase relating to geography, and Earth's continents. 

Fusion 360 (2): To make the master for the mold, we used a CADding software called Fusion 360. First, I imported an image of a plane and an image of India. I use the line and spline tools to create a sketch. I extruded the sketch to meet the height requirements. To finish, I added text and readjusted it until it looked aesthetically pleasing.

Print #1 (3):  After making sure the master in Fusion 360 met my vision, I used Bambu Handy to print it out. Many people in our class were trying to use the printers at the same time. Because of this, the queue for printing took up the majority of the class. After coming in during lunch to check on the finished print, I realized that the base was too short and the contents on the base were too tall. I made some quick height adjustments with Ms. Tran and was ready to print a second time.

Print #2 (4):  The second print (the final print) perfectly met the requirements and the ideal visual aesthetic, meaning I was ready to make the mold. 

Making The Mold (5): To make the mold for the soap, we used a material called Silicone Plastique.  Silicone Plastique a quick-hardening material meant for mold making. (It hardens within 5 minutes.) It is utilized by covering the master (the 3D print) with the material and pushing it down to pick up the details of every crevice.

Removing Mold (6):  In order to make the mold and fill it with soap within a single class period, we had to speed up the process of the Silicone Plastique hardening by using a blow-dryer. After taking the hardened mold off the master, I noticed that there were some minor imperfections in the mold. There were also bubbles from not pressing down hard enough. This was a minor drawback that could be fixed in the final soap.

Filling Mold With Soap (7):  The mold was hardened and flexible, and it was ready to be filled with soap. We used goat milk soap. I chose the lavender scent. I used red food coloring to customize the soap. When I was squirting the drops of coloring in the soap, I accidentally squeezed too hard. This caused the soap to be a very deep red color in the finished product. Again, this was a minor mistake that didn't effect the final result.

Final Soap Bar (8):  After a day, the soap hardened. I removed the soap from the mold. Because my design included complex and intricate details, some elements didn't translate to the soap bar properly. The plane was warped, and the squiggly line that was behind it didn't fully come out because of how skinny it was. I attempted to improve some of the imperfections with a knife, such as leveling the text and India. I also rimmed the sides of the cylinder to finalize the project.

Reflection:  

S - Strength - My strength during this project was adjusting the design after the frequent failures I came across.

O - Opportunities - To improve my project, I could've designed my soap to have less intricate details, which would've translated better to the final soap bar.

U - Understanding - This project allowed me to fully understand specific tools in Fusion 360 that I wouldn't understand otherwise. I learned how to extrude bodies and trace images to make sketches using the line and spline tools.

L  - Limitations -  My soap had a lot of intricate details. The final bar of soap didn't have the full accuracy I was hoping for.

WISCR - The WISCRs I demonstrated throughout this project the most was being a clear communicator and an insightful and critical thinker. I was a clear communicator because I would constantly refer to my friends and Ms. Tran for help on my design. This allowed me to achieve my vision and to learn more skills in Fusion 360. I was an insightful and critical thinker because I faced many challenges throughout the project, but I was able to overcome them using my critical thinking skills.