SCOTTIE CANDY PRODUCTION

Scottie Candy Production

During a MUMBLE team brainstorm session, an idea came up spontaneously to produce miniature candies in the form of the Scottie. This idea had been stimulated by earlier candy experiments (see Candy Lab 1 & 2 documentations) at the FabLab and by the management’s interest to apply promotional methods to the Scottie project. Furthermore, our fellow intern; Kylie Abbott, who works part time at Papa Bubble, a candy shop in Amsterdam would inevitably simplify contact with a candy producer. The candies could potentially be used to hand out to users during user tests, clients or investors at conferences and other relevant parties. Mumble project team leader Betty Bonn supported the idea enthusiastically and approved initial explorations in this area. So we got to work!

In order for us to produce samples and prototypes of the candies, we first needed to create a mold(s) as a production method to fabricate identical candies. Equally as important was the requirement for the mold(s) to be safe with regards to eventual oral ingestion of its produce. We had a look at the Smooth-On latex samples available at the FabLab and did some quick research on the net on which Smooth-On product was appropriate for the job.

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It seems Smooth-Sil 940 is one of the few silicone rubber compound products suitable for food production. We eventually chose this one because of its quality and durability.

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The product comes in a box of two components; part A (Right) and Part B (Left). After mixing these entities at a ratio of 100 A: 10 B (by weight), the solution is ready for use. Note: Using more or less of either of the components will have drastic effects on the resulting solution:

• More component B/ less component A = Flexible, soft, dark pink
• More component A/ less component B = Rigid, hard, light pink

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Meanwhile, we had created a 3D model of the Scottie on Rhinoceros 4 in a dimension of 2 x 3 cm, saved it as an STL file with relatively high amount of polygons using the Polygon Mesh Options feature. This was to make sure the eventual physical mold would have smooth curves. The file was opened in Modela Player 4, software that allows its user to play around with settings, preferences and commands of the CNC Modelo milling machine to perform its milling task as desired.

Using this desktop milling machine at the FabLab we pursued in taking the next step in our process, creating a real mold out of a virtual one.

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The material of use was not extremely important, as long as it was tough and durable enough to produce several silicone molds. For this instance we used a relatively dense chemical wood (grey), and made sure that the mold would be a positive, considering the silicone produce would be negative.

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We started with a Roughing milling task. Within this setting, the CNC Modelo performs a milling task that creates the model in a rough, layered form.

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The same file was then printed again in Fining setting. This function refines the model from layers into smoother curves. This is why it is important to place the material of use on a spot that is easy to relocate, and to note the exact coordinates of where the CNC Modelo begins its cutting. The process resulted in a smoother Scottie (positive) mold and was ready for the next step!

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Now that we had our food safe silicone and our positive mold ready for use, we could get to the manual methods of production. Being unsure whether the silicone would stick onto the chemical wood and give us a hard time separating the two once it had hardened, we used Vaseline (petroleum jelly) to lubricate the concerning surface just in case (later on in the process we realized it was not necessary). Then having freshly mixed the part A and part B substances, we poured the sticky solution into the mold. It is important to mix the solution gently, and to pour it slowly, trapping as little air as possible. Pouring the substance from a close distance, a slow uniform speed and focusing onto the same point is also important.

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The solution takes about 6 – 7 hours to harden (this duration varies depending on the ratio of the solutions). After it has fully hardened, it can be removed. We repeated this process eight times which gave us enough negative molds to produce plenty of candies out of.

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The silicone rubber (negative) and chemical wood (positive) molds completing one another. Once the set of silicone negatives were complete, they were taken to Papa Bubble for candy production. Prototypes were made in different colors and candy mixes, and packaged in standard Papa bubble aluminum packages as seen below.

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These were then used to discuss possible future plans for these candies with focus on purpose, specifications and price ranges. Marleen Stikker, director of Waag Society has shown much interest in this idea and has approved a large order from Papa Bubble. The eventual packages will include one Scottie figure and five round candies (see picture below) consisting of the Scottie logo (this for financial, production efficiency purposes). Thus, the FabLab has offered a playground for experimentation, prototype and convincing proposal creation which worked out successfully!

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This is a sample of one of the several Scottie prototype packages. The final design for the labels has still not been determined at this point.