www.TK560.com

[Jeanne]

Hi all

What a great blog!

I'm currently in the Interior Design and Architecture business and need info on the thermoforming/folding of perspex/plexiglass.

I've designed 2 newspaper stands for a well-known South African hotel group and need to have it manufactured.

I would like to explore the possibility of building my own machine to do the job, but I have no know-how in this matter! I'm sure all of you would be able to assist. Is this something that I will be able to do by myself? Are there plans available for this sort of thing?

I'm not sure how/if I may post pics or details of my design on this blog? Am I allowed to email it directly to you guys?

Please advise - I'm still learning.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Kind regards

Jeanne

[Culvan]

[jdougn]

As flattering as it is to for someone to consider me an author I have to pass on that one!

Culvan listed the Thurston James book. The TK560 administrator, Jegner, has written a short guide that's available too. If you're serious about building your own machine, consider plans by Doug Walsh available at http://build-stuff.com/.

However, I've personally found that this is not a particularly easy hobby. The learning curve of building a machine, learning to make molds, and proficiently forming plastic can be steep & expensive. I would suggest locating a vacuum former in SA to see what the costs would be. A quick google search turned up this web page:
http://www.hotfrog.co.za/Products/Vacuum-Forming

Jeanne, if you decide to do this yourself we'll be glad to help out as much as we can!

hope this helps,
DougN
_________________
DougN - Just in case you're wondering, I got my "rating" legitimately... by posting aimless drivel, useless advice, and pointless questions.

[Culvan]

Jim Enger, the forum admin has published instructions. I should have gone and looked up the thread the first time: http://www.tk560.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1274

There are many plans available. There are a lot of designs in this forum although they aren't intended as instructions.

I would echo what Doug said, if this is something where you only plan to make one or two units then it economically makes sense to find a professional to do it for you. If this is something that you really WANT to do yourself then this is a good location to pick up tips and tricks to help you along. Vacuumforming is a good technology for making a lot of the same thing. If you are only looking for a single object then resin, or fiberglass might be something to consider. Although those require their own skills.

Andy

[spektr]

I've done a lot of this stuff. I see that you are an artist. I would encourage you to do what you are good at, and design. Perspex/Plexiglass/PMMA is not the simplest material to form. It is Hygroscopic and likes to be dryed before forming. It requires machinery a bit beyond the hobbyists grade of machine. Tooling is also a bit more difficult to make since the forming temp is higher than most modelers/home users would be comfortable with. It is also succeptable to residual stresses and must be made with this in mind.

I'd really work hard on finding a local shop to help you. Your biggest hidden costs will be setup and shipping. Material is pretty much commodity priced and in a competitive market the forming prices should be somewhat similar.

Hope that helps.

Scott

[jegner]

Welcome to the board! Interesting project. I encourage you to try and make your own machine, it's not that hard, and as a designer, you will find all sorts of applications for it's use, beyond just the newspaper stand.