Bending plastic for helmet visor.
- Thread starter Cieszlak
- Start date
xl97
Master Member
It would.. really depends on the actual material used.
IMO... the 'trick' is even heating..
It is already a cut piece you are trying to form? Or are you cutting after?
Maybe think of a jig or 'form' you can use to bend against.. and let it cool down in/against..
There are tons of heated beds/lines...etc all over YouTube.. maybe google them to get a visual and see how they are doing it... and what you can apply to your own project.
IMO... the 'trick' is even heating..
It is already a cut piece you are trying to form? Or are you cutting after?
Maybe think of a jig or 'form' you can use to bend against.. and let it cool down in/against..
There are tons of heated beds/lines...etc all over YouTube.. maybe google them to get a visual and see how they are doing it... and what you can apply to your own project.
division 6
Master Member
A bubble would be blow formed.
You would be better off just buying a pre made one from a plastics supply company.
You would be better off just buying a pre made one from a plastics supply company.
depending on the visor dimension's your looking for, check out motorcycle stores near you, there are also super "cheap" alternatives like plastic fish bowl's, party punch bowl's and even cake plates with clear plastic cover's. It's just how far do you wanna go bud!!
Temperance
Well-Known Member
You can't bend acrylic plexiglass manually, the easiest plastic to bend manually would be a thin PETG plastic. It comes in clear, but you can dye it with idye poly in a basic dye bath if you need a tinted look. Heat the plastic evenly with a heat gun and use your hands to bend, or bend over a curved shape and hold until the plastic cools
I did that with my Dredd helmet. It really only works if you need a simple one-way bend or curve. IF you need a dome shape you will need to Vacuum form or use an alternative plastic like a dollar store clear bowl or something.
I did that with my Dredd helmet. It really only works if you need a simple one-way bend or curve. IF you need a dome shape you will need to Vacuum form or use an alternative plastic like a dollar store clear bowl or something.
uh yeah you can "bend" and form plexy glass. I did it for my red planet AMEE robot face plate using a custom made wood buck and a heat gun. nice dredd picture also... 
division 6
Master Member
I spent 7 years making acrylic aquariums.
We had a heat bar set up for bending it with 2 to 8 straight bends for making square cubes up to octagons.
We went up to 1/2" thick.
Bubbles where blow formed meaning that the heated acrylic was placed over a table with an hose attached to a compressor and a circle template was clamped in top, then the air was slowly released until the desired height was reached.
Vacforming a bubble will leave artifacts like lines in the surface from temp changes as it's drawn down and from any dust on the buck.
You will also get distortions in the surface making viewing difficult.
We had a heat bar set up for bending it with 2 to 8 straight bends for making square cubes up to octagons.
We went up to 1/2" thick.
Bubbles where blow formed meaning that the heated acrylic was placed over a table with an hose attached to a compressor and a circle template was clamped in top, then the air was slowly released until the desired height was reached.
Vacforming a bubble will leave artifacts like lines in the surface from temp changes as it's drawn down and from any dust on the buck.
You will also get distortions in the surface making viewing difficult.
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division 6
Master Member
For vacforming something like a x-wing helmet visor with several angles then as mentioned petg would work.
Cieszlak
New Member
I am wanting something that will work for an astronaut helmet.
