Vacuum forming holds a unique place in design and technology education. It is one of the few manufacturing processes that can be carried out safely in a school workshop environment using relatively compact, affordable equipment, and it produces tangible results that students can relate to products they encounter in everyday life. At Jabro Games, we have worked with educational institutions on vacuum forming projects and want to highlight the educational value this process offers.
Why Vacuum Forming Is Taught in Schools
Vacuum forming is included in Design and Technology curricula from secondary school level in the UK because it introduces fundamental manufacturing concepts in an accessible way. Students learn about thermoplastic materials and their properties, mould design and the importance of draft angles, the relationship between process parameters and product quality, and the practical challenges of translating a digital or hand-drawn design into a physical object. These lessons underpin understanding of manufacturing processes far beyond vacuum forming itself.
School-Scale Equipment
School vacuum forming machines are designed specifically for educational environments — smaller, simpler, and safer than industrial equipment while reproducing the fundamental process faithfully. Students typically produce small parts — name tags, phone cases, chocolate box inserts, product packaging prototypes — that demonstrate the process clearly without requiring complex tooling.
University Product Design and Engineering Applications
At university level, vacuum forming is used in product design and engineering courses as a rapid prototyping tool. Students designing new products can use thermoforming to produce physical prototypes for user testing and evaluation far more quickly and cheaply than alternative processes. The process also serves as a basis for exploring manufacturing economics — comparing tooling costs, unit costs, and break-even volumes across different manufacturing methods.
Commercial Partnerships with Educational Institutions
Jabro Games has worked with colleges and universities on projects where students benefit from exposure to industrial-scale vacuum forming equipment and processes. These partnerships allow students to experience commercial manufacturing reality alongside their academic learning, and they inform our own thinking about the next generation of product designers and engineers entering the industry.
To discuss an educational project or partnership, contact Jabro Games at jabrogames.com.