[Vacuum Forming Applications] Furniture design without the need for external help; material simulation is incredibly realistic!
Two-week lead time reduced to two hours? Design your own furniture, with incredibly realistic material simulations! Industrial designer Theo Ford completed all the design requirements—shape, color, and materials—from a client in just one day. How did he achieve this?
Theo is a well-known designer in London. This project required him to design a Nordic-style chair, and the client had very high requirements for texture and feel. How did he meet all the customized needs within a limited budget?
First, Theo used 3D modeling software to design the shape of the chair and used a 3D printer to make a sample model. In order to simulate various appearances and textures, he put the 3D printed chair model into the FormBox vacuum forming machine and quickly replicated ten identical molds!
Place the 3D printed sample face down into the FormBox . Press down and heat the white material sheet of the FormBox to adhere to and vacuum-form the back of the model. After demolding, the material sheet will present the curved shape of a chair.
Next, using an ultrasonic cutter , vacuum-formed material sheets are cut along the shape of the chair, and the customer's specified color is sprayed onto the material sheets . Then, Theo polishes, frosts, and other processes on the cut material sheets , trying to design 10 different surface textures such as matte and glossy finishes.
Cost comparison
| studio | Outsourcing production | |
| Sample Model | 16 hours ( 3D printer ) | 160 hours |
| Processing | 2 hours ( Mayku FormBox ) | 2 weeks |
Typically, outsourcing furniture production requires seven days to create a model, and vacuum forming takes at least two weeks. This time, Theo chose to combine 3D printing with vacuum forming technology , completing a series of sample prototypes in just one day. This not only saved a lot of time and significantly reduced costs, but also successfully provided customers with a variety of different texture options before actual production.
" FormBox vacuum forming machines are an indispensable partner for us. They have powerful and stable functions. When working together with 3D printers , they can quickly realize various ideas, saving a lot of production time and eliminating the need for costly outsourcing of production!" Theo said excitedly.
Did you enjoy this sharing session? As technology matures, with clever application, high-quality products can be produced at low cost, and brand service quality can be improved. Contact us now to learn more about application examples of 3D printers and vacuum forming machines . 3D Printing offers you more than just 3D printing .
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