Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Visual of Products


This is a video of the some of the products I make with explanations.  

 

This is a video of other products made world wide

 


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Monday, March 5, 2012

About Me


Over the past year I have developed an interest in thermoforming plastic and have come to appreciate the versatility of the products that can be made.  I’ve seen the process from research and development to production and marketing. 
Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it can be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape."  It is a relatively new concept that has had many applications.  Many of products on the current market are made through thermoforming.  Common examples are tables, sheds, chairs, and playground equipment.[i]
Mike Todd first introduced me to Thermoforming.  Mike has been good friend of my father for many years.  He works at Life-Time, a manufacturing plant, where he takes part in the entire thermoforming process.  I’ve come to realize he has a special talent and a very creative mind.  As he has come to understand the thermoforming process, and has been able to utilize it in his personal endeavors. 
With Mike’s innovation, my father’s business experience, and my cheap labor, we have created a business called Terrarium Art.  We specialize in creating a unique collection of terrarium and vivarium tanks using plastic that has been thermoformed.   Although we are still in the early stages of the business, we can see great potential in the products we make.  We have already gone to various shows to display our products and they have received great reception and interest.  One buyer even posted images of a tank on his blog.  The Infinity Tank, the name of our vivarium, utilizes basic scientific methods, by having air vents at the top and bottom of the tank.  This allows constant airflow; basically causing a stovetop effect.  This also allows you to have a clear lens without condensation buildup.  The lens of the tank is made from polycarbonate; the same material bulletproof glass is made from.  The tanks are lightweight, specially designed for smaller reptiles, and they look sharp.  It also has a built-in waterfall creating a mechanical and biologic filtration system that helps maintain a clean tank.  It also includes easy access to the pump and has a port in the back to drain the water.  After creating the basic plastic shell, we utilize other materials to design the cages.  We have designed very realistic desert, tropical, and cave-like terrariums to fit whichever animal you wish to display. 
Over a decade ago my father began a similar business mainly specializing in terrarium décor.  He focused on making water dishes and other naturalistic decorative items that enhance tanks.  Instead of using plastics he used cement for all of his products.  He was very successful in his business until competition became overwhelming. Similar products could be mass produced in China and sold for less, so his business ceased to exist. 
The initial impetus for these endeavors has been my father’s interest in animals. I have grown up with a wide variety of animals and I was the only kid in the neighborhood to have a zoo in his own backyard.  Some of the animals we have had over the years include: bobcats, bengal cats, falcons, snakes, spiders, lizards, chickens, pigeons, quail, rabbits, mice, rats, ferrets, and dogs.  You can imagine with that kind of collection the chores that had to be done.  Even though others thought us odd, collecting animals as a hobby has had many advantages, including the people that we meet.  My father’s interest in animals led him to meet Mike Todd. 
Mike and my father are both falconers.  It has always been and always will be their hobby.  From that point on we came to see how smart and resourceful Mike really is.  Before we resurrected Terrarium Art, Mike and my Father created a business called High Tech Falconry.  They created and sold falconry supplies, which were made from thermoformed plastic.  Mike’s genius created hoods, hood holders, perches, wall perches, bathing pools and much more.  It was successful for several years, but as time has drawn out, it has become dormant with a few items being sold each year.  The market for falconry supplies isn’t exactly booming.
Thermoforming has so many different applications that can be utilized if one is innovative and makes that idea a reality.  For that reason, I have become fascinated with its process.  We have created a unique business like no other.



                                                      Kyle Tanner- The Cheap Labor 



                                              My Father Justin Tanner-The Businessman 







                                                                    Naturalistic decor 





                                                                   Thermal Former (exiting isn't it)




                                                                              Molds





[i] Wikipedia, "Thermoforming." Last modified January 25 2012 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoforming.

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History of Thermoforming



History and Expansion of Thermoforming!

            “Thermoforming is considered as one of the oldest methods of forming useful articles of plastic.”[i]  It was first practiced, in some form, dating back to ancient time.  Some of the first recorded findings of thermoformed materials were found in common food containers and utensils.  Egyptians, Micronesians, Ancient Americans, and Romans used tortoise shells, (made of keratin), and tree bark (natural cellulosic) to form bowls and canoes.  The materials were heated it in hot oil or water and then re-shaped.[ii]
The next great advance in history occurred in the 19th Century with the creation of celluloid.   “Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic…The first celluloid as a bulk material for forming objects, were made in 1855 in Birmingham, England, by Alexander Parkes.  Parkes patented his discovery after realizing a solid residue remained after evaporation of the solvent from photographic collodion.”[iii] Collodion is a flammable, syrup like solution of nitrocellulose in a mixture of alcohol.
Progress continued following Parkes discovery. “In the 1870’s John Westley Hyatt, considered the father of modern plastics processing, and his mechanical engineering colleague Charles Burroughs, rolled thin, skived sheets of celluloid or cellulose nitrate into tubes, inserted the tubes into steel molds that contained the desired shapes, and heated the sheets with steam under pressure.  The steam softened the celluloid sheets and forced it against the mold shapes.  The molds were then cooled in water, rigidifying the plastic.  The molds were opened and the parts trimmed to size.
The main products they had created from plastic were small in size.”[iv]  They had items such as mirror cases, baby rattles, and shaped bottles.
 Through Hyatt and Burrogh’s engineering genius, creations were constantly being designed in plastic.  The United States first began creating bottles, relief maps, cigarette types, ice cube trays, and ping pong balls.  Europe formed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in Phillips refrigerators, and piano keys.  In 1938 an automatic thin-sheet roll-fed thermo-former was developed by Klaus B. Strauch Company which increased production speed to a never before seen high.  Not only were plastics used for common household products but also for military items.  During World War II, aircraft windscreens, machine gun turrets, and domes were being formed from plastics.  In 1948, in England, cast acrylic bathtubs were thermoformed by the Troman brothers, and in 1954 skin-packaged products were first shown at hardware manufacturer association trade shows.  Then in the 1970’s, the first thermoformed plastic concept car body was designed by Borg-Warner Inc.[v]
“Today heavy gauge plastics are used as cosmetic surfaces on permanent structures such as kiosks, automobiles, trucks, medical equipment, material handling equipment, spas, and shower enclosures, and electrical and electronic equipment.”[vi]  With the growth of education and corporate enterprise, new engineering technologies have been invented to aid in the thermoforming process.  “Although the basic forming process is very similar to what was invented many years ago, microprocessor and computer controls on more modern machinery allow for greatly increased process control and repeatability of same-job setups from one production run to the next, usually with the ability to save oven heater and process timing settings between jobs.”[vii]
Now the industry has become a powerhouse bringing profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Huge companies such as: Mayfield plastics, Thermo-Fab, Universal-Plastics, and Lifetime have emerged.  The market continues to expand in part because of the versatility and variety of products made.  There are so many things can be done with the material.  Now, whenever you enter a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes or any other major retail store you will see Thermoformed plastic.  It has come along way since it’s the early creation of kitchen wear. 
 Tortoise Shell (made of Keratin)[viii]

  Alexander Parkes[ix] 
John Westley Hyatt[x]

 Plastic Relief Map[xi]


[i] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012..

[ii] skytec plastics, "History of Thermoforming." Last modified October 03, 1999 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.plasticwebsite.com.au/thermoforming_history.htm.

[iii] Wikipedia, "Celluloid." Last modified Februrary 15 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celluloid

[iv] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012. http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC.

[v] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012. http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC.

[vi] Wikipedia, "Thermoforming." Last modified January 25 2012 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoforming.

[vii] Ibid

[xi]Wikipedia, "Raised-relief map." Last modified January 5 2012. Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&pwst=1&tbm=isch&tbnid=rrTXghbYvDLS3M:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised-relief_map&docid=aXk5kNG1UEbQGM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Tatry_Mapa_Plastyczna.JPG/350px.
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