THE BRICK PROJECT-GROUP C | WEEK SIX

Making the Mould

Figure 1 – (Initial Fired Brick using Pre-Made Mould)

During this week we received the initial brick (Fig.1) that we fired on Week 3 using a pre-made mold to practice on. Using this Will measured the fired brick to gain an understanding of how much the brick had shrank from its original size in the mould. The recorded measurements are shown below on the left (Fig.2).

Standard Brick size in the UK is [Height – 65mm | Width – 215mm | Depth – 102.5mm] the goal is to create a mould with accurate dimensions to allow for shrinkage after being fired and make the finished brick as close to the standard brick size as possible. Looking at the dimensions before and after being fired, the results (Fig.2) show that the brick had shrank by various lengths on each axis and were all larger than the standard brick size. Based off these results Will estimated what size/dimensions the new mould needed to be (shown in Fig.2) to make the fired brick accurate to the standard brick size.

Figure 2 – Measurements

Will also designated himself to create the new mould for the group. He made two moulds using measurements drafted up on paper (Fig.3 & Fig.5). The first mould made was unfortunately constructed in the wrong direction with the base on the side rather than the bottom as required for the design (Fig.4) – school boy error.

Consequently Will made another mould (Fig.6) out of plywood, using 6 pieces expertly measured by himself and cutout on the band saw and sanded on a sanding disk to perfection. It helped having made another initial mold so that any mistakes made in the first instance could be rectified in this 2nd mould. 16 holes were drilled for the screws to attach the pieces together. Danielle made the base design using sheets of MDF stuck together, ready for the mould to slot onto (Fig.7)

Figure 3 – First Mould Dimensions Plan

Figure 4 – Brick Mould One

Figure 5 – Second Mould Dimensions Plan

Figure 6 – Brick Mould Two

Figure 7 – Mold slotting down onto base design.

Group C | Danielle Long, William Gibson, Joshua Bright, Marcin Solowinski