#HTE

Anyone Know How This Was Made?

This week we bring you our pressing topic of the moment straight from our reader-controlled discussion boards! This is technical conundrum asked of the Core77 discussion board audience last year and is still in need of some confirmation. Core77-er Mitso asks:

“Hi guys. Was looking through Lapka’s website after reading about the the Air bnb buyout. I really like this "splatter” look of this product which reminds me of the finishes found on enamel camping mugs. Does anyone know what process is being used here? Thanks in advance!“

The Lapka Breathalyzer listed above is purportedly made from ceramic, so the answers thus far as to how the splatter effect was created have been inconclusive—can’t be injection molding. Is it splatter painting? User ralphzoontjens puts up a pretty solid theory, although this applies to creating a similar product from plastic: 

"It looks like flakes of a material with higher melting point and cohesion value than the base plastic would be injected together. Alternatively small beads could be splattered onto the mold surface, or it could be In-Mold-Labeling but those methods would be more labor-intensive. Also looking at different Bose Freestyle earbuds which have the same effect applied to them, they appear to all be different so I think it’s a simple mixing of different plastic flakes into the IM machine. It’s a cool effect so if anyone knows a manufacturer that does this, that would be great!”

Does anyone have firsthand experience finishing a surface like this? How does achieving this visual effect differ across different materials? Also, have you found any manufacturers that specialize in finishing processes like this? Contribute in the comment feed below and help get the conversation going.

(Also feel free to check out the original post and contribute on our discussion board!)