Knotplex

Testing Knotplex recipes
Knotplex, our first semi-finished product based on Japanese Knotweed. During this research, we do not focus on product applications, but on the different characteristics of the material when changing the recipe. We chose a plate, as this being a simple and representative shape to explore the recipe and compare characteristics.

During the research we explore settings such as temperature, pressure, matrix and binders.

23/03/2022
INGREDIENTS 185 g Japanese knotweed (155g fine + 30g rough fibers) 200 ml water 160 g hide glue

SETTINGS 7 ft 45 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° Heat the glue granules until it completely absorbs the water and has a sticky, homogeneous texture. 2° Measure the fibers and protein and add them to the hot glue. 3° Put it in the mold and press it like described in the setting. 4° After the pressing time, put the sheet in a drying mold.

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON I wonder if the proportion glue/ fibers has something to do with the unequal surface. Maybe if I used less glue, the fibers can have more space to settle.

24/03/2022


INGREDIENTS 185 g Japanese knotweed (155g fine + 30g rough fibers) 300 ml water 160 g hide glue

SETTINGS 8 ft 30 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° Heat the glue granules until it completely absorbs the water and has a sticky, homogeneous texture. 2° Measure the fibers and protein and add them to the hot glue. 3° Put it in the mold and press it like described in the setting. 4° After the pressing time, put the sheet in a drying mold.

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON It looks like this result has a more equal surface. The glue is more divided and the fibres are more smooth. Yet there was a lot of glue that under pressure came out of the mold. So maybe we need to use less glue.

N° 1
In this result I want to test another type of glue. Just so we exclude question about other glues. INGREDIENTS 192 g Japanese knotweed 100 ml water 112 g fish glue

SETTINGS 7 ft 30 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° Measure the fish glue and add the water until it's a consitent mix. 2° Mix the glue with the fibers. 3° Put it in the mold and press it like described in the setting. 4° After the pressing time, put the sheet in a drying mold.

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON Using Fish glue in this application was a bad idea. The fibers didn't attach to each other, which results in just a pile of Japanese knotweed and some dried glue.

N° 2
In search of another binder, I only used casein and water as a binder in this cold process. The result was a good first step towards finding a binder in a cold process. INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 120 ml water 40 g Casein

SETTINGS 7 ft 90 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° Measure the fibers and the casein. Mix them together. 2° Add water and stir until the mixure become foamy. 3° Put it in the mold and press it like described in the setting. 4° After the pressing time, put the sheet in a drying mold.

ANALYSIS

LEARNING LESSON The casein could replace the hide granules. The process needs to be more explored to find a better recipe that fits our requirements.

N° 1
These experiments where inspired on a recipe from Precious Plastic. The sheets are pressed during a hot proces. INGREDIENTS 100 g orange peels 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° Dry the orange peel and crunch them so it becomes like coffee grounds 2° Add the measured water to the orange grounds and mix it thoroughly. 3° Put it in the mold and press it like described in the setting. 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON This test didn't turned out to what was expected. It didn't came out in one piece and felt more friable.

N° 2
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 100 g Japanese knotweed 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 3
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 40 g protein 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 4
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 40 g protein 30 g eggshells 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 40 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 5
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 30 g eggshells 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 6
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 40 g used coffee grounds 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° Dry some used coffee grounds so they won't mold 2° 3° Add the measured water to the coffee grounds and mix it thoroughly 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 7
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 120 g casein 40 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 20 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 8
These experiments where INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 40 g Patato starch 10 ml water

SETTINGS 5 ft 40 minutes pressing time 140°C

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

19/04/2022
We decided to work with a code name that's created by their own specifications. That’s why the code name is quite long. But when you understand the knowledge behind it, you can unravel every ingredient that's been used simply by seeing the code name. These following tests claim the new code name.



N° 1
INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 100 ml water 60 g hide

SETTINGS 4 ft 30 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 2
INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 90 ml water 70 g hide

SETTINGS 4 ft 30 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON

N° 3
INGREDIENTS 80 g Japanese knotweed 126 ml water 104 g hide

SETTINGS 3 ft 30 minutes pressing time

STEPS 1° 2° 3° 4°

ANALYSIS LEARNING LESSON