We’re in love with Teenage Engineering’s tabletop pressure former

Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering is known for designing striking collaborations, and its latest is no different. The company is partnering with Mayku, a maker of molding machines, to create the Mayku Multiplier, a desktop-sized pressure former that we want just for the aesthetics alone.

Making molds — Pressure forming, if you don’t know (we wouldn’t blame you), is really just the process of creating a mold or parts from a plastic sheet. Production objects, like bottle caps or your Apple Watch’s rubber wristband, all start from a mold. You heat up a piece of silicone rubber or other material, and then pressure forces the heated material into any shape you’d like, creating a highly-detailed 3D outline that hardens and which you’ll later pour molten material into to form a production product.

Steep price — The Mayku Multiplier allows you to do this process at home with a machine that can sit right on your countertop workstation. Mayku says this enables anyone to conduct industrial-grade manufacturing, like prototype design, right from home. You could even make not just molds but also full on parts with the Multiplier, though you can’t form metal with it. One example of a real use case offered by Mayku is producing molds for chocolate bars.

Unfortunately that convenience, paired with Teenage Engineering’s sleek design, won’t come cheap. The Multiplier is currently available for pre-order in a second run $2,499. After the units are sold out, the machine’s price will rise to a whopping $5,000. You can order a unit on Mayku’s site, and machines are expected to ship in February 2022.

Some of Teenage Engineering’s other collaborations have included a pair of wireless earbuds made with Nothing, and a set of modular Bluetooth speakers designed for Ikea. The products often feature minimalist, utilitarian-looking designs.