Cyberpunk Lungs

For my final project I was required to create an object that represented one of the "punks", it must have one moving part, a faux finish, and must have a piece that was moulded and casted. After a very large cup of coffee; energized thinking of all the possibilities, I came up with the Cyberpunk Lungs. I wanted to tie in my background in biology and create a semi-transparent pair of lungs that could "breathe."

Design

I wanted to create a pair of mechanical
lungs with wires, tubes, and neon lights.

Sculpting the lungs

The lungs were hand sculpted out of polymer clay, tinfoil, and construction paper.

Making the mould

A few layers of EpoxAcoat were applied to keep the details intact. Then a layer of Plasti-Paste was used as a support shell.

Casting the lungs

I wanted to cast the lungs in a very strong and “stretchy” semi-transparent silicone that could withstand the motions of mechanical inspiration

and expiration. One lung was cast using a platinum silicone: Ecoflex 00-50; and the other was cast

using a tin silicone: Gl-1110. They were both intended to be platinum cast; however, there was only enough material to cast one.

Painting

Since the lungs were cast in different silicones, I
used an all-purpose household silicone caulk mixed with Silc Pig color pigments. I thinned the caulk with Naphtha and fed it through my airbrush. I also
hand-painted small details throughout.

Getting them to breathe

I used two air pump and vacuum DC motors to achieve the motions of breath. I stretched each lung over a hose splitter to create an airtight seal and allow the tubing from the motors to be fed inside. This allowed the lungs to act as a "balloon" and fill or deflate when necessary.