The original recipe below was written for a blender.
NightHawkInLight’s super CaCO₃ micro-sphere pigment recipe:
Sodium Carbonate (washing soda) … 20g dissolved in 200 mL water
Calcium Chloride (painter’s desiccant) … 10g dissolved in 100 mL water
Citric Acid (used for canning) … 3g dissolved in 30 mL water
For each production run we use 50x this. It fits nicely in the buckets we purchased and takes around 4 hours to run through completion. The 2 input reservoirs/buckets will almost fill up the 3rd 5 gallon bucket. We actually used 4.5 gallon “chemical brothers” buckets due to them being translucent although standard 5 gallon buckets should work, be cheaper, and have more room for error.
The ingredients are readily purchased at stores or on Amazon. I bought most of it on Amazon because that is unfortunately almost always the easiest. The Calcium Chloride may not be readily available locally but I didn’t look much into it.
One thing we are trying to determine is the temperature requirements. Where we can we will let the solutions cool off before the mixing stage but we would like to avoid actively cooling as there is no efficient cooling solution. During our test runs we used freezer icepacks that have the ice sealed off in a plastic container. By putting those in the mixing solutions we were able to lower the temperatures to prepare for the mixing stage as suggested by NightHawkingLight’s video.
So once the 2 input reservoirs (buckets) are cooled to the required temperature, we put the input hoses inside the buckets and select the appropriate G-code program.
This will start through numerous cycles where the pigment solution is repeatedly mixed and then pumped into the output bucket.
Below is the original recipe from NightHawkin which we will be looking to improve and automate.
NightHawkInLight’s super CaCO₃ micro-sphere pigment recipe:
Sodium Carbonate (washing soda) 20g dissolved in 200 mL water
Calcium Chloride (painter’s desiccant) 10g dissolved in 100 mL water
Citric Acid (used for canning) 3g dissolved in 30 mL water
- Combine Calcium Chloride and Citric Acid solutions into one container.
- Adjust the temperature of the liquids to be between 10-20°C (50-70°F).
- Pour Calcium Chloride/Citric Acid solution into mixer and begin stirring.
- Pour the Sodium Carbonate solution into the mixer and begin a timer.
- Allow solution to mix for 1 minute.
- Turn off mixer and pour the liquid into a separate container.
- Wash the mixer with vinegar and water to prepare for the next batch.
***Make 3 total batches following steps 1-7, each time allowing the solution to mix for 1 minute.
To save time you can make large quantities of the starting solutions all at once,
chill all of it to 10-20°C, and then measure out enough for individual batches by volume just prior to mixing.
- Make a fourth batch, mixing for an increased time of 5 minutes.
***Optional: Make a fifth batch at 1/3 scale, mixing for an increased time of 8-10 minutes. - Allow 20-60 minutes for the pigment to settle out of all batches.
- Pour the water off the top of the settled pigment and refill containers with water.
- Repeat settling and pouring off water 1-2 more times. 12. Cut a rectangular opening in the bottom of a disposable bread tin.
- Line the tin with paper towel and a sheet of white printer paper.
- Pour the pigment solutions into the tin, using the paper as a filter.
- Pour extra distilled water over the pigment to wash it.
- Once filtered, place the whole tin into an oven to dry at 100°C (212°F).
- Collect pigment, breaking up clumps in a blender if needed.
