Student Starpack Awards 2017 | Paper/Plastic Prototypes of Packaging

Due to my packaging container is based on storing hot Chinese food, it is important to keep the food hot. With the 3D printer that I have own, it is unfortunately that I cannot build big containers. Despite this I can only make small sizes (prototypes) so this size container will be for starters e.g. Spring rolls, pork ribs and so on. 

For the plastic I will use the 3D printer plastic to create the structure of the container and for the paper it will be the cover of the container. This cover will contain the logo of the takeaway and the same colour schemes. This Paper cover can then be removed so the paper can be recycle and the container can be redesigned or used in whatever way the consumer wishes to do with it. 

Type of Plastic
The type of plastic that I am currently using for the 3D printer. This plastic is called ABS - Moisture laden ABS will tend to bubble and spurt from the tip of the nozzle when printing; reducing the visual quality of the part, part accuracy, strength and introducing the risk of a stripping or clogging in the nozzle. ABS can be easily dried using a source of hot (preferably dry) air such as a food dehydrator.

ABS as a polymer can take many forms and can be engineered to have many properties. In general, it is a strong plastic with mild flexibility (compared to PLA). Natural ABS before colorants have been added is a soft milky beige. The flexibility of ABS makes creating interlocking pieces or pin connected pieces easier to work with. It is easily sanded and machined. Notably, ABS is soluble in Acetone allowing one to weld parts together with a drop or two, or smooth and create high gloss by brushing or dipping full pieces in Acetone. Compared to PLA, it is much easier to recycle ABS.

Its strength, flexibility, machinability, and higher temperature resistance make it often a preferred plastic by engineers and those with mechanical uses in mind.
Type of Paper
The type of paper I will be using to design the cover for the plastic container will be a strong get glossy paper. So the food will be able to not stain the packaging, however this might be difficult for the consumer to clean. With the paper material when in contact with water the paper will break down. 

Therefore I will use plastic as the structure of the takeaway containers. 


Below are some examples of the prototypes: 

Trial and error - The shape of my takeaway packaging is inspired by a pencil box. The images below show the prototype of the container. The overall box was very simple and easy to create on the 3D printer, however I had difficulty when measuring the lid of the box. Some where too thick, small, wide, thin and so on. Some lids started to melted too much due to the surface was not holding it well. I was not able to measure it well, until the 6th trial finally worked. 

This was very time consuming and hard do to. I am use to do simple 3D designs, so this is why this particular box shape was quite challenging.

I also did some paper prototype from my packaging booklet. I used cartridge paper to test this, the structure from all templates all were easy to construct. However for the type of food that that I am designing for paper would not be an appropriate material to use. 

Especially when the brief mentions that the packaging should be able to have a second hand use when passed down to the consumer.