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Jeanne
Joined: 10 Feb 2010 Posts: 1
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:45 am Post subject: THE NEW GIRL FROM SOUTH AFRICA - perspex thermoforming |
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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 |
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Culvan Novice
Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 85 Location: Kansas City, MO
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 3:34 am Post subject: Re: THE NEW GIRL FROM SOUTH AFRICA - perspex thermoforming |
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Jeanne wrote: | Hi all
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?
Jeanne |
Welcome, You'll find a lot of expertise and freindly people here.
Yes there are plans available. I personally followed instructions from "The Prop builder's Molding & Casting Handbook" by Thurston James. There were some gaps in that and I was able to fill them in with instructions here:http://www.tk560.com/vactable4.html.
I believe our own Jdougn has published instructions as well. He's very active on here so you should be able to get your questions answered by an expert on those plans.
When I need to post pictures I upload them to http://photobucket.com/. You can make an account there for free. they provide "direct links" that you can copy and paste when you post here. If you highlight what you pasted then click the Img button it should show up when you preview or submit the post.
Andy[/url] |
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jdougn Guru
Joined: 18 Mar 2009 Posts: 714 Location: Louisville KY area
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 8:42 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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Culvan Novice
Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 85 Location: Kansas City, MO
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:52 am Post subject: |
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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 |
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spektr Master
Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 425
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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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 |
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jegner Site Admin
Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 2144 Location: Texas, USA
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:03 am Post subject: |
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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. |
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