KeyShot Forum

Technical discussions => Rendering => Topic started by: ldichiara on June 06, 2018, 05:50:54 PM

Title: PET Plastic (Thermoformed Food Clamshells, for example)
Post by: ldichiara on June 06, 2018, 05:50:54 PM
Hi All -
I am trying to get a realistic PET material to render clear plastic similar to a thermoform clamshell for food or a soda bottle - but with a thinner wall thickness. Has anyone done a material to replicate this? I"ve been playing with the settings but my plastics are coming out to look much more like a polycarbonate which isn't what I am after.
There are a few materials I've found in the cloud but they too come across as being a more rigid type of plastic.

Thank you -

Lenny
Title: Re: PET Plastic (Thermoformed Food Clamshells, for example)
Post by: DriesV on June 12, 2018, 01:33:01 AM
Interesting question. :)

Let's look at the optical properties of PC and PET first:

What this means for KeyShot:

How to get started in KeyShot:
The best starting point for PET is to drag and drop the 'Plastic Polypropylene Shiny 3mm' material from the KeyShot 7 Library onto your model.
The three most important parameters are Transmission, Transparency and Cloudiness. These parameters work in unison, and changing one will impact the effect of the others.
You will probably want to drop the Cloudiness value to get a realistic PET material.

I hope that helps.
P.S. It would probably make sense to add a few PET materials to the KeyShot Library. :)

Dries
Title: Re: PET Plastic (Thermoformed Food Clamshells, for example)
Post by: DriesV on June 12, 2018, 02:47:51 AM
Here is a quick comparison between Dielectric and Cloudy Plastic using a model I found on GrabCAD (https://grabcad.com/library/flip-top-boxes-1).

Dries
Title: Re: PET Plastic (Thermoformed Food Clamshells, for example)
Post by: mattjgerard on June 12, 2018, 06:46:03 AM
That's a great explanation of the differences. I have to read up on the dielectrics, I know I could be using them more than I am, I just don't know how they work. I'm bookmarking this thread.