Vacuum Forming is Incredible! FORMART 2 Review

[@Beeks81]

I work in this industry and you're bang on with all the details. Only thing i'd add is i often have to get rid of webbing at sharp points by placing those rectangular shapes they provided (we use self-adhesive neoprene foams), so once webbing is discovered, i place them to form a 90 degree angle with the sharp corner angle where the point of the mold is located. This basically makes the plastic spread out and doesn't let it web together in that area. You should have items 1-1.5 times their height in distance apart. For plastics/molds that require being right on the edge of burning, i use compressed air to spray the plastic the moment it's formed. This keeps it from overheating and burning on the mold. Don't forget you can also cool the molds between shots, but don't do it too fast.

[@MakersMuse]

Awesome tips, thanks!

[@SabulaTech]

I agree with all of this but the neoprene foam for web catchers. The foam just doesn't hold up with adhesive over time because it is flexible. The foam either bends and stretches pulling on adhesive or gets stuck in the plastic depending on the plastic and amount of vacuum. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHSahZifrLFjeMk Plus you don't want to use adhesive on that bed. Hard blocks work better and hold up through production much better. You can 3D print them for temp projects or make wood ones with good draft angle. Best cheap option is wood blocks screwed down, but that won't work on this machine unless bolted through bed vent holes. (Ugh, the bed, that is whole other video)

[@bluetrainer3549]

I had good results by heating the plastic over a grill, it supplies heat much faster than the heatgun

[@MakersMuse]

Yeah a toaster oven like in the punished prop tutorial is definitely better than heatgun.

[@SwiftCreationStudio]

I use my oven usually it's the only thing I have for that. I did have some grandiose plans for a custom heater of some sort for a piece far larger (4'x4' or more) but I can't bring myself to do it until I make some progress on the rest of the project first

[@MaximilianonMars]

Sounds tasty.

[@matthewmullin8168]

@@SwiftCreationStudio that doesn't sound too healthy

[@jacquelinelabarge3293]

I have been vacforming in a small shop for about 15 years starting in the 90''s(moved on to other things) and I won't get into most of the details and nitty gritty, but the biggest detail to get right on a DIY build is your vac TANK(not PUMP, TANK). Quality of a pull can frequently come down to how fast you can remove your air. The fastest way is to pump out a tank and use that for you vac.

[@mimked]

Hmm, using a tank for a vacuum. Interesting idea.

[@robertfousch2703]

Exactly. I use a vacuum pump to pull the air out of an 11 gallon air tank, then I have two quartz patio heaters I stripped down to make the heating unit. Pull the plastic over the buck and throw the valve to the tank open. You get some serious detail out of that.

[@chaos.corner]

@@robertfousch2703 Just make sure your tank is suitable for the vacuum you want to pull.

[@SabulaTech]

Yes and no, in some cases slower is better. On our big machine, I have the valve set mostly shut for some products because a slower draw prevents webbing of plastic in corners.

[@BryanBakerXBrav]

$2000?! Holy moly. We do it ourselves with a toaster oven and a vacuum. I kind of expected this around $499... Great looking machine, but far too expensive for most consumers.

[@originaltrilogy1]

A true vacuum pump is expensive. I'm hoping they come down to about $1K someday. We use a toaster oven setup as well, but you don't get the really crisp details

[@Armadurapersonal]

There's the Mayku FormBox that's is much cheaper

[@pacman10182]

@@originaltrilogy1 $65 new what are you on?

[@cda32]

Adam Savage also has a video on building your own. They're really simple devices if you take out all the fancy electronics and sensors.

[@sleepingcity85]

@@originaltrilogy1 a vacuum pump isnt expensive. after all its just an air tight sealed pump. a good tank is usually more expensive, but far from $1k.

[@kubagurpl8130]

The way that the plastic conforms so smoothly to the object is pretty satisfying, too bad its a whopping 2,000 dollars.

[@SwiftCreationStudio]

You can make your own that looks far less fancy and lacks the automation for like 30$ max. And if you can't build it I bought a 12x12 for something like 80$ on ebay so it's not too expensive

[@smoothiegreenburg6065]

they have a small lightweight one for hobbies by "we r memory keepers" its like a scrapbooking company only about 80$. also we use a small version in dentistry for retainers for a mid range model its a few hundred bucks but the work surface is only about 5x5.

[@smolscale]

I made my own for rc bodies for the cost of a shop vac..

[@SwiftCreationStudio]

@@smolscale I have like 6 shop vacs in my garage doesn't do me much good without the cost of wood to make one :P

[@fuzziau5669]

Not too bad of a price compared to a lot of professional equipment But I can agree the price is well out of reach for a majority of people who would love this stuff for small home businesses

[@A_Civilian]

I love that you received a $2,000 item for free for review and still supply an honest review and even discussed a DIY alternative. We need more honest reviewers like you!

[@cenciende9401]

I have literally never encountered a youtuber who doesn't provide honest reviews regardless of if they paid for it or not. I don't know why people always say things like that.

[@Zimbob2424]

@@cenciende9401 well then you're gullible

[@shelbyseelbach9568]

@@cenciende9401 LMFAO. I've never met a dishonest used car salesman either. My son says the reality TV shows he likes aren't scripted like the rest of them are. The next girl you're dating is going to tell you she's not like other girls and is actually into sports and drinking beer. Etc, etc, etc. Hilarious.

[@David-iq1kd]

Could check out the Vaquform or Mayku competitors.

[@cenciende9401]

Show me an example where they aren't, it would be highly illogical in multiple respects to not be, in fact I haven't watched/subbed to a single channel with an actual person doing a real review that hasn't been honest

[@alectaylor4273]

Angus is such an eccentric and charismatic character, makes for one of the best KZbin hosts for this kind of thing in my opinion

[@cda32]

But always so afraid of being burned.

[@amalirfan]

@@cda32 he is relatable :D

[@NicodemusT]

Not the most modest person in the world that’s for sure.

[@cda32]

@@amalirfan I can't really relate, I've burned myself stupidly thousands of times on 3D printers, soldering irons, ovens, cars, bbqs. Have never died. Never heard of anyone dying from a small burn.

[@PRiMETECHAU]

3:00 to get that chocolate out easier, pop it in the freezer for a bit, hardens things up and also shrinks chocolate a bit making easier to remove. :)

[@bbowling4979]

Is PETG normally food safe?

[@PRiMETECHAU]

@@bbowling4979 I believe so, but FDM printed petg will get food stuck in the layers, so you wouldn't want to use food that can go bad and poison you!

[@IAmPattycakes]

@@bbowling4979 petg is used in a ton of food storage containers. It's pretty much the industry standard as far as I can tell.

[@infernaldaedra]

@@bbowling4979 Usually yeah, some might have additives that might make it not safe but petg is incredibly commin in food packaging and I think is the standard material for plastic bottles.

[@licensetodrive9930]

What a perfect match vacuum forming and 3D printing is! The last (only) time I did vacuum forming I had to shape a block of wood for the plastic to wrap around, some 32 years ago at school.

[@CrosswaIk]

Holy shit that's CRAZY expensive. $1800 for a wet vac and a toaster oven!

[@noahpaulette1490]

Yeah that's how Kickstarters usually end up. It's going to be better but is it really $1,000+ better?

[@Bigrignohio]

Watch the Adam Savage video. A few hundred at most to build a perfectly usable former. Under a hundred if you are handy.

[@mathieu6965]

thanks now I know how I plan to make one

[@SibaNL]

@@Bigrignohio Mind linking me?

[@Bigrignohio]

@@SibaNL He rebuilt it here. They are very simple machines. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqS7fXqKarNlq9E

[@punishedprops]

Love the idea of a modular bed size. Great review!

[@PGIFilms]

Yeah, modular bed cuts down on waste, I liked that feature. I'd be tempted to save the QR code stickers from the corners of their sheets and then use them to trick the vacuum former into setting the right temp/time for the machine when using 3rd party sheets that are same thickness and type of plastic.

[@EmbraceMaking]

I made a semi automated vacuum forming machine years ago (video on my channel). I trialed many heating elements... and found that taking apart cheap $20 toasters from my local hardware store worked the best. You can just bend the nichrome wire and leave the mica panels in place and you have heating panels... play around with the setup to get even heat distribution. Not going to pass certification but it works! Then I used a stepper motor to drive the platform with the mold on it into the clamped piece of plastic that was heated. An Arduino controlled the timing and the stepper motor. The platform was on acme rods to achieve linear motion. Worked great and made many pulls with it. Still works to this day.

[@cybersentient4758]

KZbin did a good job with recommending me this gem of a channel

[@ElectraFlarefire]

If you build or get a machine with an A5 sized area, ​ HDPE milk bottles work well. You can get a A5 sheet from a 2l bottle, and the best part is that it goes from miky coloured to clear when it's at the right temperature! There are some quirks with it, but it works really well for something that is free. Because milk bottles are blowformed the plastic is pre-streched so as you heat it, it pulls taunt as it tries to recover and works well for a plastic. Great for food grade chocolate molding. We've used this for several rotomolded chocolate workshops at the Fabrication Lab. Oh.. And when tempering chocolate, look up the sous vide method, it works SO well..

[@MakersMuse]

Love the idea of recycling the milk bottles too! I'll check out this sous vide method...

[@happninmojo]

Diy is the way to go with these if people have any maker skills. A shopvac has more than enough power for a platform this size, you could pick up small vehicles with a shopvac as long as the surface area is acceptable. Plus a lot of people already have them at home or can easily borrow one or buy one at second hand shops/websites. With money being tight for many nowadays I think this is the way to go. What's actually more important than the machine itself, in regards to getting good pulls, is knowing the material glassing point and as mentioned in this video the angles to allow good pulls. The 1st can be looked up online easily, the 2nd can be picked up by practice or asking for pointers on prop/cosplay forums. For using a 3d print as a buck (master,form, etc) I recommend a thin coating of pu resin, cheap, easy, keeps details and hardy enough for the temperatures used typically though I would use a mask and have proper ventilation but that should be pretty much a prerequisite anytime we use plastics around heat that is higher than ambient temperature.

[@Storebrand_]

I want to put this idea out there because I'll probably never realize it and this is the perfect video for me to express this. We should make cooling ducts for 3d printers via vacuum forming. It's super lightweight, smooth walls makes for better airflow, it's super cheap and fast. There's also money to be made (i assume people would be interested.).

[@rpavlik1]

Interesting that you can use a smaller area, addresses one of my concerns with making one: that the size you make is the size you have every time. I'd never spend that much on one of these, I'd diy it, but it's cool to see this kind of thing starting to show up more. (And hey, remember, even Adam Savage uses a diy vacuum forming machine with a shop vac guts.) That "fill your pla with plaster" idea is much better sounding than the water soak.

[@headbanger1428]

The polycarbonate demo won me over. Thanks for trying that and fixing the hygroscopic issue for us.

[@cfdnoob2807]

My council here in Melbourne doesn't even tell which plastic goes into which bin because they know everything goes to landfill anyways. Really infuriating.

[@SwiftCreationStudio]

The sad part is these two things actually feed off each other. Not telling people which plastics to put where and how to separate leads to them putting everything together, in turn making the entire load essentially unusable because sorting through the stuff on the manufacturing end wastes time that was supposed to be mitigated by the Person sorting it out. So yeah it all goes to the landfill because they won't and they won't because it all goes to the landfill

[@telectronix1368]

The next best option is to reduce plastic waste and changing to products and companies that don't use plastic and only use recycleable packaging, goods etc.

[@monad_tcp]

@@telectronix1368 plastic is such a useful thing, we are never getting rid of it, its really magical stuff

[@telectronix1368]

@@monad_tcp It damages the land and water environments where it is extracted, where it is used, where it is then dumped. Plastic is now in our water, in the air, in our food. It really ain't "magical"

[@monad_tcp]

@@telectronix1368 It is magical in maleability, easy of shaping, production, durability, etc. As a material its almost a magic dream material, its so good. We are probably keep using it, even if we don't produce it from petrol anymore, because its so useful. We could use aluminum in its place thou, but aluminum takes tremendous amounts of power to process. Nothing we do is free of consequences to the environment, we just have to manage it, people always go for all of nothing. That's not how it works. The fact that plastic is so malleable makes for less use of worse materials that require much more energy. Also, it can be recycled, its one of the easiest things to recycle. The material is that good. People don't recycle because creating more of it is cheaper, make it more costly by taxation.

[@CalamityLime]

Stupid thought but "Pla smoothing with a vacuum former" Could a terrible homemade vacuum former make for a good pla smoother?

[@markissboi3583]

KZbin many make there Own cheep look it up

[@EcoMouseChannel]

I could take that same $1800 and make a really nice, and much larger vacuum forming machine with money left over. I built one 15 years ago with Harbor Freight and Home Depot parts. The key for a successful DIY former is using a purge tank that you pre-charge with "vacuum" pressure. The 11 gallon air tank from HF is perfect for this application, and so is their vacuum pump. The hardest part was drilling thousand tiny holes by hand in my upside down sheet metal baking tray, and wiring up the heater coil, snaked around in such a way for smooth even heat. I used a baking tray for that part too.

[@macrumpton]

It is hard to get crisp looking pulls without a decent vacuum pump. On the down side, I was making some vacuformed face shields with a homemade shopvac setup and it was working almost ok, so I found a place that had a professional setup, and gave them my bucks which were made of 3d printed parts and wood and cardboard. When they tried to use them, they just crushed into a crumpled mess. The idea of filling the 3d prints with plaster is good, I have done that and it works well (and saves a huge amount of time if you can print it in vase mode). One thing that can't be overstated is that to get smooth pulls, you need to have a absolutely perfectly smooth buck.

[@dr_fish]

@Maker's Muse, my daughter and I have had a lot of fun using a syringe full of chocolate chips and an immersion circulator to inject chocolate into silicone molds without having to worry about it setting up right because we never break the temper thanks to the precisely controlled water temperature. An immersion circulator is a great tool to have even if you don't cook much, I'm sure you'd find many uses for one. 👍

[@thehudsonforge71]

What I do is print hollow PLA bucks, and fill them with cheap canned expanding foam instead of relying on infill. Then I vac-form a sheet of 3mm eva craft foam over the raw PLA print, it smooths and hides the layer lines and adds a nice "release" layer between the print and the PETG sheet, then I vacuum form the clear plastic and get pretty smooth clear pulls with no visible layer lines or blemishes. So far its worked pretty well!

[@k34561]

I know all about vacuum forming. As a kid we had a Mattel "Vac-U-Form". A great toy, that a alas with modern toy safety standards don't exist any more. The Mattel "Vac-U-Form" had an exposed heating element. It taught you patience. You had to wait long enough for the plastic to get soft for good forms. You could touch the hot plastic and see how much it flexed while heating up. It also gave you exercise. It had a hand pump. The harder you pumped, the better the form. I think we had the Mattel "Creepy Crawlers' "Vac-U-Maker" version.

[@zivhalperson614]

It is possible to create templates from PLA You have to pay attention to two things 1 50% Infill 2 Perform healing to the PLA templates . I created molds for an industrial device in PLA for models before production

[@neatmachine]

Excellent presentation!!! I love the way you clearly explain things in detail and anticipate questions from your viewers. I would add that if you want to make a DIY system, you can find nice perforated metal sheet for the vacuum bed from a microwave oven door which can be salvaged from a discarded oven. Cheers!

[@adamsegal2258]

I ran an old large format vacuum former that made scenery for television and movies. I also trained on a "thermoformer" from Columbus-Tech by the guy who built it. The wrinkles in a sharp corners are the most common problem I ran into. Put on some heat-resistant gloves and you can try to work those wrinkles out by hand while the vacuum is still going. The other thing I learned is that you can place pieces of MDF both underneath your form to raise it up a little off your bed, as well as placing blocks around it to help alleviate the stress. I see you did that but I used to use lots of them. almost like making a frame of lego blocks around the form.

[@battano]

20+ years ago I worked in a sign shop and we had a giant vacuform oven that I recall pulling countless Dairy Queen signs off of. It would pull 1/4 inch thick lexan over a 12 food long DQ form. We'd then clean them up and cut them before sending them on to paint.

[@flochartingham2333]

I'm seriously considering getting a vacuum pump to do bag forming carbon fiber stuff, making good use of a pump to make molds work be a great bonus and alternative to 3D printing.

[@lordchickenhawk]

Australia DID have plastic waste recycling 20 years ago. A local bloke built a plastic recycling plant here in Port Pirie, South Australia using his own engineering. (I machined some of the larger parts for his plant at a local workshop) He invented the process for making black plastic garden stakes from unsorted plastic waste. That plant was shutdown about the time we started exporting our plastic waste overseas. The overseas market for that waste has since disappeared but the local plastic recycling plant is gone

[@ducomaritiem7160]

It is so easy to build one yourself. I never thought about buying one. Only if you need bigger format sheets plus a large output of pulls, you have to buy an industrial size machine.

[@frikkiesmit327]

This guy can make anybody excited about whatever he reviews. Wheter 3d printing or vacume forming.

[@BenjaminParslow]

Cool to watch, my Design Technology GCSE had us make vacuum formed and card packaging for products, with the idea we designing it to be sold.

[@MrGTAmodsgerman]

Finally someone made a video about Vacuum Forming + 3D printing. Finally i know the answer. Thanks man. And the problem with recyclables plastic is that, the more thinner and dirty (mixed with other materials) the plastik is, the less can be recycled. And those thing thin sheets of plastic could be one of them.

[@Rob_TheOne]

Thank you, you answered all the I've ever had. I want to mold monster clay. Not sure it's going to hold up. Maybe I'll try clear coating first...

[@tobyhicks7858]

i built one when i was about 13 and i loved it back then

[@Raykkie]

For chocolate, you should try to sous-vide it, removes a huge part of the skill/randomness of the process. There's always the solution to try to keep a water bath at a constant temp and use a ziplock bag for those without the equipment required

[@VGInterviews]

I actually remember in college we had a pretty old vacuumer and I needed to use styrofoam as my master and I did use the "soaking the piece on water" hack and it actually worked using a HIPS sheet The formart looks great, the modular bed is an excellent idea but the wobbly frame seems like a pretty important flaw that I hope they fix, also the cost seems extremly high, even if it has a bunch of neat features

[@magnetomage]

In the past I have printed pla bucks and then coated them in bondo or epoxy(depending on the application) with great success. Lets you print rough(fast) and still have a nice looking result

[@rickseiden1]

I wish you had stared with the price. I could have skipped out on the rest of the video. At least it was a Makers Muse video, so I got something from it.

[@MakersMuse]

Yeah sorry figured people would hit up the campaign while watching.

[@cenciende9401]

I never had any intention of ever buying a vacuum forming machine. But that doesn't mean I have no interest in learning about one because I'm not a dumbass, knowledge is power.

[@videolabguy]

You could get one of these as a toy in the USA in the early 1960s for about twenty bucks. Called Vac-U-Form and was made by Mattel. Identical in every way except for the price and the size. I had several of them over the years. Made cases for my electronics projects.

[@netobrand1]

Just want it to put my two cents... What you can do to make moulds/masters using 3D printed part.. You can use bog, a thin layer to make really smooth and using sand paper to smooth it out... You get really get good finish also use dry mould release spray for better release. The wrinkles that you are getting on some moulds in the corner is called WEBBING... There is a number of things that you can do to get rid off them... Mould placement is vital to get a good mould, delay the vac for a couple of sec once placing the sheet of plastic, when the draw is too big you might need to get material into those tight places before putting the van on, etc.

[@michaellowe3665]

They should keep the magnetic holds, but put a cam lever on both sides that you squeeze to pop the top bed away from the magnets so it is less awkward.

[@HCarter111]

Your reviews are always great. Well organized, clear pros and cons, and plenty of great examples. Nice work!

[@wifie9321]

Bro, just seen you video about wheels. For sand, try making something like scoops. Imagine spoons. I can't use 3d printing software. Maybe a round base with long square flaps that sit out of the wheel. If you look up sandrail tires, you'll see that they have scoops that have something like pockets in them. The reason why I commented this here, is because it is your latest video. I don't know about you, but people usually check comments on their latest.

[@deuterium8236]

My brother heated plastic sheets with several IR flood lamps. Relatively safe heat but the cycle time was 15 minutes or so. He also used a shop vac.

[@reddcube]

The ability to use smaller sheet is the key feature. The only way to do that on a DIY vacuum former is to just make multiple machines.

[@NirateGoel]

No, it'd be quite possible to replicate the functionality, it would just have to be designed in from the start. That sections of the heating element can be switched off, and sections of the vacuum bed blocked off.

[@SabulaTech]

@@NirateGoel Has it correct, people have to stop copying skin packaging machines and then it is possible to have one machine for most work.

[@Twoswordscosplayaus]

Hi. I backed the campaign and it was successful the production unit works as advertised.

[@kendokaaa]

"Succ boi 5000" oh my god

[@lowbottomsdev2089]

Lmfao 😂

[@shelbyseelbach9568]

Your highschool nickname? 🤪😜😝

[@olekaarvaag9405]

That is so cool. I first saw a vacuum machine in an old video by Tested where Adam Savage explain what it is, what it does, and how it works. It seems like it is one of those machines that really work in harmony with 3D printing. Especially for things like prop making, replicas of various things, and cosplay. It's a shame the pricetag is so high that it prohibits most cosplayers and makers to have a their own machine. Hopefully maker spaces, schools and open shops will get this or similar vacuum formers installed. This channel is so great. I have 0 interest in 3D printing, vacuum forming, laser cutting, etc. anything myself, but I still love to watch this channel to know what is going on in the marked of 3D printing.

[@christphern]

I made a 20” square vacuum former for like $100 in parts and an old Dyson vacuum that had a busted ball hinge that was destined for the trash heap. $100 vs $2000 for a machine that looks to be about 1/3 the size. Granted the pulls look cleaner than I managed to get out of mine, probably due to my inexperience with vacuum forming, but I’d rather have more cleanup time than spend 20x as much on a premade one.

[@3DProspecting]

Nice review Angus. Very thorough and informative. It is easy to balk at the $1800 price point if one only considers it a hobby machine. The things you were most critical of are things that are easy to address and fix. Especially in pre production. The results speak for themselves. Naomi Wu's demonstration of the machine also proved it works well. The results are impressive enough that with some creative thought (like your prop shop knob example of scaling up from a 1-up mold to a 10-up mold) this can be quite the money maker. There is a lot of merit to a plug and play solution for the end user. Not having to fiddle with settings makes it easier for the user to focus on production. I am a maker at heart and would rather build than buy but sometimes my time is worth more than what the build may consume. Do you see any issues, based on your experience, of scanning the QR codes and printing them on stickers to place on my own sheets? I would use the same material and thickness that they do but I'm sure I could source material much cheaper. Besides not having to buy their consumables, it would also keep me from having to manually set / use the custom settings which then means anyone (employee, student, etc) could use it with virtually no experience (think temp employee, student, etc). Thanks.

[@mhenlopotter1612]

Regarding the "soak in ice water": Could you try simply putting the PLA parts in the freezer over night? I reckon the temperature difference might already be enough. The freezer is colder than ice (0°C) and I don't see any benefits in the water (except if you make your parts hollow and fill them with cold water I guess). Anyways, thanks for this fantastic video! The style of you sharing your experiences is excellent :)

[@alxandrjw]

I backed this, and I’m happy to get Angus’s take on it. I have a Makyu right now, but I’d like to do larger stuff.

[@originaltrilogy1]

What do you use yours for?

[@alxandrjw]

@@originaltrilogy1 Elementary school Makerspace. We created sugar skull molds for Day of the Dead and we will be using them to make chocolate bunny molds for Easter.

[@trapfethen]

With polypropylene you want to let it heat to the point that it starts to relax again. The warping will ease out once the sheet is entirely above its plastic temp for a few seconds.

[@DeltaOps3]

Timing on vacuum forming is everything, heat times, cool times, then to hit the vacuum, when to release it from the mold, it all matters Id want that functionality, thats why most even larger industrious ones are still mostly user controlled, set by time.

[@Joe_Yacketori]

15:12 So what you're saying is that this machine can smooth and polish PLA prints? That's awesome! Normally you can't really do that since there's no equivalent to ABS acetone smoothing. You should honestly make a video just dedicated to smoothing your PLA prints with this!

[@thesamenametwice9464]

Liking the haircut Angus

[@MakersMuse]

Feels much lighter haha, but will grow back instantly as usual!

[@gth042]

@@MakersMuse Showoff! :D

[@chaos.corner]

@@MakersMuse I thought you'd added a new person to the channel for a second. The voice is unmistakable though.

[@rickharriss]

In the Uk at least Vac formers are plentiful, Mainly aimed at the school Design and Technology curriculum. They vary in size and the design and technology suppliers are a good source of suitable sheet plastic. You have to consider how to cut the shape out of the sheet and also the cost of the plastic sheet material. A handy machine but of limited use for the hobbyist.

[@nelumbonucifera7537]

Re: not knowing what you're doing in the kitchen - I think Ann Reardon (How to Cook That) is in Sydney. Maybe do a collab?

[@MakersMuse]

She's my main source of info for chocolate haha

[@BRUXXUS]

@@MakersMuse Hope you didn't lose your..... temper! :P

[@clonkex]

@@BRUXXUS -___________________-

[@colincampbell3679]

The problem of the strong top Magnet holding up the forming frame can be eased by having a egg shaped flat disk that you have attached to the two hand grab wheels and so to release the magnet hold and push the forming frame down to do the forms you turn the wheels clockwise together and the egg shaped flat disks push the forming frame away with their pointed end from the magnet. The when you move the forming frame back up the wheels are turned back anti-clockwise so their rounded end goes into the top inserts and the magnets hold up the forming frame again.

[@pinaz993]

People are talking about the plastic and the machine and the price, and I'm just over here waiting patiently for Angus to release his chocolate tempering attempt. The agony will be delicious.

[@SabulaTech]

On your homemade setup you could do much better results but you need to get your heating more controlled and consistent. Heat gun method is not going to cut it. The vac will work fine for that thickness.

[@Liberty4Ever]

19:20 - Kudos for the shop safety sandles.

[@TheSecurity16]

If they aren't thongs then it's appropriate workshop footwear.

[@cramstick]

To make it easier to release from the magnets the 2 wheel/handles could rotate a cam to push off the magnets.

[@franciscovarela7127]

Thanks for making a point about material waste.

[@marcopolo1613]

Pro tip, if you want to fill a part with plaster, use gyroid infill since all the empty space is connected.

[@RevXSCustoms]

Been doing pla moulds for my vaquform with 6mm top layers and 3mm walls and high infill and done good 20 pulls with 0.75mm petg so can def be done

[@originaltrilogy1]

and it smooths your prints :)

[@travisgould7653]

I have some ideas for this. One would make it so that the draft angle does not have to be considered and/or could actually be used for your advantage. It would be a combining of 3D printing with vacuum forming. So, for example, you have a propeller or fan blade. You need the solidness of the blades to remain, so that the angular momentum is retained, but some fan blades and propellers are very thin or cannot reach very high speeds without being destroyed. So, what if you use vacuum forming to create a sort of exoskeleton for the 3D print? We can imagine this applying to other objects apart from fan blades as well. Or we can consider other things like the plastics that have less heat resistance, but use this lower heat resistance to our advantage. The heated sheet lays on top of the low heat resistant plastic piece and deforms the outer surface area. Perhaps if the piece requires some sort of airtightness, not only would the vacuum-formed exoskeleton create airtightness, we could purposely create features in the 3D print that would take advantage of the heated sheet, by being purposely placed to deform on contact and then create a more airtight point.

[@dronepilotflyby9481]

If you think that could be dangerous check out the Mattel Vac-U-Form. One of the most popular toys we had back in the 60s. It was marketed to children.

[@BeInspiredwithDominic]

A vacuum former is still on my list, but I'll probably go for the DIY version to see whether I'd actually make use of it. Thanks for sharing!

[@PietroMalaguti]

In my modest opinion, they could add some linear bearings to allow a better and even up-down of the platform.

[@magicalmond6979]

I love how you consider everything. This is awesome

[@jek__]

Those ridges that form as a defect seem like they might strengthen the material against physical blows, maybe causing those on purpose could be useful for making a small battling robot outer shell

[@freednighthawk]

While this product may not be perfect, it's still so nice to see products being made for the consumers for vacuum forming. It seems to be the one area of "home makers" that has been ignored by the market.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

If you are making moulds and messing with resin and silicone you may have a better vacuum hanging around and that would bring the diy bodge level on quality. Better to have one vacuum pump used in many applications than several machines, each with their own vacuum pump, at least for the DIY-er.

[@HexiBabe]

Bring on Maker's Muse in the kitchen! I'm looking forward to seeing the next video!!

[@miharix]

Use "vaseline" on the master model, for easy relese and les master deforming when using low temeprature master like PLA or styrodure. Lift the master from wacum bed (using ~1mm shim), to have sharper corners.

[@Christopher_Gibbons]

You can do something very similar by making a silicone mold of 3d prints. I use this to make epoxy copies if I want prints that are clear and glittery.

[@LetsJeep]

You would get more detail inside the bowl if you drilled a couple small holes around the corner periphery of the nose profile at the deepest part of the bowl, like the ears. Notice once the plastic hits the nose holes, it stops forming? As to webbing. General guide is, there should not be more material around the part than the 1 to 2 x height of the draw. Otherwise you need some other form nearby to draw off that excess material away so it stretches rather than fold on itself. Preferably another usable form to limit waste or as you discovered, a smaller blank.

[@rothery2]

I've got that green dental one. It works pretty good. Got it for about US$100.

[@danko6582]

I used to do foam pressure forming with kydex. This seems a lot easier, once you have a system.

[@shanemartin9476]

Hey for the last video with the wheels, you should add tracks to the 8 spoke wheels

[@deltacx1059]

2:32 water soluble 3d prints can work quite well if you need to have overhangs.

[@TechsScience]

Very well explained I will try making this machine

[@Metal_Vistas]

I found your video very informative and useful, thank you. The one area I would like to see covered in the future is the cost of consumables, like the plastic sheets. Cheers!

[@scratchinjack608]

Vacuum forming fascinates me. But I don't have a use for it. Great video! A nice change of pace!

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Whilst it looks a reasonable adaptation for the small office/home area it does have the drawback of producing a large amount of waste material compared to the actual amount required for the formed items.

[@KeithOlson]

As you only need a small amount of fairly high vacuum, what about using a chain hoist to pull a piston in a used gas cylinder, and use a ball valve to pull from the vacuum former as needed?

[@thingswelike]

That Formech vacuum you showed at 18:00 is a similar price in the UK in an 280x230mm size. Having said that, the results you got from the formart were actually very good. I guess the costs make sense if you are actually making money from forming as it's so fast (as long as your post processing is also optimised). Personally, I never really find the project that requires lots of the same object :(

[@VinnyBagODoughnuts]

Wow! That polycarbonate pull is amazing!

[@odinata]

Our recycling centers of plastic vacuum-formed into the shapes of every product imaginable. Fun hobby.

[@MyllerSWE]

Angus! You gotta have a look at the project "Precious plastic", now called "One Army" and you will never bin the scrap plastic pieces. :)

[@sweetbee52]

In 1960 I was 8 and one of my friends had a Mattel Vac-u-form. It was 4" x 4" and I can remember going through a pack of 100 sheets on a Saturday afternoon. You had to pump a handle for the vaccuum. That thing was hotter than hell and we burnt the carp out of ourselves. We both ended up with bandaids on our fingers. But it was worth all the pain. 😂🤣Sadly you could never sell anything like that for kids today. ☹️

[@ncdave4life]

I had one. Nifty toy! Didn't cost $2K, either.

[@gman9543]

Nice review Angus. Seems like they should have used some linear bearings on the posts to guide the plastic sheet sled.

[@Culturedropout]

I'm actually pretty interested in the idea of smoothing PLA prints this way!

[@f.d.6667]

Great video! How about making plaster molds from your 3D prints? Plaster, when dried out is letting air through, thus eliminating the need for holes (unless you use dentists' plaster). It's also cheap and old model-making textbooks apparently mention it as well (at least if you want to do only 3-5 pulls or so)...

[@austinwagner3231]

Angus got that Mattew Lewis/Nevile Longbottom treatment. Watch a video from a few years back and compare it to this, every nerd should dream of making this transformation

[@DanteYewToob]

Could you just refrigerate the PLA forms so they don't melt? Or would that cool the plastic too quickly for it to form properly?