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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:03 am Post subject: Plastic sheets for vacuum forming Europe |
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Hi guys...
Anybody knows a place online in Europe to get plastic sheets for vacuum forming?
Don't really know what to look for.... _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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andy Community Guide
Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 6237 Location: Rochester, NY
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Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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If there are any hobby/train/rc shops near you they should know and probably have what you need. Sheet Styrene is what I am used to using, but there is probably a lot of new stuff out there now that will work better for what you need.
Andy |
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Pro Mod Community Member
Joined: 13 Aug 2010 Posts: 108 Location: Manchester, England
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:28 am Post subject: |
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This is a UK supplier of vacuum forming materials.
http://stephen-webster.co.uk/
I've been buying from them for more than fifteen years for my modelmaking business and they've always been very reliable.
Phil |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:50 am Post subject: |
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Great! Thanks for the link.... I've been looking and looking and looking, but apparently vacuum forming sheets for hobbyists don't exist in Denmark _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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joberg Community Member
Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 9447
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know what kind of plastic they used...maybe ABS: resistant for sure, got have a good suction on your vac-form machine.
Regular plastic has a tendency to crack over time, specially if the stretching was pushing the limit. You'll have your work cut-out for you in term of buck. If you want to reproduce the entire top + the sides (as it is in the pics) in one form, you'll have to pierce holes in your screen to make sure the ABS stretches correctly. |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:50 am Post subject: |
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I'm planning to vacuum form some transparent screen covers to replicate the vintage screen look... and the bellows... Think I'll try different materials.... Problem with the bellows is the motion, it'll wear on the material for sure...
Planning on making af glas fiber body for the entire machine _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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joberg Community Member
Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 9447
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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Ooohh Anders, fiberglass heavy but quite restistant over time.
Bellows are another story. Don't worry about the wear and tear (vacu-form them in black if possible ) unless you're counting on doing V.K. tests every day, I wouldn't worry |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 1:38 am Post subject: |
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There's a method I read about, where you build a basic shape in foam and then apply thin layers of glass fiber... And then you basically melt the foam core away with acetone and get a hollow shell. Don't know if it'll work...
Thanks for the tip on the bellows, planning on using black sheets for that _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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joberg Community Member
Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 9447
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 8:01 am Post subject: |
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Yep, that method works well (specially for cars and such). Blue insulating foam that you've carved to the desired shape, then, layers of epoxy with the fiberglass mesh. When everything is set and dry, take the acetone and melt the foam |
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Pro Mod Community Member
Joined: 13 Aug 2010 Posts: 108 Location: Manchester, England
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:17 am Post subject: |
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Styrene (or HIPS as it's also known) will form easily but will age and become brittle over time if it isn't painted.
ABS is a stiffer material and depending on thickness may require more of an industrial vac former.
The good think about ABS is that it doesn’t require painting.
I don't know what equipment you have access to but I have a vacuum former if you require any formings and I know how to produce the tools as well.
The method of coating foam with fibreglass and then dissolving the foam away won't work as the fibreglass resin would also dissolve it.
You'd have to use epoxy resin with the mat for this method to work. |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:04 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice, Pro Mod
I'm building a vacuum former at the moment... But if I somehow can't get it to work properly or if the vacuum isn't strong enough, I might need some help from you
I was just watching a tutorial (in Danish) and the guy there also notes the importance of using epoxy... Luckily that's available at the DIY. _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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joberg Community Member
Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 9447
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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I did say, in my previous post, to use epoxy...not resin |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 4:32 am Post subject: |
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You did indeed, Joberg
I've been seeing quite a lot of tutorials and browsing different DIY forums... Sometimes you can't see the answer when it's just in front of you _________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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Buch Community Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2014 Posts: 1184 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 11:05 am Post subject: |
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Does any of you guys know if there's a rule of thumb as to the grit size on the vacuum former? I now have holes with 0,7" space between them.... The plate itself is 15"x10"...
_________________ Monsieur, azonnal kövessen engem bitte |
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