Do you know what bobblehead is made of?
I think most of you have customized bobbleheads as gifts for your friends and family, but have you ever wondered what materials bobbleheads are made of? Let's unveil the mystery of bobbleheads!
The bobblehead is made of soft pottery, which is a new type of kneading material, invented by a German sculptor in 1930, called FIMO, with high ductility and plasticity, and only needs to be heated at about 130℃ for 10-15 minutes to change from soft to hard, so it is also known as “low-temperature ceramic clay”, “magical clay”, “polymerized clay”.
Of course, it is not the real clay, but polyvinyl chloride to add some plasticizer and color pigment synthesis, the formula generally includes: PVC resin, softener, organic solvents, polyester, thermoplastic plastic,and calcium carbonate, according to a certain proportion of mix and become.
The synthesized soft ceramics can be baked in the oven at low temperature to obtain the envisioned shape and structure, and will not shrink or change color, and the finished product can be resurfaced, sanded, drilled, and colored (e.g., fluorescent, textured, and semi-transparent), and stored for more than two years.
Soft ceramic base material is thermoplastic PVC, supplemented by polyester, plastic, calcium carbonate, etc., of which polyester is generally used in dioctyl ester, in order to play a role in strengthening; plastic with hard section of the thermoplastic, in order to stabilize the finished product to improve the mechanical properties; filler material is mostly used in calcium carbonate.
Therefore, the soft ceramic material itself has very weak toxicity, in the normal baking temperature of 130 degrees will not produce toxic or irritating gas, but does not exceed 200 degrees.
The organic solvents used in soft ceramics are not volatile, and storage should be protected from ultraviolet rays and high heat radiation. The finished product can be washed with water and then coated with glossy wax or oil to make the surface smooth. Due to the use of organic solvents, soft pottery production can not use plastic, or wood tabletop, but should use glass, marble, ceramics, or MENAMI as a direct contact material, in the manual operation before the hands should also be applied to the hands of the lotion or hand cream, in order to form the oil layer of protective film.
