Need A How To Package Swimbaits So The Tails Do Not Warp?

[andy1976]

I'm doing 6 to 10 inch paddle tail swimbaits and the tails warped on the first ones I sent out. That was using baitjunkies plastic. I like it but they also sucked up all the worm oil and were kinda dry. The swimbaits I used MF on didn't have that problem. Any ideas on packaging to solve this would be great. I was considering having clamshell made.

[TroutSupport.com]

You are way ahead of me on that, but I have been pre thinking it. See if alternating the baits forward / backward helps at all, even in the plastic clamshell that might need to be done as well and it save space. 

[smallmouthaholic]

Hang them vertically for 24-48 hours after pouring. Try a 10'' bag and stack them horizontally,alternating the paddles tails to each side. The 1st swim-bait goes upside down,the next right side up but place the tail to the opposite side.

[andy1976]

Hang them vertically for 24-48 hours after pouring. Try a 10'' bag and stack them horizontally,alternating the paddles tails to each side. The 1st swim-bait goes upside down,the next right side up but place the tail to the opposite side.

Thanks guys I think that's the ticket. Baitjunky sent me a helpful similar message. I realized that the mf swimbaits had a week to settle and I basically made bagged and shipped the ones I made with baitjunkys plastic within a few hours.

[Frank]

Yes that is a big difference in time to cure. If I ship within the first day it goes In a box but like to wait two days and stack like stated before. Thick paddle tails like a money minnow may still have a twisting look when taken out of a bag those really deserve a box and if they shift to one side they still may get a bend in the tail. Frank

[andy1976]

Yes that is a big difference in time to cure. If I ship within the first day it goes In a box but like to wait two days and stack like stated before. Thick paddle tails like a money minnow may still have a twisting look when taken out of a bag those really deserve a box and if they shift to one side they still may get a bend in the tail. Frank

Thanks, looked a bit into clam shells and they are super expensive to get the tooling done, and what not. Ill probably experiment with some of that one time use tupperware.

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

Make your own vacuum former and make clams or half clams to go inside a bag...

If the bag is pretty the clam form does not have to be.

Edited August 24, 2013 by Bob La Londe

[Baitjunkys]

Make your own vacuum former and make clams or half clams to go inside a bag...

If the bag is pretty the clam form does not have to be.

Bob, what type of material is used to make the clam halves? Is it in sheet form etc?

[andy1976]

Make your own vacuum former and make clams or half clams to go inside a bag...

If the bag is pretty the clam form does not have to be.

Thanks, do you have any ideas on making half clams.

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

I'll have to look to see which plastics don't dissolve with plastisol exposure, but I am pretty sure PET is one of them.  I do some one off vacuum forming with heavier stuff.  I made my vacuum boxes out of scraps of MDF and pegboard I had laying around.  I'll set the form on top of the vacuum box.  If its light or relative position is important I'll stick it in place with double sided tape. 

 

I just heat my plastic in an oven (clamped in the top box) until it sags to a nice deep uniform curve.  Then I set it over the vacuum part of the box, press down, and kick on the vacuum. 

 

I am sure it would be easier and faster if using thinner sheet as would be suitable for clam shells or packaging materials. 

 

The guys who do a lot of it build their boxes fancier than mine with a quartz heater above the sheet holder.  With a lever they lift the vacuum chamber and form up into the sheet from underneath when it hits the right sag.  Then they kill the heat and turn on the vacuum at the same time. 

 

Your only real limitation is how much time and money you want to spend on it.  Some will set a laser optical sensor across under the plastic to automatically indicate when the plastic is sagging to the right point, then it trips a servo that automatically lifts the form and vacuum box into it.  When it reaches the right height a switch (usually optical) kicks on the vacuum, turns off the heater, and starts a cooling timer. 

 

If you want to do it manually like I do a small vacuum box and an oven works fine.  There are lots of DIY videos on vacuum forming on Youtube, and a few professional ones.  Here are a few. 

 

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

As an aside note:  Acrylic domes are made out of acrylic sheet plastic (which is also vacuum formable to some degree) by pressure forming.  In a chamber free of airflow they heat the sheet, and gently pressurize it from below.  A laser optical switch kills the heat and and keeps the air in from the bottom just right so the dome is inflated to exactly the right height as it cools.  Many camera domes, and ceiling safety mirrors are made this way. 

[SlowFISH]

You can do vacuum forming pretty easily if you keep it small scale and use thin materials.  I made a small vac-box out of MDF - drilled 1/8" holes in a grid every 1" and attached a piece of PVC so I could use my 5gal Shop Vac to pull vacuum.  Granted it doesn't pull as hard as a true vac/form machine.... but with real thin materials (I use .03" Sheet PET) You can get alot of detail and decent draw of the part.

 

The most difficult part of the process is heating the plastic uniformly and transferring it to the vac-box hot.  I have a small oven that I made a steel "picture frame" to fit in... I put a sheet of plastic in and heat it in the oven until it's hanging with a nice uniform "upside down dome".  Then quickly remove the frame and place it down tight over the part/box which I already have my vac running on.

 

It's not really production worthy type of a setup.... but if you need parts here/there it works.

 

If you need a small run of parts - you can contact a model maker - prototype house common in the product design industry.  They can CNC machine a mold (if you provide the data) and knock parts out pretty quick.  It's not cheap - but might be worth a call if you need a 100 or so parts.

 

        J.

[FLIPPY]

I read this and thought about it..I don't know if this would work..what if you made 5 oversize ones out of clay then baked them hard and then pressed them in styrofoam..I don't know it was a thought

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

Of course vacuum forming is another addictive manufacturing process... 

[JSC]

Dug up the attached from a dusty corner in my shop  ... Don't know when I got it (over 40 years ago I know) or where I got it from ... used it a little.  Should be easy for any one that can work with wood to make.