say you FDM printed something on your 3D printer in, say, regular old PLA at 200deg C

and say you also had an aluminum mold of the same model

could you put that print in that mold and heat the mold to the edge of its glass point and blow compressed air through to iron all the outer surfaces to the contour of the mold, like blow molding but way slower and at lower temp with all the wrong materials?

@djsundog It might just. There is a process called vacuum forming (random link) https://formlabs.com/blog/introduction-to-vacuum-forming/ someone in our local makers group was setting up gear to do it.

#Maker #hack613

Introduction to Vacuum Forming

Read on for in-depth introduction to vacuum forming, including an overview of the vacuum forming process and ways to create molds for vacuum forming.

Formlabs
@Dianora we do vacuum forming too! I’m wondering if we can almost do the opposite haha
@djsundog I'd think so!