Vacuuforming

What is it?

a sheet of plastic is heated then stretched against a single-surface mold by a vacuum, creating a shell around the mold

(vacuuform video)

What materials can you vacuuform with?

• Plastic shell: Poly-Carbonate, Acrylic, PETG, Polystyrene
• Mold: Wood, Metal – sturdy materials that won’t compress under vacuum pressure

What are common issues?

• Bubbles forming in the plastic and weakening it
• Final product sticking to the mold

How can you access it at CMU?

• ArtFab Green (Doherty D200)
• dFab (Margaret Morrison C4)

(Unsure of how to gain access to these – mostly restricted to Art/Architecture students)

Other things to consider:

• One surface of your part must be flat
• Requires a (durable) mold of your part
• Limited access on campus
• Requires a finishing process to cut out your part from the rest of the plastic sheet