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| Home : Volume 22 : Winter 1995-96 : | |
| SPECIAL: PARENTS' SECTION | |
| EnginEarring a fashion statement | |
The world of fashion has never really paid proper tribute to the contributions of the world of engineering. Even though engineering has given fashion the materials and technology to create virtually everything the fashion world could imagine, the look and style of the engineer has been all too often overlooked. All of that may be about to change.
Some may already have noticed an added splash of style around the engineering campus--perhaps a silvery reflection of light from a fine, hand-crafted bolo, or a deep, warm, golden glow emanating from the intriguing geometric patterns of earrings and tie pins. These exquisite renderings come not from traditional purveyors of fine jewelry, but from the engineers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Chris Kailhofer inspects aluminum pieces that will be made into jewelry.
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It all started two years ago as staff (casually dressed in timelessly tailored lab coats and smocks, smartly cut trousers, rough yet rich camel-colored gloves and retro eyewear) began to dismantle the old foundry. In one of the old induction furnaces was found a piece of 99-percent pure aluminum with large grain size.
The abstract grain shapes of the recrystalized aluminum were not lost on those clearing the foundry.
"We conducted grain growth experiments. We put samples in an air furnace for varying lengths of time to see how big the grain would get. It turned out best when we left them in overnight," said Chris Kailhofer, an instrumentation technologist in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. "And then someone looked at it and said 'Hey, this would make nice jewelry.'"
Kailhofer borrowed a punch press from the Department of Mechanical Engineering to punch out round and square aluminum samples. The samples are placed in an air furnace and are then etched in hot sodium hydroxide to remove oxidation. The pieces are then treated with Poulton's Reagent (a mixture of hydrochloric, nitric and hydrofluoric acids) to make the grain stand out.
After etching, the pieces are washed and mounted in an anodizer. (The anodizer was built with the help of staff from high energy physics. Kailhofer swapped an old overhead crane for a spare power supply.)
The anodizer creates a clear and porous surface coating of aluminum oxide on the aluminum. The pieces are colored in a dye bath and finally placed in boiling water, which seals them by changing the structure of the oxide. Attach some hooks and pins from a local jewelry store, and you have "EnginEarrings," tie pins and bolos.
"We made a batch with help from students and sold them during Expo for $3 to $10 a piece. We sold about $1,000 worth," Kailhofer said. "We also gave them away to high school seniors during a Society of Women Engineers summer session."
There are no plans to manufacture the jewelry on a large scale,
however those that contribute $25 or more to the Kohler Partnership
for Materials Science and Engineering will get the EnginEarring item
of their choice free. They are available in gold tone and silver tone
and may be available in other colors in the future.
Content by perspective@engr.wisc.edu
Date last modified: Friday, 17-Nov-2006 14:54:23 CST
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