Man I wish I had seen this back when I was working with my special effects shop. That would have been phenomenally helpful, I can only imagine all the costumes and props we could have made with that. So glad to have seen this now though, I hope I get to do this in the future! Thank you so much for the tutorial and build plans!
I spent over 30 days dearching for a easy way to form a piece of foam for my first cosplay costume, well.. i suck in jobs that require a little manual skills, well this just saved my life
My JAW DROPPED THROUGH THE FLOOR when you tossed the sheet on the vacuum former! I was expecting it to take some time, but it was immediately formed! That's amazing! I can see so many applications for this process as a soft figure Ventriloquist's puppet builder! I'm gonna SCHTICK this in my SAVE files! This is really exciting! Maybe I'll vacuum for my hard sculpted puppet - "Morthan"! Can you use this with a clay sculpture? My mind is going NUTS with possibilities on this!
Yes you can use this with a solid clay sculpture. For quick shapes out of clay make sure you freeze the clay first. You'll get some clay goo on the inside of the foam.
@@PropMonkeyStudio That's a great idea! I would not have thought of freezing the clay before vacuum forming the sculpture! The potential for ventriloquist's figure heads using this material is fantastic! I'm currently limited to what I can do because I'm just in a 1 bdrm apartment, but I hope to by my own home next year & then I can cut loose! Thanks much! ruclips.net/channel/UCoCv1t-kkaFLlWDkDJzZ2AQ facebook.com/HavartiandMorthanPuppetSchtick facebook.com/justin.dancinghawk/
That's really cool! Thanks for making this video. Say... this face/head impression you made, if you turned off the room light, and use a low watt bulb (warm color is best as it casts shadows) and shine it on the impression side of the mask (see 9:54 for example), the face will look like those floating faces at Disneyland's haunted mansion when standing about 6 feet back or further. I've only seen these work with white masks or on white material, but dark looks like it'll work just as well, especially in a pitch black room with just a 2 watt bulb focused on the face, or even a UV or black light (those work better on colored or white material). Imagine using this (the entire sheet uncut) and place it in a [hole or cutout] in the wall and it'll look like someone is looking at you. The face even follows you as you move back and forth.
Great video . Just one suggestion . Prior to filming , have your questions posted on dummy cards and set on a tripod. Your camera person can then flip the cards as you address each gyration or advice tips.. that should eliminate the uncomfortable dead spaces you’re encountering, and in turn produce A much more professional presentation . I liked your video and I learned a lot. Thanks
this way of doing the shaping the Foam is more helpful to me as a cosplayer and i will make sure to do a lot of tries to get the use of it. Thank you sooooooooooooo much mister.
Amazing so glad I found your channel! I don't do this stuff exactly but I love learning about anything creative so these are really great and informative
I always thought making a homemade vaccum former was expensive, but this video prooved me wrong! At least that doesn't look expensive! Gonna try and build one soon!
This is amazing! Thank you for the video! Going to build this asap. Was thinking about a top and bottom heater with a slot to slide the frame in to avoid having to flip it. Thanks again.
Hey! This helps me solve the heating portion of my DIY former. Would really any 1,500w ceramic heater work as well? I see quite a few offerings on Amazon for only low $20
To answer your question: I don't know. The dimensions of the heaters I own are about the same. I wanted a long unit for a more even heat. This doesn't necessarily mean a smaller one won't work.
Hello and thanks for sharing your knowledge I wondering if you can say to me at what kind of distance you put the eva foam and the heater, so these material can be in the exactly temperature that you saying. Because I try it with my project but the Eva foam burn it so you can help me to resolve this situation. Also I love your work and I sent you regards from Mexico.
In the description (under the video) I have a link to the plans for the vacuum former. You can calculate the distance from heater to foam in the plans.
First time I saw this attempted was by Ryan Wells but the foam was a bit thick. This looks like it'll capture more detail (Well, thinner foam helps too, but still) Nice
With 2-6mm EVA foam you can get good form fitting shapes, and the thinner the foam the better the detail. For higher detail you can use the same set-up, and you'll have to use HIPS or ABS plastic.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Oh, I know. I was just surprised by the detail retention. I'm aware that thinner material=higher detail. Just wasn't expecting this with foam.
You are a lot of fun! Haha! Really enjoyed this. I wonder if you could advise me on something? I am looking at vacuum forming 2mm acrylic. I need to create the patterns for this project as I'm not copying something existing. What would be the best material to make a pattern out of? Any advice from anyone would be amazing, thank you!
Home Made Patterns For Vacuum Forming Plastics 1) Simple pattern: wood (with wood filler to smooth) works great. 2) Complex pattern: you will need to sculpt first with clay, plastic, or any other material. Then make a mold from that and cast in hydrocal (hydrocal is a hard plaster). 3) For a super smooth you could possibly use a hard high temp silicon. This would be harder to make, but if you are doing mass production it might be worth the time.
@@LEO-xo9cz The pattern is either made taller than I need it, or I place spacers under the pattern to raise it up. This way I just cut off the curve at the bottom, and I'm left with what I need.
idk if it's more practical to use a mold with foam clay or to do this, i wanna make these gear thingies on the sides of a kamen rider ryuki belt but idk if vacuum forming will get all the engraved detailing and grooves.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Thank you very much. Interesting. I dream of making my own mannequin. First you need to make a mold, then fill it with foam. I am looking for suitable materials and manufacturing methods
Hi Back For Blood, I haven't tried them, but I would think there would be a couple issues with using the magnets. The clamps would be more practical. A simple solution is usually the best.
That is soooo cool! Thank you for sharing your plans!!! But I would like to know if you also could heat up the foam in your oven instead with your heating unit? I can imagine that the foam could heat up in the oven more consistently ( and to be honest, if the oven would work I could save the money for the heating unit ^^ ). Or will the foam burn/melt away in the oven? ;)
@@PropMonkeyStudio amazing! by any chance do you have a link for that specific heater. were using this method to create a shell for our senior design project. we are constructing a small scaled UAV.
When you block off a vacuum cleaner suction hose the vacuum sounds like it's working harder. It's not, when you block airflow on a centrifugal fan it uses much less energy, draws less amps electrical current because it's throwing/moving less air so it spins faster, changes vacuum cleaners sound to a higher pitch cause it's doing less work and fan/motor is spinning faster. So for example an air conditioning units squirrel cage type centrifugal fan, (indoor section where air filter is) when the air filter is dirty the fan motor uses less electricity, draws less amps. Opposite of a prop fan like an airplane propeller or box fan, block or restrict the airflow on this type fan, power use increases over being in unrestricted free air fan motor uses more power, draws more Amps that can burn out the motor plus often motor uses airflow from the fan to cool it making situation worse.
Thank you very much for posting this. I used this video for making a own vacuumvormer to test the possibilities. Just finnished all the parts and soon be testing. I coppied your one hole design. What is the reason for u to usae one hole instead of multiple holes?
Hi Rutger Oomkes, Only one hole is needed, unless you are forming multiple items at the same time. When I do more than one item I place the matt down that I show in the video. This makes it quicker to build the vacuum forming table, and the vacuum pressure is focused around the pattern. I hope this helps, Dave
There are two problems with that. First, I don't think the foam will stretch enough to do a full head. Second, if the hole opening is too small you wont be able to get the head cast out of the vacuumed foam without cutting it. Solution: You can vacuum form two halves of the head and glue them together.
Hi. Nice job. Do you think it's possible to do the same with 2mm 40kg/m3 EVA foam? Obviously not so stiff, but I wonder if the sheet won't crack while forming
very nice. you're so cute it really helps BUT your videwo would benefit A LOT from a script and a lot of cutting out the "uhms" I had a lot more patience with them because you're so likable but by the 4th fifth of it, it was over hahaha thanks for sharing your knowledge
@@ultralinx200 I made a mold from a plaster cast out of silicone. Then made a slush cast with resin and back filled it wit expanding foam. See the casting part of the head cast video I did. ruclips.net/video/-06zn2gWUJA/видео.html
@@PropMonkeyStudio I'm guessing - then, that it holds a shape all the better because of the increased density! Fantastic! I'm going to play with heating EVA foam to make my ventriloquist puppets!
Yes! This is really exciting stuff but is the shaping permanent? I want to sell something but I’ll only be able to charge a dollar if it starts unraveling after a year or two (or a week or two).
You didn't by chance record the details of your vacuum former construction? This looks far simpler to build then most I have seen online, so much that I believe I can copy it from what you have just shown in the video, but details are nice :D
Hello! I’m looking for some foam for my punch sensor metal plate i need some foam cushion to avoid injury the arm when punching it. Could you give me any suggestions of what types of foam I should experiment with? I was thinking to use some high density foam as the inner layer and some softer foam as outer layer would really appreciate any suggestions or tips. Thanks.
If you can replace the foam on a regular basis, low density against the pressure pad and high density on the outside. The high density will last longer. If you want the pad to last even longer I would use low density against the pressure pad and thin leather over that.
![Kodak Black - Versatile 4 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VcP_1Ua__vY/mqdefault.jpg)
I think you'd be a fun art teacher
Man I wish I had seen this back when I was working with my special effects shop. That would have been phenomenally helpful, I can only imagine all the costumes and props we could have made with that. So glad to have seen this now though, I hope I get to do this in the future! Thank you so much for the tutorial and build plans!
You just opened up a whole new industry for me!
You could also frame it and freak out your guests. It's like that scene from The Sorcerer's Stone with the book in the library.
It would make an awesome puppet! Maybe even install animatronics to make it function as you mention!
This is officially going to change my life
I like the clamps on the side of the frame. That's a great idea 💡👍
I spent over 30 days dearching for a easy way to form a piece of foam for my first cosplay costume, well.. i suck in jobs that require a little manual skills, well this just saved my life
You, sir, are a wizard.
Here here!
My JAW DROPPED THROUGH THE FLOOR when you tossed the sheet on the vacuum former! I was expecting it to take some time, but it was immediately formed! That's amazing! I can see so many applications for this process as a soft figure Ventriloquist's puppet builder! I'm gonna SCHTICK this in my SAVE files! This is really exciting! Maybe I'll vacuum for my hard sculpted puppet - "Morthan"!
Can you use this with a clay sculpture? My mind is going NUTS with possibilities on this!
Yes you can use this with a solid clay sculpture. For quick shapes out of clay make sure you freeze the clay first. You'll get some clay goo on the inside of the foam.
@@PropMonkeyStudio That's a great idea! I would not have thought of freezing the clay before vacuum forming the sculpture! The potential for ventriloquist's figure heads using this material is fantastic! I'm currently limited to what I can do because I'm just in a 1 bdrm apartment, but I hope to by my own home next year & then I can cut loose! Thanks much!
ruclips.net/channel/UCoCv1t-kkaFLlWDkDJzZ2AQ
facebook.com/HavartiandMorthanPuppetSchtick
facebook.com/justin.dancinghawk/
This process is so mesmerizing! Thank you for the video!
That's really cool! Thanks for making this video. Say... this face/head impression you made, if you turned off the room light, and use a low watt bulb (warm color is best as it casts shadows) and shine it on the impression side of the mask (see 9:54 for example), the face will look like those floating faces at Disneyland's haunted mansion when standing about 6 feet back or further. I've only seen these work with white masks or on white material, but dark looks like it'll work just as well, especially in a pitch black room with just a 2 watt bulb focused on the face, or even a UV or black light (those work better on colored or white material).
Imagine using this (the entire sheet uncut) and place it in a [hole or cutout] in the wall and it'll look like someone is looking at you. The face even follows you as you move back and forth.
Good tip to remove the bag off the vacuum, and using 2 vacuums is a great idea.
Great video . Just one suggestion . Prior to filming , have your questions posted on dummy cards and set on a tripod. Your camera person can then flip the cards as you address each gyration or advice tips.. that should eliminate the uncomfortable dead spaces you’re encountering, and in turn produce
A much more professional presentation . I liked your video and I learned a lot. Thanks
Oh my Gosh... I am SO grateful for this video and Him as an artist... a HUGE life saver
I have seen this done before but never as informative or in-depth as your video
Thanks
I love the implications for armor and helmets
this way of doing the shaping the Foam is more helpful to me as a cosplayer and i will make sure to do a lot of tries to get the use of it. Thank you sooooooooooooo much mister.
That was incredibly satisfying to watch once you placed that on lol. Nicely done
Wow, such a simple setup! Amazing results!! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome work, Brother. The possibilities are endless.
Amazing so glad I found your channel! I don't do this stuff exactly but I love learning about anything creative so these are really great and informative
I always thought making a homemade vaccum former was expensive, but this video prooved me wrong! At least that doesn't look expensive! Gonna try and build one soon!
I was googling if you could use it as a buck but honestly this is way better lmao
An eye-opener! Thank you for sharing! :-D
This is amazing! Thank you for the video! Going to build this asap. Was thinking about a top and bottom heater with a slot to slide the frame in to avoid having to flip it. Thanks again.
I had no idea your channel existed. This popped up in my feed. I'm so glad it did. Liked and subbed immediately. Well done!
Manaus/Amazônia/Brasil Fantastic Experience 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
thank you... just thank you. PIONEER for the little guys
Omg, think outside the box !! Good idea !
This so awesome Sir. Thanks for the share and tips.👍👍👍
Yep, that indeed WAS the intro
So cool! I hadn't even ever considered that.
Great info! Thanks for the tutorial!
Awesome channel man!
very in'foam'ative! thank you!
شكرا لك لقد أستفدت كثيرا من عملك المبدع وشرحك الرائع
Great video 👍
Garden art!
Good job.... You very very best... Amazing.... Thx bro
color me impressed! I'm gonna have to try this!
Very good, congratulation.
Great ! Thank you !
Hey! This helps me solve the heating portion of my DIY former. Would really any 1,500w ceramic heater work as well? I see quite a few offerings on Amazon for only low $20
To answer your question: I don't know.
The dimensions of the heaters I own are about the same. I wanted a long unit for a more even heat. This doesn't necessarily mean a smaller one won't work.
You earned another sub today sir. Amazing job
amazing video, thank you
Oh wow, brilliant ! Thank youuuuu
Would this method work for making prop firearms? Maybe a thinner foam to capture more detail?
Thermoplastics or resin/foam casting would be much better
Cooool:) Respect from Ukraine!
You do great job.
Hello and thanks for sharing your knowledge I wondering if you can say to me at what kind of distance you put the eva foam and the heater, so these material can be in the exactly temperature that you saying. Because I try it with my project but the Eva foam burn it so you can help me to resolve this situation. Also I love your work and I sent you regards from Mexico.
In the description (under the video) I have a link to the plans for the vacuum former. You can calculate the distance from heater to foam in the plans.
Thank you so much I'm going to check that 🤘🏻
Woooow!! Now I need someone to make all that!! Lol. You should sell them. U would make a killing!
First time I saw this attempted was by Ryan Wells but the foam was a bit thick.
This looks like it'll capture more detail (Well, thinner foam helps too, but still)
Nice
With 2-6mm EVA foam you can get good form fitting shapes, and the thinner the foam the better the detail. For higher detail you can use the same set-up, and you'll have to use HIPS or ABS plastic.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Oh, I know. I was just surprised by the detail retention.
I'm aware that thinner material=higher detail.
Just wasn't expecting this with foam.
Thank you so much for sharing this!!! If you put a light beging the form do you think it would shine through?
If you use white 2mm-4mm EVA foam you should be able to make it light up.
Wow great work
Great video thanks
Very impressive results! Have a sub! :)
Genius! Thanks very much)
Awesome! Thanks for answering a long standing curiosity of mine. Sub earned.
You are a lot of fun! Haha! Really enjoyed this. I wonder if you could advise me on something? I am looking at vacuum forming 2mm acrylic. I need to create the patterns for this project as I'm not copying something existing. What would be the best material to make a pattern out of? Any advice from anyone would be amazing, thank you!
Home Made Patterns For Vacuum Forming Plastics
1) Simple pattern: wood (with wood filler to smooth) works great.
2) Complex pattern: you will need to sculpt first with clay, plastic, or any other material. Then make a mold from that and cast in hydrocal (hydrocal is a hard plaster).
3) For a super smooth you could possibly use a hard high temp silicon. This would be harder to make, but if you are doing mass production it might be worth the time.
Have you ever thought of or used a heat gun while its vacuum forming to kind of tuck it in tighter at the base? Will that work?
No I haven't. I usually compensate for the curve by making the pattern higher, so I never had the need to use a heat gun.
@@PropMonkeyStudio What do you mean by 'Making the pattern higher '?
@@LEO-xo9cz The pattern is either made taller than I need it, or I place spacers under the pattern to raise it up. This way I just cut off the curve at the bottom, and I'm left with what I need.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Ahh I'm with you. Do you think it is safe to cast sensitive equipment such as cameras and lenses?
@@LEO-xo9cz If you wrap the lens in fabric first you should be able to vacuum form over it safely.
Hello nice video what did you used to get that head so hard
This is incredible
Sir , Can you do a very large part ( the plug mold ) say a Snowmobile hood ?
You can go as large as the size of your material. most plastics are 4x8 feet.
idk if it's more practical to use a mold with foam clay or to do this, i wanna make these gear thingies on the sides of a kamen rider ryuki belt but idk if vacuum forming will get all the engraved detailing and grooves.
Sorry for the very slow reply. Foam clay will get you better detail.
Thank you very much for the video. Is it possible to make a shape from the human body with this material?
Yes
@@PropMonkeyStudio Thank you very much. Interesting. I dream of making my own mannequin. First you need to make a mold, then fill it with foam. I am looking for suitable materials and manufacturing methods
OMG, NOW I DONT NEED TO CUT AND GLUE PIECES TO MAKE A HELMET SHAPE NOW!!!
So should neodymium disc magnets on various parts of a metal frame work for this?
Hi Back For Blood,
I haven't tried them, but I would think there would be a couple issues with using the magnets. The clamps would be more practical. A simple solution is usually the best.
@@PropMonkeyStudioOkay. Thank you, very much!!!
This is So cool, could you please tell us what is the temperature that you preheated that EVA sheet before molding?
thanks so much
have you done a tutorial on how to make a vacuform box
No, not yet, but I made plans that you can download free. Look in the description.
@@PropMonkeyStudio cool thanks
Cool where can I get the head in the background from?
That was a head cast that I did years ago.
Imagine how many Spidey shell mask you can make...
Nice!
You sir are a god
That is soooo cool! Thank you for sharing your plans!!!
But I would like to know if you also could heat up the foam in your oven instead with your heating unit? I can imagine that the foam could heat up in the oven more consistently ( and to be honest, if the oven would work I could save the money for the heating unit ^^ ). Or will the foam burn/melt away in the oven? ;)
I would advise not using your oven, because of toxic fumes. Outside or in a very well ventilated area is the best.
how hard does the vacuum formed section get? Is it like 2x as hard as the unstressed foam?
Not much firmer. As far as flexibility it stays about the same, but it does get thinner and denser.
Did you have to modify the heater such that the tip-over switch of the heater does not activate when laid down flat the way you have it?
The only modification I did was to take the arms off. There isn't a tip-over switch on these heaters.
@@PropMonkeyStudio amazing! by any chance do you have a link for that specific heater. were using this method to create a shell for our senior design project. we are constructing a small scaled UAV.
@@n0wii The link is under the video
wow!
When you block off a vacuum cleaner suction hose the vacuum sounds like it's working harder. It's not, when you block airflow on a centrifugal fan it uses much less energy, draws less amps electrical current because it's throwing/moving less air so it spins faster, changes vacuum cleaners sound to a higher pitch cause it's doing less work and fan/motor is spinning faster.
So for example an air conditioning units squirrel cage type centrifugal fan, (indoor section where air filter is) when the air filter is dirty the fan motor uses less electricity, draws less amps.
Opposite of a prop fan like an airplane propeller or box fan, block or restrict the airflow on this type fan, power use increases over being in unrestricted free air fan motor uses more power, draws more Amps that can burn out the motor plus often motor uses airflow from the fan to cool it making situation worse.
thanks for the great video
Thank you very much for posting this. I used this video for making a own vacuumvormer to test the possibilities. Just finnished all the parts and soon be testing. I coppied your one hole design. What is the reason for u to usae one hole instead of multiple holes?
Hi Rutger Oomkes,
Only one hole is needed, unless you are forming multiple items at the same time. When I do more than one item I place the matt down that I show in the video. This makes it quicker to build the vacuum forming table, and the vacuum pressure is focused around the pattern.
I hope this helps,
Dave
Man I love you been looking at tool chest tool inserts this will be ideal for that
I have a question, if you place a 1cm ring under the head would you get coverage? Like a fuller replica. Not just the front of the head.
There are two problems with that. First, I don't think the foam will stretch enough to do a full head. Second, if the hole opening is too small you wont be able to get the head cast out of the vacuumed foam without cutting it. Solution: You can vacuum form two halves of the head and glue them together.
@@PropMonkeyStudio thank so much. Though I'm going to be using plastic not foam, I'm betting your advice will still work. 😊
very good i will try it
thanks , super good, you think is possible to do it with a heat gun too ?
EVA foam cools down too quickly to use a heat gun. You'll need a larger heat source.
You are a genius :D, indeed :)
Hi. Nice job. Do you think it's possible to do the same with 2mm 40kg/m3 EVA foam? Obviously not so stiff, but I wonder if the sheet won't crack while forming
I've have good success with high density foam 2mm. The low density doesn't do too well.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Thanks. Do you know how much kg/m3 (or imperial) is the 2mm high density you use?
@@NimbusDirigiblesSL I do not know :(
Thats cool
@prop monkey studios do you have a link where i could purchase a rubber pimple mat ??😁
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X93XN69/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
very nice. you're so cute it really helps BUT
your videwo would benefit A LOT from a script and a lot of cutting out the "uhms"
I had a lot more patience with them because you're so likable but by the 4th fifth of it, it was over hahaha
thanks for sharing your knowledge
Do you know how much was lowered the thickness of the foam in the mask after forming?
For this head pull I lost about half the thickness of the foam
Did you make the mannekin head or buy it? What is it made of? Thanks!
I did a head cast of a friend.
@@PropMonkeyStudio of a friend? Damn sir, that's scary af🤣 what the mold made of? Fiberglass?
@@ultralinx200 I made a mold from a plaster cast out of silicone. Then made a slush cast with resin and back filled it wit expanding foam. See the casting part of the head cast video I did.
ruclips.net/video/-06zn2gWUJA/видео.html
Parabéns, só agradecimentos aqui São Paulo Brasil, enquanto a maioria tenta ganhar com planos de cortes, vc deixa seu conhecimento em PDF obrigado!!!
This is so clever! Thanks for the video. Does the foam get very thin around the form because of stretching?
Yes, the EVA does thin out, and it gets a little denser.
@@PropMonkeyStudio I'm guessing - then, that it holds a shape all the better because of the increased density! Fantastic! I'm going to play with heating EVA foam to make my ventriloquist puppets!
This is so cool wow!!
Mindblown! Is the heating unit necessary or can you also use a heat gun?
Yes, the heating unit very necessary for even heat.
Yes! This is really exciting stuff but is the shaping permanent? I want to sell something but I’ll only be able to charge a dollar if it starts unraveling after a year or two (or a week or two).
It's permanent unless you heat it up again. It should be fine in a hot car.
You didn't by chance record the details of your vacuum former construction? This looks far simpler to build then most I have seen online, so much that I believe I can copy it from what you have just shown in the video, but details are nice :D
Sorry, no how to build video, but it is very easy to build. There is a link in the description where you can download my free plans.
This is a crazy question but where did you get that bust in the background? With the helmet on it?
It's a head cast I did years ago.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Is it a cast you are willing to sell?
@@EmperorChocoPanda Sorry, it's not for sale.
@@PropMonkeyStudio Darn. Thanks for answering me anyways!
Great vid! thx
Hello! I’m looking for some foam for my punch sensor metal plate i need some foam cushion to avoid injury the arm when punching it.
Could you give me any suggestions of what types of foam I should experiment with? I was thinking to use some high density foam as the inner layer and some softer foam as outer layer would really appreciate any suggestions or tips.
Thanks.
If you can replace the foam on a regular basis, low density against the pressure pad and high density on the outside. The high density will last longer.
If you want the pad to last even longer I would use low density against the pressure pad and thin leather over that.