For the entire Fall 2021 semester, I was part of a team of mechanical engineers who designed, built, and tested a high-quality vacuum former, as part of a class project. A vacuum former is a device which creates high-precision plastic molds of objects by melting ABS plastic sheets, translating the plastic sheet to a buck, and then removing all air with suction force.
Vacuum former project, fall 2021
The entire project was designed from scratch, requiring extensive research, sourcing, and prototyping for heating elements, translational bearings, and an air-tight suction floor. The project utilized PID control algorithms implemented with Arduino robotics to manage a series of nichrome-wire heating coils. The vacuum former offered an easy user-interface with real-time temperature readings and a low-force translational system. The system was built from wood and reinforced with aluminum and fiberglass insulation. More information available in the video below.