❤️ Thermoforming Heart Mold – Friction Fit Design
After watching several interesting videos about thermoforming, I decided to experiment and design my own mold with two main goals:
- Create flat, thermoformable parts
- Ensure both sides of the heart are identical
Unlike many existing designs, this mold uses a friction-fit frame system to hold the thermoformed part together — no glue or fasteners required.
🧩 Design Overview
The mold consists of 3 printed parts:
- Main mold
- Bottom frame
- Top frame
The two frames form a sandwich that holds the thermoformable sheet securely during heating and forming. I suggest to use PETG for the mold.
🔥 How to Use
- Assemble the bottom frame, the thermoformable sheet, and the top frame together.
- Apply heat to the center of the heart only until the material becomes shiny and just barely solid.
- ⚠️ Important: Avoid heating the edges near the frame.
Overheating the sides may warp the edges and prevent the heart from fitting correctly into the friction frame.
- Place the heated sandwich onto the main mold.
- Use the guiding pins on the sides to align all parts correctly.
- Press down firmly until all three parts are fully seated together.
- Allow the part to cool briefly.
- The heart should release from the mold on its own.
- Forcing removal too early may cause warped edges.
- If needed, the mold includes side grips and screwdriver holes to assist with releasing the part.
📏 Output Dimensions
This design produces hearts with approximate dimensions:
The model can be scaled up or down, as long as the original proportions are maintained.
📸 An example photo shows a larger scaled heart filled with candy.
📦 Notes
- ❌ Not intended for commercial sale
- 📦 Planned to be provided as part of a subscription
Boost MeIf you’d like to use this design or see future improvements, please boost the project!