Mycelium Headphones
From Savio Mukachirayil
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From Savio Mukachirayil
The objective was to construct functional headphones utilising mycelium for the headphone housing as a way to emphasize sustainability without compromising usability.
Methodology:
To create the earpieces, we worked with two bags of mycelium product sourced from Grow.bio, using soybean oil and sorghum flour as nutrient-rich substrates to facilitate growth and molding. In our first attempt, we followed the general recipe provided by Grow.bio but found that the results ended up being too dry. Our second batch, we made sure to add more water when we saw fit to get a more hydrated mixture that could more easily be pressed into the molds.
The molds were 3d printed, the CAD models accounted for the shrinkage that happens when dehydrating in the oven. Once doing so, the second mold turned out great and the pieces turned into the size we wanted.
The molds were dehydrated for at 200 degrees F for 3.5hrs, checking on it every 30mins to ensure they didn’t burn. After letting it cool, it was coated with clear resin. The housing was hollowed to fit the internal components onto before assembling all the parts together.
Learnings:
Pleasantly surprised how well the mycelium worked with making the headphones reduce environmental noise.
Future questions to investigate: