Is it possible to do vacuum forming on my own? I'm not talking about forming thick pieces of plexi, but I would like to be able to create molds out of plastic that I can fill with e.g. resin afterwards. I've seen this technique being used on several TV shows (like "Rides" on discovery), and the principle doesn't seem that hard; you have a soft piece of plastic, put it in a frame over the object you want to make a copy of, then you remove all the air from inside the frame and let the plastic harden. Anyone tried this at home?
hmm doestn seem hard but i think i saw it done on myth busters once when they tried to make a car beat the radar test and the machine looks expensive
Absolutley. This is for model building but the process is identical http://starshipmodeler.com/tech/jw_vac.htm Ive found that fairly large cheap speaker cabinets from thrift stores are a good place to start to make a box. These are usually made of fairly thick wood, the better ones are made from MDF. I just covered the speaker hole and drilled the proper vacuum holes on the backside, and a hole for the shop vac hose. Brew
I did this at school once, made a shape (it was for a hand held device) out of this foam, coverd it in powder (im guessin to stop the plastic from sticking) then put it in this machine and its melts the plastic around it then u just pop it off. i guess an oven would work
If seen something about making molds for making stuff in resin. It was in some modelling magazine. But It seemed very complicated. But didn't recquire any heat source I think. I'll check on that. Before I forget, the article on that was in french, so it will take me while to translate some of it (might not make any sens).
i found this site rather informative on the subject....especialy about the difrent types of plastics you can use and their propertys link i found it in another thread a lil while back cant remeber witch one though i dont see any reason you couldnt use them as molds and it dosent seem al to expensive to buils a rudimentry and functional vacum table they seem rather simple imma thinkin of givein it a go myself and make a new mouse caseing and k/b caseing mabey
any one know where I can get information on resin casting. I've been sorta wanting to cast say a new sidepanel for a clear pc case
A friend of mine is an engineer and he and I have talked several times about making one of these. Seems like the most difficult part is perforating the work surface and fitting valves to all of them he said it could be as simple as ball bearings on springs but still a lot of monotonous work. He also brought up something new, thermal forming which is basically the same principal but adding hot air to the situation and expanding the types of materials you can use.
great articles on every aspect of negative mold which could be pertinent http://www.smooth-on.com/howtomakemolds.htm
I'll be making one soon myself - i'll throw a guide up once im done. I'll probably end up using one way valves and compressed air, rather than a vaccum cleaner however
i started this thread http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=71903 about it, but it kindof died.
I've been doing research on this for awhile now. I'm gonna make my own vacuum forming table. I almost have everything I need. I found acouple guides on the net. (Don't remember where.) I'll post the liks when I find them. Yeah that's called cold cast molding. You make a mold and poor in a two part liquid resin and let it cool. It's usually used to make models. Comes in clear and white/beige. Alittle expensive though. About $70-$150 a gallon kit.