The Problem Statement

The first problem that relates to pyrography art is linked to a high-risk pyrography technique called fractal wood burning, whereby a Lichtenberg figure is burnt into wood using high voltage electricity. A wood surface is first coated with an electrolytic solution, and then a high voltage is passed across 2 electrodes that are placed onto the wood. As a result of attempting fractal burning at home, multiple fatalities and severe injuries have been observed globally due to electrocution.

Secondly, traditional wood burning faces a problem of a lack of reproducibility of results. It is a manual and time-consuming process, and also lacks precision, making this form of art challenging for amateur artists. The results of the same design may look very different with each round of burning, and hence the end-products are often not very marketable.

Thirdly, traditional pyrography art remains inaccessible to many. It is challenging for beginners as pyrography requires prior high levels of artistic skills. The long hours required for precision and detail often leads to physical strain for artists, which may disproportionately affect artists with disabilities. Furthermore, many artists may lack access to well-ventilated spaces or personal protective equipment such as respirators, which is necessary to ensure safety during wood burning.

 

Our Solution

We hence introduce our DIY auto-wood etching machine, which is a 3D printer repurposed into a wood etching machine capable of auto-burning customisable designs onto woo pieces to create art.

• Our machine offers a safer alternative to fractal wood burning, as it eliminates the risk of electrocution.
• The machine-controlled wood etching ensures greater precision, which increased the reproducibility of the results of pyrography.
• It also caters to artists with physical disabilities, through reducing the physical strain pyrography art imposes on them, allowing them to explore other mediums of art.