Skip to content

Bob Baddeley

Menu
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Resume
    • Publications
  • Projects
    • Personal
    • WYZGYZ
    • Propeller Health
    • Wacky Dancers
    • Hackaday
    • Allergy Amulet
    • Quietyme
    • BlueTipz
    • Portable Scores
    • PNNL
    • Oregon State University
    • University Of Great Falls
Menu

Tools of the Trade – Thermoforming

December 22, 2016

Chances are good that you’ve already lost some blood to thermoforming, the plastics manufacturing process that turns a flat sheet of material into an unopenable clamshell package, tray inside a box, plastic cup, or leftover food container.  Besides being a source of unboxing danger, it’s actually a useful technique to have in your fabrication toolchest. In this issue of Tools of the Trade, we look at how thermoforming is used in products, and how you can hack it yourself.

The process is simple; take a sheet of plastic material, usually really thin stuff, but it can get as thick as 1/8″, heat it up so that it is soft and pliable, put it over a mold, convince it to take all the contours of the mold, let it cool, remove it from the mold, and then cut it out of the sheet. Needless to say, there will be details.

Read the full article at Hackaday: Tools of the Trade – Thermoforming

Bob Baddeley

I am a computer engineer experienced in developing products from proof of concept through mass production. I want to have a positive impact on the world.

Search

Recent Posts

  • Recovering a Water Bottle
  • Heat Pump Water Heater Installation
  • Bibimbob
  • Do Treehouses Need Permits?
  • Aurora Borealis in my Backyard!

Categories

  • Building
  • Computers
  • Cooking
  • Hackaday
  • Panoramas
  • Personal Projects
  • Skydiving
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized
© 2025 Bob Baddeley | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme