Narrator: PICTURES ON 3-D CUPS
HAVE DEPTH AND APPEAR TO MOVE,
DEPENDING ON THE ANGLE
YOU VIEW THEM.
IT'S A NEAT TRICK MADE POSSIBLE
BY A TECHNOLOGY
KNOWN AS LENTICULAR PRINTING.
A SHEET OF TINY PLASTIC LENSES
IS APPLIED TO INTERLACED IMAGES,
CREATING A KIND OF GRAPHIC MAGIC
TO ENTERTAIN YOU.
A 3-D CUP FOOLS THE EYE.
VIEWED FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES,
THE ARTWORK SEEMS
TO COME TO LIFE.
IT'S ALL A CAREFULLY
CRAFTED ILLUSION.
MAKING 3-D CUPS STARTS
WITH CLEAR PLASTIC PELLETS.
AN EXTRUDER MACHINE MELTS
THE PELLETS
TO A SEMI-LIQUID CONSISTENCY.
AN ENGRAVING CYLINDER FORMS IT
INTO ROWS OF TINY CONVEX LENSES.
WATER-CHILLED CYLINDERS
COOL THE SHEET OF LENSES.
THIS SOLIDIFIES THE PLASTIC,
THEN A GAUGE MEASURES
THE LENSES' THICKNESS.
A BLOWER DEVICE
DISSIPATES STATIC.
AN INK-JET PRINTER PRINTS
INFORMATION ON THE EDGE.
THIS INDICATES THE OPTICAL
RESOLUTION OF THE LENSES,
THE TYPE OF PLASTIC,
AND THE LOT NUMBER.
THEN A ROTARY BLADE
CUTS THE PLASTIC INTO SHEETS.
THE SHEETS LAND IN A NEAT STACK.
♪♪
TO CONFIRM THEIR SIZE
AND ALIGNMENT,
AN INSPECTOR VIEWS THEM AGAINST
A PITCH TEST PATTERN.
ANOTHER INSPECTOR MAGNIFIES
A SAMPLE 100 TIMES
AND MEASURES THE THICKNESS
OF THE LENSES.
TOO THIN OR THICK,
AND THE LENS DISPLAY
WON'T FOCUS.
WITH A LENS STRIP CLAMPED
AT BOTH ENDS,
THE MACHINE PULLS IT
FROM THE TOP.
HOW FAR IT STRETCHES
UNTIL IT BREAKS
IS A MEASURE OF ITS STRENGTH.
MEANWHILE, A TEAM DESIGNS
AND EDITS SCENES ON A COMPUTER.
DESIGNERS COPY THE SCENE,
DIVIDE IT INTO
VERY NARROW STRIPS,
AND THEN INTERLACE THE STRIPS.
NEXT, THE STRIPS ARE COMBINED
INTO A 2-DIMENSIONAL,
DIGITAL FILE.
DESIGNERS NOW RUN TEST COPIES
KNOWN AS PROOFS.
THIS PROCESS TESTS SHEETS
OF COLORED PLASTIC FILM
WHICH WILL SERVE AS INK.
THE TECHNICIAN LAYERS
THE COLORED FILM
IN A CARTRIDGE
WITH MUSLIN PAPER.
NEXT, THE CARTRIDGE
IS PLACED IN THE PRINTER
WHICH CREATES THE PROOFS.
THE DESIGNER TRANSFERS THEM
TO AN ILLUMINATED WORK SURFACE
AND CONFIRMS THAT THE IMAGES
LINE UP WITH THE PLASTIC LENSES.
ONCE THE PRINT PLATES ARE MADE,
AN OPERATOR LOADS THEM
INTO THE PRINTER.
A SUCTIONING ARM FEEDS THE
LENTICULAR PLASTIC SHEETS
INTO THE PRINTER,
REVERSE-SIDE UP.
IN THIS POSITION,
THE IMAGES WILL BE PRINTED
ON THE SMOOTH SIDE
OF THE PLASTIC.
ROTATING CYLINDERS TRANSFER INK
FROM THE PRINTING PLATES
TO THE SHEETS,
ONE COLOR AT A TIME.
THIS SYSTEM PRINTS SEVERAL
DIFFERENT 3-D CUP IMAGES
ON EACH LENTICULAR
PLASTIC SHEET.
THE PRESS EJECTS AND STACKS
THE PRINTED SHEETS.
THE 3-D-PRINTED SHEETS
NOW HEAD INTO A LAMINATOR.
IT APPLIES A WHITE FILM
TO THE ARTWORK.
THIS FILM WILL PROTECT
THE 3-D IMAGES
DURING THE CUP-MOLDING PROCESS.
NEXT, THE SHEETS ARE CUT
INTO CUP-SIZED LABELS,
PLACED ON AN ILLUMINATED TABLE
AND INSPECTED
FOR ANY VISUAL FLAWS.
ONCE APPROVED, THE DESIGNER
CLEARS THE THE LABELS
TO BE FORMED TO PLASTIC CUPS.
NEXT, AN OPERATOR LOADS
THE STACKS OF 3-D LABELS
INTO THE CUP-FORMING MACHINE.
THIS MACHINE WILL PROCESS
FOUR DIFFERENT LABELS
ONTO CUPS AT ONCE.
EACH WITH A DIFFERENT 3-D IMAGE.
A ROBOT WITH SUCTION GRIPPERS
PICKS UP THE LABELS
ONE AT A TIME
AND TRANSFERS THEM
TO CUP-SHAPED MANDRELS.
THE MANDREL INSERTS THE 3-D
LABEL INTO THE MOLD OF A CUP.
MOLTEN POLYPROPYLENE FLOWS
INTO THE MOLD,
AND AS IT SOLIDIFIES
AND BECOMES A CUP,
THE 3-D LABEL
FUSES TO IT TOGETHER.
ROBOTS RETRIEVE THE 3-D CUPS
AND STACK THEM ON THEIR SIDES
TO AWAIT FINAL INSPECTION.
THEN THEY'RE PACKAGED
FOR SHIPMENT.
3-D CUPS ARE NO ORDINARY
BEVERAGE CONTAINER.
RATHER, THEY'RE A FUN
VISUAL EXPERIENCE
FOR ANY TYPE OF CONSUMER.
♪♪
