Set the heat and time dials for your material.
The temperature light will go from orange to green when the machine reaches the right temperature
Separate the top tray by lifting the handles and raising until it clicks into place at the top of the sliders – this may require gentle force.
Peel any protective film off your material
Place the material on the bottom tray so the edges are covering the grey silicone seal
Push the top tray down onto the bottom tray so that the material is held in place. The handles click into place to secure it down.
Lift both the trays, together, to the top for the material to be heated
Place your mould form on the surface mesh plate
Ensure your mould has no undercuts, as this will prevent the mould from being able to be released from the formed sheet.
To reduce waste, you can use multiple moulds at one time on a sheet
Press the timer start button. You will hear ticking.
When the ticking has stopped it is time to start forming
Watch the material for floppiness or elasticity as it heats up.
You will see it becoming more mailable as the sheet starts to droop.
Once the sheet is bowing and soft, push both of the trays down fully over the mould.
The vacuum cleaner will turn on automatically and create a vacuum sucking the plastic sheet tight over the mould to form the final shape or shapes
Leave the sheet to cool for 10 seconds
Once cool, turn off the extraction
Switch the temperature dial to zero
Unclamp the top tray and lift up, clicking to lock in place at the top of the sliders
Remove the mould from the formed sheet and place on a heat proof mat for processing.
Clean up or trim the sheet as needed
DO NOT unplug or switch off the machine for 25 mins, as it uses fans to cool down the heater element fully and an orange light will show. Once the orange light goes off, it is safe to switch off the machine.
Your form is now ready
TIPS
Ideal moulds for vacuum forming follow 3 main rules.
Rule #1
Remove all undercuts
Undercuts make it difficult to remove templates once they have been formed. Make sure your design doesn’t have any ledges or indents that could stop a template from being removed.
Rule #2
Add draft angles
Draft angles are slopes on the edges of your templates.They help you remove templates from the vacuum form very easily.The slopes on the edges of your forms should point outwards not inwards, so templates come out with little effort.
Rule #3
Add air holes
Adding air holes allows air to flow freely though your design to the vacuum plate. This will help your sheet to form around smaller spaces with greater detail.