What Is a Tumbler and How Does It Work?
Tumbler is a container designed to maintain the temperature of liquids over time. The purpose of the tumbler is keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, usually is 4 to 6 hours.
How dose it work?
The key is the vacuum insulation layer.
Between the inner and outer stainless steel walls is a sealed vacuum — a space with no air. Since both conduction and convection needs air to transfer heat, this vacuum layer effectively blocks the heat transfers. As a result, the tumblers can keep hot or cold.
Therefore, proper sealing workmanship is key to the tumbler performance
How to Ensure the Vacuum Layer is Properly Done
Manual Testing Is Still Common in the Industry
Many manufacturers still use manual vacuum checks: heating the inside and feeling the outside for warmth. If the outer wall gets hot, the vacuum may be compromised.
While this method is widely used, it comes with limitations:
Subjective: Results depend on human touch and experience, environment temp can affect the result
Inefficiency: Takes time to heat and check each unit
Inconsistent: Hard to apply to large batches efficiently
Recommended Method: Automated Thermal Imaging
In the industry, we recommend using automated systems with infrared sensors and machine vision to test insulation more accurately and efficiently.
How it works:
Tumblers are heated in a controlled environment
Infrared scanners detect temperature across the surface
A thermal map highlights any heat leakage
Why it matters:
No contact, no human error
Data points scanned instantly
Fast, accurate, and scalable for large orders
This approach offers better consistency and helps identify insulation issues accuracy and efficiency — especially in high-volume manufacturing environments.
