Fabrication of a Resin Keychain or Keyring
Resin key ringsCopyright Jodie Polan, Rice University RET
Using the engineering design process as a problem-solving tool, students fabricate keychains made out of resin. Since these keychains are prepared from resin, students learn about the history and thermoplastic nature of resins. Students use a silicone mold to temper the thermoplastic resin from its liquid to its solid state in a two-step casting procedure to produce the final product. The final prototype will be portable, compact, lightweight, and able to attach keys that can fit into a pocket or purse. Students also learn about prototypes and how prototypes compare to models. The aim of this activity is for students to design and assemble a functioning, high-fidelity prototype. Creative engineering of new keychains and keyring allows students to explore functions from the structures that they use in daily life.
Resin is a popular material used in engineering as it is a versatile substance that can be turned into almost anything. Consequently, resins are important in engineering products especially those products made into plastic. Keychains and keyrings are often used interchangeably, but technically they refer to different items that do provide a similar function. Engineers use innovative materials, like resin, to design functional and aesthetically-pleasing objects to improve people’s daily lives.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Determine a relationship between parts of an object in terms of design-for-assembly and design-for-manufacture.
- Identify differences between a model and low- and high-fidelity prototypes.
- Understand ways to assemble separate pieces of an object to fit together in a conceptual and physical manner.
- Understand the thermoplastic ability of resin to go from a liquid to solid state during casting.
- Fabricate resin using casting into an ornamental object.