Reverse Thermoforming

It's good to be back, took a little time off due to the tryouts.  We finished up last week, and it was a great group of chefs to compete with.

I am always on a hunt to find ways to do things that produce a great end result using some simple and inexpensive tools.  The reverse thermoforming process, really wasn't that simple to come up with and it does involve some equipment but the end result is fantastic.

This whole process would not have been possible without the help of Clay Williams.  I was on a quest for the perfect feather mold, the goal was a plastic mold that would provide a nice shine to the finished product while looking natural.  A significant amount of time was spent searching, nothing available was in the correct size.  After searching a little longer I stumbled on some YouTube videos of Clay demonstrating Lifeform Silicone.  It will release from anything, only problem it's not foodsafe.  I reached out to Clay and he brought some silicone molds and acrylics of actual feathers.  After several attempts the process below was developed.

Please visit Eaglewood Sculpts to see more of Clay's great work.

The feather was placed on a piece of foam padding to ensure it would not break.  I cut a piece of dura-lar to fit in the vacuum bag on top of the acrylic feather.

The contents of the vacuum bag were sealed at 99.9% 

The dura-lar requires heat to become soft.  I used the Rational in combi mode at 40% steam and 140 F for 20 minutes.  This oven is a great tool to have in the kitchen!

After being heated you can see the detail of the feather comes through the bag.   Below is a finished feather cast in dark chocolate.