Graphics - Materials and Components

What are the main factors in choosing paper and board?

Cost and quality (brightness/thickness) Finish Strength and weight Flexibility and rigidity Environment and sustainability

Cost and quality of paper

Expensive paper makes your item feel high quality. It also adds to the final price of the product. Expensive paper is only worth using for luxury products.

Give three types of finishes.

Fillers Paints Varnishes

Finishes

Finishes are applied to a model or product to protect it from damage and dirt and to improve its appearance.

What is PET used for?

Fizzy drinks bottles

Describe foam board

Foam board comprises of a polystyrene sheet laminated between two pieces of card. It has a good strength to weight ratio Usually white in appearance

Foam

Foam core board is made by lamination polystyrene foam between card. It's stiff but lightweight - good for mounting posters and making models.

What are bioplastics used for?

Food packaging

Greaseproof paper

For baking cups, as an example

Aluminium foil

For insulation Bacterial barrier

What is grey board used for?

Game board Hardback books Ring binders Covered boxes

Describe PVC

Good chemical and weathering resistance Cheap Durable but brittle Easy to print on Available in a variety of colours Moulded using injection moulding and extrusion

How is paper usually measured in?

Grams per square metre (gsm). It's a measure of density. It is sold up to 220 gsm, at which point it is called board.

What are the disadvantages of using recycled paper?

Harmful chemicals such as bleach may be used to make the paper white, and recycled paper isn't as strong as virgin paper.

Describe cartridge paper

Has a textured surface Good quality drawing paper

Describe HIPS

High impact polystyrene Rigid Comes in a variety of colours and thicknesses Can be vacuum formed Fairly cheap

Describe solid white board

High quality bleached surface, ideal for printing

Why is virgin paper used?

It is stronger and whiter, and usually is used for food because it reduces risk of contamination.

Give 6 types of paper.

Layout Cartidge Bleed-proof Tracing Coloured Grid

Describe duplex board

Less expensive alternative to solid white board One side is bleached and coated for printing Other is uncoated and unbleached Available in a wide variety of widths and sizes

Describe expanded polystyrene foam

Lightweight Easily shaped with a knife (more accurately with a hot wire cutter) Some are crumbly (used for protective packaging) Some dense Can be hard to get a good quality finish Can be joined using PVA or specific styrofoam adhesives. To paint it you have to 'fill' the surface

Describe corrugated plastic sheet

Lightweight Rigid Weatherproof Stiff but can be bent into shapes

Describe layout paper

Lightweight and thin paper Semi-translucent Inexpensive

Virgin paper

Made from new wood pulp, not recycled material.

Varnishing

Made of a synthetic resin (acrylic, cellulose) dissolved in an organic solvent; used to make something shiny.

Paints

Made up of a pigment (colour) and a vehicle (solvent that carries pigment). There are many types of vehicles (water, cellulose, acrylic, oil, etc.)

What is board usually measured in?

Microns (μ). It describes the thickness of the board. There are 1000μ in 1 mm.

What is mount board used for?

Model making High quality picture or drawing mounting

What is card used for?

Model-making

What is corrugated plastic sheet used for?

Modelling objects with large flat surfaces and square edges Sign boards Students' folders

Finish

Money can be saved by using cheaper recycled board laminated with high quality paper for packaging that'll be thrown away.

Are plastics sustainable?

Most plastics are made from crude oil, which will eventually be used up (so they're not sustainable). However, some plastics can be recycled. Most plastic waste still ends up in landfill sites; they don't rot away naturally so can't be composted.

What is coloured paper used for?

Mounting work Adding colour to construction models

What is duplex board used for?

Normally used for packaging (food, in particular)

Priming

Not all varnishes/paints stick well; some have to be primed first.

How does painting work?

Once the paint has been applied, the vehicle evaporates and leaves the pigment. Water based and acrylic paints take less time than oil.

What are spiral wound tubes used for?

Paper would in a spiral, held together with glue. Light but strong. Often given a nice finish. 3D printing surface. Snack containers (smarties tube)

What is acetate used for?

Photocopiable clear film See-through packaging Camera film

How can paper be laminated?

Plastic coating Aluminium foil Greaseproof paper Wax coating Foam

Thermoplastics

Plastics that can be moulded by heating and can be re-moulded if heated again

What is acrylic used for?

Point of sale stands Available as rods, tubes as well as sheets

Plaster filler

Powder mixed with water into a thick paste. This fills small cracks and improves the surface finish of foam models.

What is cartridge paper used for?

Primarily used for sketching Suitable for pencils, crayons, pastels, gouache, inks and watercolours

What is solid white board used for?

Primary packaging (for individual items)

Blow moulding

Process for making hollow plastic forms by blowing compressed air into a heated thermoplastic.

Injection moulding

Process in which hot liquid plastic is injected by force into a mould.

Line bending

Process used to bend straight lines in a heated thermoplastic

What is expanded polystyrene used for?

Protective packaging Modelling

What are the benefits of using recycled paper?

Recycled paper saves energy as less raw material is processed, and is good for the environment.

Describe grey board

Rigid Easy to cover with paper

Sizing

Sealing the absorbency of the paper's surface to accept more ink. The coating affects the brightness of the paper.

What is corrugated board used for?

Secondary packaging to protect products during transit

Give 5 types of board.

Solid white board Mount board Corrugated board Duplex board Grey board

Strength and weight

Some materials can withstand high impact force (cardboard, grey board) so can be used for heavy-duty packaging. Stronger materials are usually heavier or bulkier though - adding to transport costs.

What is foam board used for?

Some packaging Mainly mounting work and models

Laminating

Sticking together layers of thinner card to achieve a board. A whole range of boards can be made from this.

Describe acrylic

Stiff but brittle Can shape and polish edges to high gloss Wide variety of colours

Describe corrugated board

Strong and lightweight Rigid Great impact resistance Fluted inner core layered between two pieces of board Usually brown

How does varnishing work?

The solvent evaporates and leaves a thin protective layer of transparent varnish. Using UV varnish on paper gives it a professional-looking finish and makes it more durable.

Fillers

These are used to fill the cracks or holes in a surface (particularly in modelling).

Describe mount board

Thick coloured rigid board Usually constructed of multiple layers

Describe bleed-proof paper

Thin paper Limits the amount of bleed from ink to provide a sharp edge for marker work (ink bleeds on some paper because paper fibres suck ink away)

Describe tracing paper

Thin, translucent Proportionally high cost

Why do we laminate?

To get a composite of different qualities for different purposes

Flexibility and rigidity

To make 3D products, paper and board must easily fold over without breaking but rigid enough to keep its shape.

Describe polypropylene

Tough Flexible Good impact resistance Available in a variety of colours Can be moulded using injection/blow

Describe PET

Tough and very good at keeping the fizz in

What is HIPS used for?

Toys Jewel CD cases Yoghurt pots

Wood filler

Used for balsa wood, plywood or MDF

What is layout paper used for?

Used for general design work (sketching)

What is grid paper used for?

Used in easy sketches for dimensions quickly (isometric, etc.)

What is tracing paper used for?

Used to copy images

What is bleed-proof paper used for?

Used when drawing with felt-tips or marker pens

Environment and sustainability

Using recycled materials preserves woodland and saves energy that would have been used to pulp new wood. However, they may contain toxic chemicals unsuitable for packaging food. Laminated paper is also hard to recycle, because it is difficult to separate paper from other materials.

How are plastics shaped and formed?

Vacuum forming Blow moulding Injection moulding Line bending

Vacuum forming

Vacuum forming is a process in which simple hollow shapes are created by sucking air from underneath a heated thermoplastic sheet (HIPS) draped over a mould (remember *draft angles* and *rounded edges* for the mould!)

Describe expanded polystyrene

Very light Impact absorbing Styrofoam

Give 4 types of thermoplastics

*Acetate* *Polypropylene* *HIPS* *PVC* Expanded polystyrene Acrylic Bioplastic PET

What are the steps to line bending?

1. A line is marked on the thermoplastic using nonpermanent pen. 2. The plastic is heated evenly on both sides until it is soft. The heating elements used on the strip heater should not be touched. 3. Finally, the plastic is bent along the line using a jig (mould).

What are the benefits of using jigs and formers? (2 points)

1. Accurately locate, bend, or aid in the construction of a product 2. Saves time by making it possible to create identical items

What are the steps to injection moulding?

1. An expensive mould is made normally from steel. 2. Granules of plastic are placed in the hopper. 3. Heaters melt the plastic into a hot liquid which is pushed towards the mould by an Archimedean screw. 4. A hydraulic ram forces the plastic under huge pressure into the mould. 5. The mould is cooled and the object is released.

How does priming work?

1. Clean surface 2. Prime the surface; this is a first coat that seals the surface of the material and gives the finish something to stick to. 3. Apply the finish (brushes, spray cans, rollers) in several thin coats; each will dry quickly and be less likely to have drips/streaks. 4. Smooth the finish using fine sandpaper after each coat has dried. Wipe dust off with clean cloth before applying the next coat.

What are the three ways of achieving different properties of card or paper?

1. Coating 2. Sizing 3. Laminating

What 4 main materials are used for block modelling?

1. Foam core board 2. Corrugated plastic sheet 3. Expanded polystyrene foam 4. Machining foam

How is the size of paper measured?

1. Paper going from A0 (area of 1m2) to A1, A2 and so on. 2. As the paper gets smaller the number increases. 3. A1 is half the size of A0, A2 is half the size of A1 and so on. 4. The width of A3 paper is the length of A4. The length of A3 paper is double the width of A4.

How is filler applied?

1. Test on a sample to check suitability. 2. Lightly rub down the surface using sandpaper to give a rough surface for the filler to stick to (keying) 3. Make sure the surface is clean. 4. Apply filler to needed areas and leave to dry until hard. 5. Sand filler back to a smooth flat surface using rough then smooth sandpaper. 6. Repeat if necessary

Describe card

A rigid surface that's easy to print onto.

What are the steps to blow moulding?

1. Using a machine similar to an injection moulding machine, thermoplastic is heated to produce a hot tube of plastic to use for the moulding process. 2. The mould is wrapped around this tube which is heated from the outside. 3. Compressed air is pushed into the mould which makes the plastic expand into the mould. 4. The mould is cooled and the finished product is released from the machine.

What is expanded polystyrene foam used for?

3D models

Wax coating

Also for waterproofing (e.g. coffee cups)

What is machining foam used for?

Architectural models

Describe coloured paper

Available in different colours and thickness (versatile)

Describe bioplastics

Biodegradable, plant-based

What is PVC used for?

Blister packs Vinyl records Insulation for electrical wires

Plastic coating

Can be coated with polythene to make it waterproof

Describe grid paper

Can be printed with a square or isometric grid

What is polypropylene used for?

Chairs Storage boxes Heavy duty bottles Sometimes used in crisp packets

Coating

China clay or chalk is sprayed onto the surface to make it smoother.

Describe acetate

Clear but not tough Flexible Shiny and transparent/translucent Usually in thin sheets Partially biodegradable due to plant-base

Describe machining foam

Compact (much more so than expanded polystyrene) Can be worked on without crumbling Detailed pieces