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Katachi · Newbie Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Madison, WI

Wow, there's a lot of info on thermalforming here! I've been wanting to make a table for a couple years now, but since I stay away from making armor, I don't really have many uses for one. I spent a few weeks studying every speck of info on vacuum forming tables you guys put together and ran across some posts on non-forming issues I thought I could add some input on, so I thought I'd join. I specialize mostly in polyurethane rubber 1 and 2 part molds with keyways and pour holes, and last year I started studying fiberglass techniques more in-depth.

I've been making props myself and friends for about 4 years now, studying techniques and applications more than actually making, since this is an EXPENSIVE hobby when your whole paycheck goes to bills. :p I used to install car electronics full time and learned quite a bit about working with MDF and fiberglassing techniques from my job. I've also researched other non prop-making fiberglass/resin applications such as surfboard/snowboard fabrication and taxidermy. The more I see, the less I think I need a vacuform table. Smile

Next paycheck's going towards getting a gelcoat spray gun, building a largeish Smooth On Brush On 50 2 part mold with fiberglass mother mold, and seeing how thick it is and how much detail it picks up. I mean, if you can make a blaster rifle out of a thin coat of gelcoat, and one layer of 2 oz mat/resin, why waste all the money on a heavy solid resin blaster? Very Happy

jegner · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:49 am Post subject:

Welcome to the board.

Sounds like you have some great knowledge. Would love to see some of your projects.

As for needing a vacuum form table... well, everyone NEEDS one! LOL.

Jim

Katachi · Newbie Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Madison, WI

jegner · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject:

Very nice! Any more pics?

Tell us about your hot wire table.

Stomper · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:41 pm Post subject:

Awesome stuff! Welcome to the forums.... be sure to post more photos of your work!! I'm wanting to break more into casting things in rubber rather than resin, and I'm still experimenting with some polyurethane rubber I got off eBay... what have you found to be the best stuff to use (that forms in black) and where do you get it?
_________________
Tony Krewson
FEAR... is not my god!!

TK 109 · Guru Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio

hey, nice work!!

welcome to the board, man!
Very Happy

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-Alex

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Katachi · Newbie Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Madison, WI

Oh crap, sorry for the month long delay! Winter is "how the hell am I gonna get all this spraypaint and fiberglass work done when it's -9 outside and 10 degrees in the garage???" season. (I'll show you the answer for that in a bit)

NiChrome styrene cutting tools:

The sheet ripper is just a MDF shelf with two screws in it, and 26ga NiChrome wire wound around one screw and pulled tight on the other. It's a bit tricky to get it to cut even, since you have to push the sheet of styrene through at a constant speed. Also, you have to wind it tight while it's got current running through it because it loses tension and flexes when it's hot. You don't get a completely smooth surface, but if you have a 1/2" sheet and you need a 1/4" sheet with one smooth side, you run it through and pick whichever half came out the best.

The hotwire table is just a router table I picked up at Goodwill for 9 bucks. :p The silver [ shaped piece is aluminum stock. The NiChrome wire is attached to the lower end of the bracket, run through the hole in the middle of the table, and attached to a 1/4" diameter ring with rests on top of a grove in the top of the aluminum arm. I did this instead of attaching the wire at both ends so I could cut the insides of circles if I needed to. You just pop the ring off the top of the arm, run it through the styrene, put the ring back on the arm and turn on the power supply. The power supply is a variable voltage/current ps I picked up from the university's engineering dept surplus, and goes up to I think 1amp. Variable current's nice because you can dial it down to a lower heat and do fine detail, or turn it up to cut through straight lines faster. If you have it on a high current setting, the heat literally melts all the styrene within a 1/10" radius of the wire if you let it sit.

I have a whole roll of this 26ga NiChrome wire that I haven't touched for like 2 years now. I used to use about 16"-24" lengths to replace the ones on my tools, but I haven't cut any thing with them lately so if anyone wants me to mail them out a couple feet to play with, let me know!

As far as black urethane rubbers, I have no idea. I stick to either Smooth-On PMC-121/30 Polyurethane, which is an amber color, or Smooth-On Brush On 40, which is a pancake batter color, but can be tinted. I would recommend calling Smooth On and requesting samples of their polyurethanes. They send you a chain with a cured sample "disc" of each of them with the name and shore hardness on it. I have one for resins and one for rubbers.

Katachi · Newbie Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 17 Location: Madison, WI

If anyone had any doubts about ordering their NiChrome wire over the internets from http://www.infraredheaters.com/nicrcoil.htm , don't worry. I ordered mine on Monday and it arrived Wednesday. The only thing I noticed was that when I ordered mine, the inventory count was 46 and today it's 23. I don't know how many they keep in stock, but hopefully they don't run out on a regular basis.

Also, the spool of NiChrome I have isn't 26ga like I originally thought, it's 22. Just like the coil. I could have made my own 1/4" dia coils and saved some money Sad