Vaquform Desktop Vacuum Former Kickstarter Passes Goal

The Vaquform desktop vacuum former has stormed past it’s Kickstarter goal, and for those that were lucky enough to pledge early, they should receive their vacuum former sometime in October 2017.

If you haven’t heard of Vaquform, it’s exactly what it looks and sounds like. We’ve either all seen or used a vacuum former at some point in our lives, and although the concept is very simple, the results are usually very good. However, usually when we see a vacuum former, it’s usually in some sort of business, factory or school, Vaquform are bringing the technology to the desktop.

Whilst some of you may be thinking that 3D printing has replaced this technology, and in cases where ultimate precision may be needed, you would be partially correct. However, the Vaquform has been designed to coexist alongside a 3D printer.

Vacuum forming works by heating a sheet of material, and then using vacuum suction and pressure to form it around a mould. On the 3D printing side, no mould is needed, but it is slower and more expensive, especially for mass production.

One idea is to use the 3D printer to create a mould, and then use the Vaquform for mass production. Whilst this is something that couldn’t be done on a huge scale, it could be great for running a custom based business from the home or office, perhaps for custom PC parts, mods and enclosures.

The Vaquform has no timer to tell you when your material is ready for forming, as all materials and their thickness have different softening points. Instead, it uses the combination of built in heating profiles, and an IR temperature sensor.

Overall, this is a feature packed piece of kit for the home, and with a target price around the same as a mid-range 3D printer, it’s likely to sell comfortably well. Their only problem at present is the ability to manufacture them on a large-scale. This slows down their ability to get them out to everyone who has pledged straight away, and so they are launching them in stages.

On the other hand, and as we know with Kickstarters, not everything always goes to plan, making too many and not being able to sell them would also be a costly disaster. We’ll only find out how successful this will be over time, and with some orders expected to be delivered in Jan 2018, and unless you plan on backing their Kickstarter, don’t plan on seeing this on the high street anytime soon.

Take a look at their website and Kickstarter page.

Without mentioning the cost, would this be a piece of equipment you’d love in your home? Would you make use of it, or would it be forgotten about fairly quickly?