[Alt-photo] Kaulk casting

[Matti Koskinen]

Hi
I've been very geeky last months. Idea of woodbury type on
alternativephoto.com, made me build from two old scanners and an old dvd
burner an engraving gadget. The laser burns easily styrofoam, which i
thought to use as an intaglio plate. However it cannot be cleaned enough.
That made me think to use it as a mould for relief plate. The silicone can
ve mixed with paint thinner and used for casting. But the paint thinner
will eat the styrofoam. Plaster could be a another option as an
intermediate casting and then use it as a mould or electroplate with steel.
But what could be used to protect the styrofoam of paint thinner?

So far i've made photos to line art with inkscape and then fed a hpgl to
arduino, which controls the steppers of the scanners and laser. The
z-direction is made with the dvd burner, but stepper is quite weak, so an
engraving motor won't work.

Thanks

-m