Vacuum forming newbie

Shangti · May 29, 2014

Hi guys, I am just embarking on the 'making it' journey and have a few question, which I hope some of you can help with.

I am about to make my own vacuum former, no problem with the build. I am however having a few problems getting my head around the types of plastics and which to use. The ideal plastic would be cheap and hardy.
I am looking at clay sculpting and peping masks then forming one of each for comparison. I would like something that can stand up to a bit of abuse but doesn't need be indestructible. Thickness wise I know you are likely to lose more detail the thicker it gets, so anyone rule of thumb for that?

Next is suppliers in the UK, I have been looking around most of the morning but not finding lots of useful stuff. Found some suppliers at around £0.70 a sheet (think its 1.5mm thickness). Any recommendations?

thanks

clonesix · May 29, 2014

High Impact Styrene (HIPS) is very forgiving and works well with most application.

swgeek · May 29, 2014

Styrene, abs and petg all vacform well.

zorg · May 29, 2014

I get my big sheets from Stephen Webster plastics

They have most kinds you could need.

-z

clonesix · May 29, 2014

The ability to use one material or another largely depends on your heat source and tempature control. If you can addust your heater to a very specifc temperature range, you can use multiple materials.

As mentioned previously, I recommend HIPS, as it is the most forgiving. ABS is more durable, but very unforgiving of temperatures outside its narrow heat zone.

I don't know what your plan is, but temperature control is a consideration.

Shangti · May 30, 2014

Wow thanks for the help guys, I will look into HIPS for now. It was going to oven bake or if needed quartz style heaters to keep price down for now.

Duncanator · May 30, 2014

Welcome to the world of vacuum forming! Its a great way to make plastic parts quickly.
Be sure that your patterns are strong though. A hollow pepakura pattern may get crushed unless it's been reinforced.

leviathanworksh · May 30, 2014

Check out the 4d model shop page. They sell all kinds of plastic at different thicknesses. They also list which of theres can be vac formed. There also really friendly!

WebHead101 · May 31, 2014

Hi I saw this thread and if you don't mind me asking on your thread? Dose anyone know a way that I could bond two vaccuformable materials together such as a tiny hexagonal pattern with a clear plastic sheet? Or would I be able to add the hexagonal pattern to another material so I would be able to vaccuform it? Also what would I use to do so? Thanks!

Aaron.

zorg · Jun 1, 2014

leviathanworksh said:
Check out the 4d model shop page. They sell all kinds of plastic at different thicknesses. They also list which of theres can be vac formed. There also really friendly!

from experience 4d are not cheap.

the company i mentioned above are the best value around imho.

NormanF · Jun 4, 2014

Shangti said:
I am looking at clay sculpting and peping masks then forming one of each for comparison.

Just to be clear, are you saying you want to make a vacuum mold of a clay sculpture?

Sent from my Etch A Sketch.

Shangti · Jun 5, 2014

NormanF said:
Just to be clear, are you saying you want to make a vacuum mold of a clay sculpture?

Sent from my Etch A Sketch.

I had originally thought about doing that but after some more research I figure won't work. After more research it's make clay sculpt, then make negative mould, cast a positive in plaster then vac form? Otherwise it will be a pep model fibre glassed and body filler (then braced underneath with something, or do you think it will be tough enough?). I figure both these options would be suitable for making simple models, armour pieces, etc.

I had had originally wondered about making a simple generic mask that I would be able to mass produce by vac forming. This would and then make it really easy to customise for different events.

Albertese · Jun 5, 2014

Yeah, the buck has to be tough. You can figure that the atmospheric pressure is around 14 psi. So, something small, like, say, a jet-fighter canopy, which might just be a few square inches, is going to have to hold up under essentially 40 to 50 pounds of pressure. But this goes up as a function of area, so a costume piece, like a mask, say, 6 inches by 8 inches, will have to be tough enough to stand up to almost 700 pounds, in total.

--Alex

renaissance_man · Jun 5, 2014

leviathanworksh said:
Check out the 4d model shop page. They sell all kinds of plastic at different thicknesses. They also list which of theres can be vac formed. There also really friendly!

I have also bought from the 4D model shop many times, they have LOADS of really good building materials and a big range of various thickness Styrene.
Good luck with your project.

Shangti · Jun 9, 2014

Thanks guys! I'll check those sites again and order material. Almost finished vacuum former now so heres to forming in the week!

JFB64 · Jun 9, 2014

Would love to see some pictures of your machine.

Joe

Duncanator · Jun 9, 2014

You can vacform over water clay. I've done it many times. Good for quick patterns for one-offs. The details end up soft unless you let it dry and harden, but if you are in a hurry, wet works, If the clay remains wet, you can resculpt it to make another part too!

Don't use oil based clays as the heat will melt the clay.

made007 · Jun 9, 2014

This is mine

Heating the petg 1/32" thick, you have to close the box not like here that has one side free, like that the heat escapes

Success!
a good one out of 6 sheets
it was my first time, i just built the vacuum machine like 4 days ago with dads help

And after failing so many times, i went to youtube and found this one, shouldhave seen this first
Vacuum forming...failures and success! - YouTube

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