| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:03 pm Post subject: Building Prices/ Advice |
 |
|
Hey im building a simple vauform machine with out the attatched oven just heating it in the kitchen oven with good ventalation lol. And i was wondering how much will geting the supplies cost. Also i was wondering the best way to set up the vacuum I saw on yours Jim you had abunch of holes an was wondering how hard that would be or would i get a goo vacuum by just cutting a big hole for the shop vac hose in the middle but im worried about the corners not getting enough vacuum.
thanks,
Lp |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
drcrash
Guru
Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 705
Location: Austin, Texas
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:13 am Post subject: one-hole platen (or handful-of-holes platen) |
|
|
| Lp Zeppelin wrote: | Also i was wondering the best way to set up the vacuum I saw on yours Jim you had abunch of holes an was wondering how hard that would be or would i get a goo vacuum by just cutting a big hole for the shop vac hose in the middle but im worried about the corners not getting enough vacuum.
|
One big hole works fine if you have a few layers of aluminum window screen over most of the platen, and maybe additional thin risers (like dimes) under your molds.
There is no problem with distributing vacuum to the corners. The window screen creates a porous layer between the plastic and the platen, and a surprisingly large volume of air can flow through a thin porous layer a few inches wide.
One drawback of a one-hole platen is that you have a big hole in the middle of the board that must not be blocked. That's generally no problem for making one thing at a time, if you put the mold over the hole on window screen or spacers.
If you put two molds on either side of the hole, and don't have window screen, the plastic can suck right into the hole and seal it, and may blow out (tear). If you do have window screen, it'll get bent down into the hole. So you must have one mold or (some rigid flat thing on spacers) over the hole to keep it working.
I recently figured out a way to solve that problem. Instead of making one big hole, just drill a about dozen holes in a circle (and inside the circle) over where you'll attach the flange. For a kitchen oven-sized vacuum former, 8 holes 1/4" in diameter will be plenty. For a 2 x 2 foot former, you'll want a few more holes.
That doesn't make a it a many-hole platen that automatically distributes vacuum all over the board. You still need window screen to make a porous layer so that air can flow to those holes.
What it does do is remove the need to put a mold or something directly over the hole(s) to keep the plastic from sucking down into the hole.
If you start with a one-hole platen (or dozen-hole) platen, and later decide you want a many-hole platen, you can use your one-hole platen as the bottom layer of the sandwich for a many-hole platen.
I wouldn't be in a hurry to make a many hole platen.
Lately I've decided I *do* want a many-hole platen, for certain purposes, but thinking about those purposes has made me re-think how to make a many hole platen.
The big advantage of a many-hole platen is for situations where you want to use the platen as part of the mold.
For example, for making 3D signs, you may want to arrange some letter molds on a platen to spell something out, vacuum form over that, and that's your sign---a flat sheet where it meets the platen, with raised letters.
If the holes in your platen are too big, they'll show in your sign, because you'll get dimples where the plastic sucks into them a little bit. So when you really need a many-hole platen, you need one with a whole lot of tiny holes. If your holes aren't smaller than the granularity of window screen, you may be better off distributing the vacuum with layers of window screen than trying to drill 1000 tiny holes.
If the plastic is very thin, the window screen pattern may show through a little bit. (I may experiment with putting a layer of felt over the window screen to reduce that.)
_________________
Paul (a.k.a. Dr. Crash)
Tired of buying cheap plastic crap? Now you can make your own! www.VacuumFormerPlans.com |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks man for thae advice i'll try some of that stuff. I got my materials yesterday and construction starts today i cant wait till its done.
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jegner
Site Admin
Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 2144
Location: Texas, USA
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The good Doctor is right about the single hole option. The multi-hole platen is great if you plan to make a bunch of pulls, a lot less fussing with the molds, placement, etc. Not sure how to secure the window screen down with the single hole option.
Another option is the peg board model. Where the holes are already drilled, you just make a shallow box below the pegbord to act as a cavity, and you are good to go.
The biggest issue is with the kitchen oven, IMHO. The wife would not let me use hers, so I looked at a used one. I can find them ok, but... The interior size was not as large as I wanted. I either had to leave the door oven open, and use a heat gun to get the door side hot, or I had to scale down my holding frames to fit in the oven. I have since given away that machine, and built my own TJ model. But for smaller projects, the kitchen oven works great. Cheap too!
Jim |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
thanks hey on jims has the holed aluminum sheet does that matter what metal cause i found some tin ones. thanks for all the help. 
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 6:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
All right I followed the instructions the the site and did your guys advice and im pretty much done with it but i cant get any suction on the sheet metall i will try to post pictures later but i drilled like 12 holes where the vacuum attatches and i put a 1/8 inch spacer between the two mdf boards and drilled abunch of holes throutgh the top board and the metal sheet on it and im not getting any power it couldn't even hold a plastic grocery bag down i've got it hooked up to a 3 HP Shop Vac. thanks
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CJanssen
Expert
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 215
Location: Beaverton OR
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Pictures would be worth a thousand words....ya, i stole that saying. 
| Quote: | | i drilled like 12 holes where the vacuum attatches and i put a 1/8 inch spacer between the two mdf boards and drilled abunch of holes throutgh the top board and the metal sheet on it |
Do you have holes in both pieces of mdf? ( this is like the "leg bone connected to the shin bone rhyme" ) You should have your vacuum attachment hole on the bottom piece, sealed to spacers, sealed to top piece of mdf, sealed to metal . So the only place the vacuum can suck air is through the 12 holes you have in the top.
I type that and it makes sense to me, I read it and I am like.....wha?? 
Check out:
http://www.tk560.com/vactable4.html
CJ
_________________
"What, you think your some kind of Jedi?" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
im gonna post pics in like 30 min so check back
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:14 pm Post subject: Pics |
|
|
Hope these help[/img]
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CJanssen
Expert
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 215
Location: Beaverton OR
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I would say that you need to:
1. seal the connection between your vac hose and mdf
2. Along with the 1/8" spacer around the edge of your mdf, add a few spacers towards the inside to keep an air gap there as well as the edges.
3. Seal the top layer to the bottom ( I screwed them together after running a bead of silicone around the edge)
With everything sealed you should have vacuum through your holes.
CJ
P.s.
that shopvac does work, doesnt it???
_________________
"What, you think your some kind of Jedi?" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
yup its just old and ya i was waithing for you to suggest stuff before i glued and screwed it all together. so what do you mean add more spacing from the 1/8 inch im kina confused
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CJanssen
Expert
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 215
Location: Beaverton OR
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Here is a pic from Jims tutorial showing his spacers between sheets of mdf, notice the spacer around the edge and also the spacers in the middle.
CJ
p.s.
I hope this photo isnt copywrited or I am in deep Bantha poo
_________________
"What, you think your some kind of Jedi?" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
lol Bantha fodder Ya my dad explained it to me and i glued it all together and put four little spacers in there i hope thats enough thanks cj for the tips and thanks jim for the great tutorial videos and guides so im gonna go shower and test it after I hope it works Im keeping my fingers crossed lol
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CJanssen
Expert
Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 215
Location: Beaverton OR
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
My fingers were sore from being crossed during my table build....
It all works out, there are plenty of us here that can attest to that.
CJ
_________________
"What, you think your some kind of Jedi?" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lp Zeppelin
Newbie
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Parker, Co
|
| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Gosh all this help is priceless and everyone is so helpful
Thanks So Much,
Lp
_________________
I wonder What lady clones look like under the mask? I wonder? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Register
