vacuum | DR2007 - Surface Design

Technique

Thermoforming/ Vacuum forming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a malleable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape using a mold. The negative created can be used as a mold itself, product…

Relevant materials
– PVC Plastic
– Thermoforming/ Vacuum machine

Process

Turn on the thermoforming machine and wait for it to heat up

Use the correct template, that corresponds with the mould size and lock the PVC sheet in between the 2 plates.

Once the thermoforming machine reaches its optimal temperature, pull the heater so that it covers the PVC sheet. Wait for few minutes until the PVC sheet surface is clear from distortions

Turn on the vacuum and use the lever to push the mould upwards. Depending on the mould, the air flow can be inverted to raise the PVC sheet (balloon shaped), to achieve higher quality details

Reflection:

Difficulty encountered: Inverting the air flow to inflate the soft plastic outwards and achieving better details when the air is sucked back in.
- The air flow needs to be inverted when the lever is pulled and the base plate raised halfway – 3/4 way towards the soft plastic.
Overall it is fast and accurate way to replicate and make negative impressions that can be used as moulds.

DR2007 – Surface Design

Tag: vacuum

VACUUM FORMING