ShapeLock is an amazingly useful polycaprolactone plastic that starts to melt and become moldable at around 160ºF. When it cools to room temperature, it becomes rigid and tough with qualities similar to nylon. By heating it in water with a microwave or using a heat gun, you can easily hand form it into almost anything.
Check out these projects to get some ideas for what you can do with this impressive material:
Android 10 by James of XRobots.co.uk
Prototype Pick and Place Head by John
Hand rest for an ergonomic mouse from Tiny Little Life
Halloween Mask by Andrew
As you can see, this stuff is awesome! If you want to pick up some of this amazing material, it’s available in 250 gram and 500 gram bags in the Maker Shed!
5 thoughts on “The Many Uses of ShapeLock”
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Awesome, I picked up a bottle of friendly plastic beads(same stuff), and nobody save myself has done any hacking with it at our hackerspace.
Awesome, I picked up a bottle of friendly plastic beads(same stuff), and nobody save myself has done any hacking with it at our hackerspace.
LOL,
I was reading it, then I realized my halloween mask was on it. I first saw it and thought, “Someone made a mask that looks just like mine.” Then I notice my desk too.
I wonder if this material could be used in a makerbot 3D printer. Hacking required but perhaps more versitile? A hopper with a one or two bead sized funnel into the heating element.
I wish this article was more involved. Never heard of this stuff before today, but one can only imagine the uses.
I was looking at a cig. rolling machine on Amazon and when looking at comments a person made a hopper for the machine to hold more.
She made hers out of a deli tray, then the next commenter mentioned Shapelock.
Why have I never heard of this. Awesome potential.