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17. Wildcard

Hero Shot

This week, I tried a new machine — the Formech 508DT, a vacuum forming machine.
Vacuum forming machines are simple to use. They require just three things to produce high-quality and consistent plastic products:
- A mold tool
- A sheet of suitable plastic material
- An operator

The Process

The simplest description of the process is this: a sheet of plastic is heated until it softens, then draped over a mold tool. A strong suction of air, or ‘vacuum’, is applied from below, pulling the softened plastic tightly over the mold to adopt its shape. Once cooled, the mold tool is removed, leaving behind a perfectly formed plastic component.

The pictures below describe the whole process:







The machine is very easy to use. You can set the temperature and keep it for a specific time.
In my case, I decided to heat the material to around 250°C for 2 minutes, as the material I used was very similar to PLA filament.

First, I cut the plastic sheet into smaller plates so I could use it multiple times.



I tried to make a mold of my medal cast that I created during the Molding and Casting Week.

  • Place the metal plate:

  • Place your mold tool so the plastic can adopt its shape:

  • Push it down using the stick placed to the right of the machine:

  • Load the plate — it’s a thin acrylic sheet:


  • Start heating:

I kept it heating for 2 minutes, until I saw that the material was soft and ready.
Then, I immediately pushed the mold upwards so the plastic could take its shape. After that, I pressed the vacuum button to ensure the material stuck tightly and accurately around the mold.

The Final Result