Luuk Wiehink taught environmental conservation by making vacuum formed sculptures with children

How to use vacuum forming projects to create engaging product design workshop experiences

Luuk Wiehink is a product designer dedicated to social change and innovation. He used the Mayku FormBox as part of a children’s workshop to create fun Gargoyles, whilst also teaching the children about environmental conservation.

"The FormBox is fast to set up and really easy to use. For children participating in my workshop it’s always magical to see their (sometimes rough) clay mold, being formed into a (comical, beautiful, tough, etc) plastic gargoyle. Works every time!" - Luuk Wiehink

Using product design to teach conservation and innovation subjects

Last year due to extensive rainfall the drains in Luuk Wiehink’s hometown of Geitenkamp were near to flooding. In light of this Wiehink wanted to engage children in conserving the place they live for future generations. For this Wiehink invited students to design and form gargoyle heads. These heads would then control water flow from drain pipes into the ground to prevent urban flooding.

Vacuum forming was a great solution as a quick way to replicate the students’ clay designs but Wiehink needed a machine that was transportable, easy to use for children and safe for extended periods of time.

How the Mayku FormBox helped to engage people of all ages

The Mayku FormBox vacuum former became the perfect solution to Wiehink’s challenge. Durable and easily transported Wiehink could safely base his workshop outside with the FormBox being in constant use without any danger to students.

At the beginning of the workshop the students learnt about the fundamentals of vacuum forming, Luke taught them the key design considerations needed to enable them to design for the FormBox. Environmental sustainability remained front-of-mind with the use of Mayku’s Form Sheets, which are fully recyclable and made partly from recycled plastic waste.

Once this was explained the students were set the task of creating a mold from clay of their own design. These designs were then formed by the students, they were aso given the chance to amend designs and try again to get the most out of their experience. Allowing the students to be creative with their designs made everyone more engaged with the tasks inspiring discussions that went beyond the workshop into how the FormBox could be used for other projects.

At the end of the workshop the gargoyles were mounted onto a handmade pipe systems for the students to test their designs before they took them home to be mounted onto their homes drain system.

Benefits of the Mayku FormBox, desktop vacuum former

A Transportable Factory

For a workshop leader like Luuk being able to transport machinery is vital for his workshops. The Mayku FormBox is compact and light yet strong enough to create factory grade products for students.

Inspires Creative Thinking

When working with students across different age ranges creating workshops that are inclusive to all needs is vital. The FormBox is suitable for independent use by children of 8 and above. Learners are inspired to experiment with product design and prototyping within a safe environment.

Affordable, Versatile and Safe

At £599 the Mayku FormBox is an affordable addition to your educational toolkit. Safe to use throughout a workshop without overheating, the FormBox can be used across curriculums to create innovative and exciting tasks for students.

Want to learn more? You can follow @TeamMayku on social media, join our Facebook Group, the Mayku Community or request to Speak to a Specialist at anytime to find out how you could use a FormBox for your next project.