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Step 1: Vacuum Forming

Set up

Frame and PTFE tape

Before starting the fabrication of your Laminar Jamming Structure, you may need to assemble an acrylic frame. An acrylic frame will allow the forming of your TPE envelope to the geometry determined by your frame, therefore creating a pocket that will fit thick structures and will prevent the bag from exerting forces on the filling material. If you believe an acrylic frame is not necessary for your LJS, please proceed to Step 2b for a fabrication process without it.

If you wish to laser cut the acrylic frame (see Recommendations), you should create a vector file (e.g. .dxf, .ai, .svg) of the frame that will be used in the forming process. Regardless of the fabrication type, create a space in one of the sides of the acrylic frame for the air circulation tubing. In this documentation, we used tubes with 1/8'' diameter.

Tape acrylic frame After making the acrylic frame, cover one face using a PTFE surface protection tape, and cut the excess on the sides.

 

Vacuum Forming

step 1 - part 1 Turn on vacuum forming equipment, wait 20 min for the heating element to heat up. Make sure that the entire heating element has a uniform temperature.
Step 1 - part 2

Place the acrylic frame on the bed of the vacuum former and cover it with a single layer of TPE on top. The TPE sheet should be big enough to cover the entire frame a second time if folded.

Step 1 - part 3

Tightly clamp the TPE sheet to the equipment, trying to minimize the wrinkles in the material as the ones seen in the bottom left of the image.

 Lower the platform that contains the acrylic frame.

Step 1 - part 4 Bring heating element over TPE sheet. Wait 1-2 minutes or until the TPE layer is glossy and soft.
Step 1 - part 5 Check if the surface is completely smooth. Turn the vacuum on and immediately raise platform with the acrylic frame.
Step 1 - Part 6 Wait a few seconds until the TPE has covered the frame completely and there are no air bubbles. Turn the vacuum off and release the clamps. Carefully remove frame and TPE from the machine.