Plasform materials and processes suit the Interdisciplinary Learning (Design, Creativity and Technology) aspects of VELS. For a current example see avec esprit Plastic forming is the basis of nearly all our curriculum projects. It is a simple process of heating sheet plastic, and allowing air pressure to form the soft plastic over a suitable shape. It is an excellent learning experience for young people in that:

...it allows them to follow the real-life process of converting raw material to finished product
...it stimulates creative thinking and promotes the valuable hands/mind coupling
...it leads to a tangible learning outcome (the powerful 'take-home' factor)
...design projects can include shapes not otherwise possible without elaborate equipment
...it provides a useful introduction to the material of the age - plastic.

The 'suitable shape' (called a pattern) can be made in clay, rigid foam, balsa wood, plaster or some existing item that suits the design. The formed plastic may become the project, or it can be used as a mould for casting plaster.

The Plasform program has been designed to correspond with National Curriculum Statements for the Key Learning Area of Technology. Experience with the trial schools has confirmed the view that Plasform should be seen as a curriculum resource, rather than a prescribed program of study. The most significant thing about the Plasform material in schools across Australia is its adaptability, resulting in an extraordinary variation of student activities. Teachers have taken the materials, and developed ways of using them to suit their context which includes school setting, student aspirations, and the differing technology focus of each state.

Plasform can be used by lecturers in engineering, architecture, manufacturing and industrial design.

In the past, it has been used to...
- build architectural models of their designs in vacuum formed plastic sheet
- construct scale model freeway bridges and multi-story buildings in pre-cast lightweight
concrete modules
- create exciting sculptures using modern colours, metallic coatings and a range of moulding
and casting materials.
- produce professional proof-of-concept design models moulded in plastic.

Materials Vinyl rubber Expanded polystyrene Plastic sheet Resin laminates Foam sandwich Exotic fibres Composites Light-weight concrete

Typical Projects Exhibition artwork Sculptures Architectural models Structures and machines Bridges and towers Prototyping Proof-of-concept models

See Photo Gallery for examples of student work