This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Vac-U-Form" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(December 2010)
The Vac-u-form, was a toy invented by Eddy Goldfarb and released by Mattel in the 1960s around 1961 with the trademark filed on October 8, 1962.[1]
Based on the industrial process of vacuum forming, a rectangular piece of plastic was clamped in a holder and heated over a metal plate. When the plastic was soft, the holder was swung to the other side, over a mold of the object to be formed. Then quickly and repeatedly pressing down on a spring-loaded handle on the side of the unit created a vacuum, sucking the plastic down over the mold and shaping it to it. When the plastic cooled it solidified, making an impression of the item.
Various molds came with the kit. Several expansion kits were also available for molding various other shapes. In actual use almost any small object that could withstand the temperature of the heated plastic sheet for a few seconds could be used as a mold. Plastic refill sheets came in a variety of colors.
Mattel's VAC-U-FORM toy is well made and many are still in use today both as a toy and for small size part production in conjunction with other hobbies such as making R/C aircraft cowling and other parts.
Because very hot surfaces were easily accessible to a child (or adult) playing with the toy, it probably could not be sold today due to safety restrictions.[2]
ToyMax (Cedarhurst, NY) produced a similar product called the "VAC-U-FORMER" in the early 1990s with the trademark filed on April 24, 1992.[3] The ToyMax product is similar in concept to the Mattel product. In an attempt to conform to more modern safety concerns of the period several product changes were incorporated to improve safety over the Mattel product.[4] The hotplate was replaced with a light bulb in style similar to an Easy-Bake Oven. The mold and forming area was covered so the hot plastic was protected from direct touch during the molding and cooling stage.
Both the Mattel and ToyMax products, as well as refill plastic sheets, can easily be found on eBay and Amazon, as well as other vintage toy web sites.
Referencesedit
^"USPTO filing Serial Number 0764234, Mattel Inc. "VAC-U-FORM"".
^"Vac-U-Form Mold Making Toy Would Never Fly With Today's Soccer Moms". 19 February 2009.
^"USPTO filing Serial Number 74269709, ToyMax Inc. "VAC-U-FORM"".
form, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, citations, additional, sources, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2010, . This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Vac U Form news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2010 The Vac u form was a toy invented by Eddy Goldfarb and released by Mattel in the 1960s around 1961 with the trademark filed on October 8 1962 1 Based on the industrial process of vacuum forming a rectangular piece of plastic was clamped in a holder and heated over a metal plate When the plastic was soft the holder was swung to the other side over a mold of the object to be formed Then quickly and repeatedly pressing down on a spring loaded handle on the side of the unit created a vacuum sucking the plastic down over the mold and shaping it to it When the plastic cooled it solidified making an impression of the item Various molds came with the kit Several expansion kits were also available for molding various other shapes In actual use almost any small object that could withstand the temperature of the heated plastic sheet for a few seconds could be used as a mold Plastic refill sheets came in a variety of colors Mattel s VAC U FORM toy is well made and many are still in use today both as a toy and for small size part production in conjunction with other hobbies such as making R C aircraft cowling and other parts Because very hot surfaces were easily accessible to a child or adult playing with the toy it probably could not be sold today due to safety restrictions 2 ToyMax Cedarhurst NY produced a similar product called the VAC U FORMER in the early 1990s with the trademark filed on April 24 1992 3 The ToyMax product is similar in concept to the Mattel product In an attempt to conform to more modern safety concerns of the period several product changes were incorporated to improve safety over the Mattel product 4 The hotplate was replaced with a light bulb in style similar to an Easy Bake Oven The mold and forming area was covered so the hot plastic was protected from direct touch during the molding and cooling stage Both the Mattel and ToyMax products as well as refill plastic sheets can easily be found on eBay and Amazon as well as other vintage toy web sites References edit USPTO filing Serial Number 0764234 Mattel Inc VAC U FORM Vac U Form Mold Making Toy Would Never Fly With Today s Soccer Moms 19 February 2009 USPTO filing Serial Number 74269709 ToyMax Inc VAC U FORM ToyMax Vac U Former Incredible Car Factory External links edit Vac U form Vac u form User s manual Mattel Retrieved 2008 10 21 nbsp This toy related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vac U Form amp oldid 1146393489, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
