Material Research

This is my design for my Lighting Project and as it is for people with autism, I wanted to have the top bung shaped part removable. The idea was to have this as a stress ball type material with phosphorescent pigment in. This would allow it to be squeezed but also glow after being exposed to light.

Inside factory-made stress balls is gel or foam. Many contain a special type of foam rubber known as closed-cell polyurethane foam rubber, according to the Quality Logo Products article library. Covering the stress balls with a durable material designed to endure a lot of handling comes next.

This sounded promising for my design, however looking further into the foam, you cannot create a transparent or nearly transparent appearance which means that the phosphorescent pigment wouldn't show up as much as I would like. Therefore I had to look into alternative materials and I thought instantly about plastic squeezy bottles. From further research I found that these are made from Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE).

Low Density Polyethylene - (LDPE Plastic Bottles & Containers)

Is comparable to HDPE in composition but more translucent. It is generally less rigid and chemically resistant than HDPE. Being a softer material, LDPE can be used for squeeze plastic bottles and other flexible applications like plastic film and grocery bags. LDPE is also used in the manufacturing of some flexible lids and bottles, as well as in wire and cable applications. LDPE is significantly more costly than HDPE. LDPE plastic is also commonly recycled mostly from commercial sources like businesses that generate shrink-wrap, as well as many agricultural endeavors. Plastic shopping bags, which are made from LDPE, are frequently collected by grocery and drug stores for recycling. Includes Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE).

From this research I can see that using LDPE would be a good choice for the bung piece because it will retain the shape I want and still have the stress ball squeezing ability that I require. The appearance of the plastic also makes it suitable as I will be able to add the phosphorescent pigment to the material.