NonPareil: French Pastry School & Formech

Chicago’s City Colleges have one of the finest culinary academy’s of any American city, known as the French Pastry School (FPS).  Headed by co-founders, Chefs Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, M.O.F., FPS specializes in pastry arts education.  Formech is also a proud sponsor of FPS and took the opportunity recently to host a workshop for their latest graduating class (72 students) on, “Forming Unique Chocolate Molds”.

Since Formech specializes in a machine designed specifically with the chocolate/confectioner industry in mind, it is a natural fit to partner with an institution such as FPS.  Our 300XQ Chocolatier vacuum forming machine has many features that make forming molds, trays and even bespoke packaging a breeze.

Nic Neath, General Manager of Formech Inc, joined the FPS graduates to elaborate on the many uses of vacuum forming in their industry.  He used their existing machine to demonstrate that  a way to set one’s self apart from the crowd, is with unique molds.

While there are several options for tooling designs, Nic demonstrated four simple techniques the students could put into practice with ease as well as discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each method:

1. Forming over an existing object.
   
2. Cast an existing object and make copies.
   
3. Sculpt a new creation and form over.
   
4. CNC Mill.
   

He explained the use of a mold resin material like Smooth-On and its usefulness in casting.  Further, he talked about the most commonly utilized materials in making chocolate molds and packaging, emphasizing the need for food grade materials approved by the FDA. Finally he provided an overview of the most helpful tips and tricks for creating perfectly formed objects with their Formech machine.  See the gallery below for a look into Formech’s visit to FPS.

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For more information on Formech Vacuum Forming machines, their use in the confectionery industry and more, contact us today for a consultation: 312-396-4072; sales@formechinc.com.

Case Study: Formech & University of Iowa + Special Offer for Schools

Students in the University of Iowa’s Environmental Design Program design and create products with an emphasis on sustainability.  They are especially interested in the future of sustainable plastics.  Environmental Design focuses on human interaction with the interior and exterior environment.  One class was asked to redesign things that are used on a daily basis to better suit specific tasks using the school’s Formech 1372 vacuum former.

Their first thermoforming project was to design and create a bowl with a particular food in mind.  Some students created shapes designed to hold kiwis, Chinese dumplings, and more.  One student’s design for a bowl with three “nodes” (below) was created out of a love for M&M’s.  The idea being people sitting around a table would gravitate to their own node without the need to pass the bowl.  The bowl’s dynamic curves allows one to get a handful without spillage.  The tri-node bowl was created using the Formech1372 machine with an ABS 3-D print for the mold and a sheet of PETG (which is safe for use with food) for the form.

Angela Regas, Instructional Services Specialist at University of Iowa expressed, “From the very beginning, we were impressed with the quality of design of the 1372 machine.  The size allows us to work at a human scale.  We’ve been able to work closely with Formech, which has helped a lot as we introduce a brand-new component to our program.”

Those in attendance of Formech’s visit to the University of Iowa included:  Charles Romans, 3D Design grad student; Allison Holden, 3D Design grad student; Yi Xie, 3D Design grad student; Monica Correia, 3D Design professor; and Angela Regas, Instructional Services Specialist.

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SPECIAL OFFER FROM FORMECH TO ALL INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING

Formech has a variety of vacuum forming machines to suit the thermoforming needs of any design or trade program.  Click the image below to download and view our full catalog.  Then follow up with a call 312-396-4072 or email: sales@formechinc.com to discuss with our experts the exact requirements for your group.  Just as we’ve done with the University of Iowa and other schools, we look forward to being a hands-on ally with your machine purchase and implementation into your curriculum.

 

Formech Presents On Energy Efficiency At National Museum in Milan Italy

Formech recently participated in the “Open Night” at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Italy.  A key theme of the show was energy efficiency and what energy saving means with opinions from energy producers, transporters, distributors and users all being voiced.

Formech demonstrated vacuum forming model boats with their popular desktop model 300XQ in the suitably nautical Leonardo da Vinci section of this impressive museum!

Formech are proud to class their machines as “ENERGY EFFICIENT” with energy saving features such as quartz heaters and heat stand-by.  For these reasons, Formech was invited to attend and exhibit.

A fascinating night was had by all those exhibiting and visiting with the chance to see a wide range of technologies on display.

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Formech Vacuumforming Machines & Equipment Catalog–In Downloadable PDF!

Is your old thermoforming machine giving you a headache?  Perhaps it’s time for an update.  Or maybe you’re just starting out in the hot field of rapid prototyping.  Consider Formech Vacuum Forming machines to give you that competitive edge.  With 30 years as an industry leader, picture yourself forming to perfection with one of Formech’s top notch machines by your side.

Download our catalog and see what your future could be like with a Formech.  View all the machines we offer AND their specifications.  Did you know we can also create a custom built model to suit your specific needs?  Take a look now, you’re sure to find exactly what you’re looking for with Formech.

Formech Americas, Formech Inc, Thermoforming/Vacuumforming Machines Catalog

Formech Vacuum Forming Guide Online

Everything you want and need to know about vacuum forming is in this handy guide from Formech, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of vacuum forming, thermoforming, and packaging machines.  Check the link for your free download and if you still have any questions, feel free to send them to us!  We’re always happy to share with you what we know.  

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Case Study: The Idea Shop at the Illinois Institute of Technology

 

The idea shop is a 13,000 square foot collaborative learning space and digital fabrication lab for the IIT community. It is located in the University Technology Park, an incubator for start-up companies. By bringing together people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise and providing materials, human resources, technology, equipment, all in one place, the Idea Shop is an ideal space for generating and disseminating good ideas and coming up with great solutions to real-world problems. The Idea Shop also  provides opportunities for the surrounding community through workshops, seminars, outreach activities, summer programs, and more.

       “We (The Idea Shop) purchased our Formech vacuum former to complement the other digital fabrication equipment. Using AutoCAD our CNCs, our 3D printers and our traditional wood working tools we are able to easily create a wide rang of molds to use in our vacuum former. This gives our inventive students many options and the ability to create professional final products. The students in the Idea Shop are finding answers for the problems facing people all over the world. We have a team working on an incubator for premature infants in developing countries. The team is using easy to find parts and the are putting together a build it yourself kit to be shipped all over the world. The team plans to use the vacum former for molding the half dome of the incubator and for securing the vital components that must be protected.

We used our vacuum former to help us keep the project work we require our students to do organized. In the summer we run programs that involve many teams working on many different projects at the same time. Our vacuum former has helped us to create custom trays to keep they parts for our rocket project and our robotics project protected and organized. To create the custom trays we start by creating a drawing of what we want in AutoCAD. From there Joe Luciani, the Idea Shop Lab Manager, does the tool pathing in Visual Mill, then the form is cut out of wood on the CNC. (We could also do it from aluminum) Once the form is out Joe sands it down and drills in air holes. Then Joe places the newly milled mold into the vacum former and in moments we have a usable tray custom designed to fit our needs. Joe releases the mold and uses our 50 watt laser cutter to make a clean edged cut.”

– April Welch | Manager | The Idea Shop at IIT

Photo of the project below:

DIY: How to Easily Replicate Existing Patterns and Tooling

Formech: Forming to Perfection Create a box for your mold to support the sides and bottom. This will also make an environment for you to pour your resin so that you decrease the chances of spilling or uneven pouring. Keep the size and shape in mind when building the box. This example is rather large and will be quite heavy when completely filled. Select a casting resin that will be able to withstand the heat from the thermoforming process. This particular resin has an aluminum base and will do the job well. Other resins that are useable for this process have mineral a mineral base. Companies like Smooth-On make several viable options (i.e. Task 18). These resins come in two parts, the resin and the activator. The most common ratios are 1:1 or 1:10 and are always measured by weight. www.smooth-on.com Using an electric mixing attachment is vital to achieve uniform consistency so that all the resin cures properly. When purchasing a resign pay attention to the pot life. This is the amount of time you have to work with the resign before it starts to cure. Next we will allow the mixed resin to sit for a 1-5 minutes to release any air bubbles that may be present. Air bubbles can have a drastic effect on the aesthetic and functionality of the tooling. Remember to coat all surfaces of the mold with mold release so that you can easily extract the finished tooling. Then apply a thin layer of casting resin to the surface of the mold. Including this step will drastically reduce air bubbles on the surface of the tooling and leave a a smooth exterior. Once you have coated the mold it is time to pour the rest of the compound into the cavity being mindful of the pot life. Once it is cured (cure times will very), you should easily be able to separate the cast (or tooling) from the mold provided you used he mold release properly. To sign up for our monthly newsletters please email us at info@formechinc.com Formech Inc – Forming to Perfection Visit our website at www.formechinc.com

DIY: Creating Molds for Vac Forming

Formech: Forming to Perfection Over the course of doing business we have advised many customers on the specifics of developing custom tooling for their various applications. Here we demonstrate a few commonly used techniques from the do-it-yourself to the utilization of high-end machinery. Easily Create Molds for Vacuum Forming The first step of the vacuum-forming process is to create your mold, also known as ‘tooling’. If you have an easy-to-use, professional grade vac-forming machine then this step is probably going to be the most in depth part of the process. It’s easy, and Formech successfully advises our customers on this initial step quite frequently. There are several ways to create a tool for vacuum-forming, and which one you use will ultimately depend on what you are attempting to achieve, the resources you have to achieve it, and how long or how many runs you will need the tool to last. Here are a few suggestions on common mold types: §  Cast | Plaster, Clay, or Resin: To the right we have an example of a plaster mold utilized by our customers at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. You can actually form right over the plaster, as demonstrated with the mask below, courtesy of our friends at the London College of Fashion.                                                      American Museum of Natural History Workshop   Here we see course leader Caroline Gardiner using a plaster tool to make a foam mask with the Formech FM660.   This ‘Azote’ foam is handy for mask making applications and maintains excellent shape after cooling. NOTE: One thing to definitely keep in mind when using plaster or clay is to periodically remove excess dust before and after forming. Otherwise, debris will build up inside the pump over time. Also, plaster or clay may only last for a few runs but aluminum or mineral resin tools are more permanent. Mineral resin ‘paint tube’ tooling utilized for packaging If necessary, you can always duplicate your brittle molds by forming a part and then using that negative mold to pour a mineral (or some other type of resin) into the cavity. More is explained in our Vacuum-Forming Guide Email us at info@formechinc.com if you’d like a free digital copy. Another method is just to sculpt the tooling out of resin as demonstrated in this video by Mr. Andrew Ainsworth with Shepperton Studios. You may know him a little better as the creator of the original Storm Trooper outfit for Star Wars. Here Mr. Ainsworth walks his audience through exactly how he created the Storm Trooper molds from scratch and then shows how he forms the real-life costumes on his Formech 660 machine. More on creating vac-forming molds with an additive manufacturing machine – click here.  The above 3-D printed tool came courtesy of Stratasys – www.stratasys.com §  3-D prints: Did you know that you can also use your 3D prints as tools for vac-forming? Also, if you print them as ‘sparse fill’ you won’t need to drill any holes for the air to pass through. The ABS plastic will typically hold up for quite a few runs but if you need something more permanent, then you can use the resin trick listed above. Here is a video of the process §  CNC. This is another commonly used method to create tooling. The durability of the mold will depend on the material that you use and can range from foam block all of the way up to aluminum. A really neat material on the market today is called Metapor, and it is a porous aluminum material that can easily be cut with a CNC machine. Its porous qualities make it ideal for vacuum-forming. More on Metapor here Those are some of the main methods of mold-making but there are many more. For instance, you can also form right over an existing object in order to replicate it. Need to make a soft wrench or a hammer for stage or film? Form right over the wrench or the hammer and pour silicon right into the cavity. §  Here’s a good example of how Chef Pilon at the Mandalay Bay utilized a toy starfish to create a chocolate mold: Questions? We have answers so don’t hesitate to get in touch, we are here to help! info@formechinc.com ©2012 Formech Inc | 1 S. Dearborn St. Chicago, IL http://www.facebook.com/formechinc  https://formechinc.wordpress.com/

CSM Art and Science Year End Exhibition

The CSM Art and Science year end exhibition called Experiments showcases research from participating artists and investigates the creative relationships between Art and Science. Agnieszka Tamiola is studying at CSM in London. Her work focuses specifically on endangered languages – she investigates audio recordings of the languages from which she identifies intonation patterns and creates a series of abstract patterns – working specifically with plastics formed on Formech’s vfm’s at CSM’s rapid prototyping lab.

The Making of Fiat 500 by Gucci featuring Formech

White Lodge director Chris Sweeney was commissioned by online luxury platform Nowness to conjure up a concept for Gucci’s makeover of the Fiat 500. The resulting film is a mischievous marriage of handbags and head rests with a playful nod to the pure joy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At the heart of the playful short is Formech’s model FP vacuum forming machine, which ingests the high fashion design of Gucci to transform fragrance bottles into exhaust pipes and high heels into alloy rims. Follow this link to see the full “Making of Fiat 500 by Gucci” film:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-JYT7TRWMw