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www.TK560.com Vacuum Forming, Movie Prop, Sci-fi and GIjOE Forum
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chevyv8
Joined: 19 Feb 2014 Posts: 1
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:16 am Post subject: 1st post need help sizing lexan |
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Good morning everyone, ive been lurking around here for a while reading up on many things. Im going to try my luck at vacuum forming at home with all scratch bulit items. Im starting out big though which may be a downfall for me. I am in the process of finishing my form to vacuum over.
I want to use lexan as it has the properties I need as far as being impact resistant. The size of the shape is 35" long, 18" wide, 12" tall. Big - as i said.
What size sheet of lexan in thickness and dimension will work to cover this. I would like to have a minimum thickness of .040 when finally stretched over. If the top is .080 or .093 and the sides are .040, im ok with that its no big deal. Even if the sides get down to slightly below .040 id be ok with.
Thanks for any help everybody |
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crashmann Guru
Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 501
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Hi ChevyV8, and welcome to the forum!
A general rule of thumb is that however tall your buck is, you would want that much space around it. With a 12" height, that would be an enormous amount of plastic around your form!
But, it also depends on your shape. If you've got a more organic shape, with nice flowing curves that gently slope down towards the platen, then you don't need as much material around the outside.
However, if you've got a more boxy style shape, with sharp angles and a steep draft on the sides, then you will need more plastic material around your form.
I found forming Lexan to be very difficult. I may not have had the patience to let it heat up gradually (dwell time), and probably applied too much heat resulting in bubbles in the plastic. I also found that the Lexan cooled off very quickly, resulting in poor detail, or not sealing around my buck all the way. You'll want to practice with HIPS or ABS before moving on to the more expensive, and cantankerous Lexan.
Charlie |
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