Use your 3D printer with a Dental Vacuum Former!

[@TheVirtualFoundry]

Your video caused a round of spontaneous high-fives here at The Virtual Foundry. We're confident that you've invented a whole new way to create complex metal parts. Tricia will be contacting you (this is Brad) so we can send some material for you to experiment with. (and Brad will be sourcing a vacuum former!)

[@toxomanrod]

Wow this is so awesome! Tons of potential with metal/ceramic filaments. Imagine all the 'thin' walled products you could print like injection molds or ceramic filters. I'll be looking out for your contact, thanks!

[@toxomanrod]

Most folks are pointing out that it's not as cheap as commercial bought sheets but the point here is on-demand customizability. Also, it should be possible to remelt failed prints into sheets for vacuum forming! If I get enough ideas put together, I'll make a follow up video with recycled plastic, a silicone cover for mesh sheets, and maybe metal/ceramic filament.

[@CdoGtheGreat]

I found this in my Google feed, it was featured on hackaday. Love this idea. I'm going to try it. Have you considered using a thin high temp top cover sheet made of silicone to get more vacuum force and it might help hold in the heat. You may need to spray a release agent ?

[@SeniorRed1337]

Me too

[@Nanitotv]

Dentist here. first lower the platform and then activate the vacuum. Btw amazing idea.

[@josuebetancourt9527]

Great idea! and nice video showcasing everything. Keep at it.

[@toxomanrod]

Thanks for your kind words good sir!

[@Shika1son]

Cool! Maybe one thing you could try is print one layer of dissoluble filament, like PVA, and a layer or two of your prime filament in a low infill pattern. That way, you should be able to get a better vacuum mold and you can dissolve the PVA and be left with a cool pattern. I'm doing some vacuum forming at work and we use 3D printed molds to vacuum form sheets of TPU. Maybe I could try that 3D print TPU sheet and vacuum form it. lol

[@makerspace533]

Interesting ideas. For the very porous material maybe you could bring it down, swing the heater out of the way and place a poly sheet over the top. This might act like a non-porous blanket that would pull tighter to the buck.

[@viaJustin1910]

Any update on experiments with virtual foundry materials?

[@UnwrappingByMimiKoteng]

Amazing. Your news got featured on my phone news coverage.. thank you and i am watching this. Say, any idea if i can learn to use this kind of tools for silicon molds?

[@jamiem4770]

Thank you kind sir for the show case I just had this idea and am ready to experiment!

[@artisarium]

Awesome idea! Gonna try this! Thanks for sharing! /Robin

[@ahtiramqureshi7788]

Wow looks interesting..so what kind of items/products can be made this way?!

[@kelna2]

Very clever! The ones with holes could be used for pulp molds for making paper products like custom shipping packaging

[@TheDIYer]

I loved those good first layers :)

[@ZuberB4]

Cool video. Thanks. For the grid sheet. Maybe you could try 1 solid layer then grid on top ?

[@MaikWeber]

Maybe the first layer in clear tpu and the second in petg. But I'm not shure if they stick together.

[@toxomanrod]

@@MaikWeber they do stick together 😎 that would work! Other have also suggested a thin silicone sheet over the grid sheets.

[@damiansutter5306]

Great ideal! Cover your sheets with a piece of thin mylar film once u pull a vacuum. Then the holes won't matter.

[@CdoGtheGreat]

I should have look at the comments before posting mine, although I suggested a thin silicon sheet. I bet heavy duty aluminum foil would work as well. Oh boy, looks like another project I can't resist.

[@broderp]

Very cool ideas. Thanks for the ideas.

[@toxomanrod]

Thank you kind sir!

[@markfrancis5224]

This is really interesting man, thanks for sharing

[@carejoy247]

The temperature is so high that it won't dissolve the plastic model wrist?

[@Varcolifetime]

Very cool idea!

[@toxomanrod]

спасибо товарищ!

[@Jandodev]

Ouuuu this is op asffffff

[@declanb6985]

Legendary.