I wanted to raise this thread again as it’s relevant to a project I’m working on now. I am working on a similar inflatable backpack sized product but interested in customizable complex shapes.
I’m trying to learn about the design process for inflatables and would be interested if people could share stories of how you built up the resolution of prototype from sketch to final product. I am also interested in analyzing the strength and performance of the design to minimize the number of prototype iterations when making variations of shape.
I wanted to DIY the prototype but I’ve been advised to outsource the production to make faster progress. I’m currently looking at companies (USA) but they seem to range from medical grade bellows to advertising products where I imagine the engineering reliability is less of a concern. I guess I want something in between and will contact both suppliers.
As for the suggestion of using a rotary heat sealer and PE film, how would you advise I specify the PE film for my application?