Skills: Casting, Vacuum forming, SolidWorks
In this Design for Manufacturing (DFM) course project, teams were tasked with designing a product to hold a mini succulent. My partner and I designed and produced a small teacup and saucer. The teacup was cast using a custom two-part silicone mold, while the saucer was vacuum-formed around a 3D-printed form.
Design Requirements/Constraints:
1. Final product should be made up of 1 vacuum-formed part and 1 silicone mold casted part
2. Casting Materials:
- Oomoo 25 Silicone (3 cups max)
- Smooth Cast 305 Urethane (1/2 cup max)
3. Vacuum Formed part max width of 5”
4. Must be able to hold a 2"x2" succulent plant
Results:
The cast teacup was very successful, with no gaps or significant voids observed in either of the two parts. The two-part silicone mold was housed in a 3D-printed, disassemblable box used for both the silicone and urethane pours. The inside of the mold was brushed with mica powder, which resulted in an even and attractive finish throughout the part.
The vacuum-formed saucer was also successful, with the only noticeable defects being small holes strategically placed in the 3D-printed form. These holes were necessary to ensure proper vacuum suction during forming. If I were to repeat the project, I would reduce the diameter and number of these holes to minimize their visibility on the final part.
The teacup and saucer fit together perfectly as intended. Our design goal of creating a larger flat area on the saucer compared to the teacup’s foot was achieved successfully.
The tables above represent the total manufacturing time for these parts and do not include CAD or design time.
The image on the left shows the silicone mold used to cast the teacup. It features several vent holes to ensure proper urethane flow and a locating pin to align the two halves accurately. The image on the right is the 3D-printed master (printed on a Stratasys) used to create the silicone mold.
The 3d-printed negative for the saucer vacuum forming.
Machined in-house:
Above are the labor and material costs associated with manufacturing 1 final product.
Above are the combined costs associated with manufacturing 1 final product.
Outsourced:
Above are the estimated costs for outsourcing this product. The quote for the urethane-cast teacup is from Xometry, and the quote for the vacuum-formed saucer is from RapidMade. It’s important to note that these quotes are for single-part orders; costs would decrease significantly with larger production volumes.