Bioplastics

Once again, in a procrastination fueled evening of trying to do work, and failing miserably, I stumbled upon an article regarding a new do it yourself polymer product. Something that allows the user to make their own and fix their own products, by simply heating a plastic sheet in boiling water.

In this day and age, there are more and more ways to create and recreate things. With the development of open source and 3d printers, the prospects of making your own items over buying makes it more likely that the future will have everyday people making their own replacements and initial products.

This is seen where Peter Marigold, a UK based designer, has developed FORMcard, which becomes malleable in hot water and can bond to other plastics. The product, that comes the size of a credit card, is something that can be used for anything from mending broken door handles, to making new personalised items.

The product just has to be held in boiling water for 30 seconds to become pliable, and from there anything is possible. It is possible to mould it in the same way as putty or blue tack, and once hardened, strong as Nylon.

The idea of having this along with other everyday utilities in the “man drawer” of every house, makes the product that more exciting, and something that makes me want to tinker with it.

Guardian Article: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/20/bioplastic-formcard-designer-peter-marigold-uk-mend-fix

FORMcard: http://formcard.co/