Anyone set up with a vacuform machien that can help with this?

[jvasilatos]

I'm restoring a Battlestar Galactica Viper pilot helmet, and when I was trying to remove the light bars, they were very brittle and cracked. They were made of a very thin frosted vacuformed plastic. I found a source on another set of light bars through the RPF, but when I received them, I discovered they were solid and clear, they were not they were not vacuformed shells. The LEDs from the helmet will not work with them... they need a vacuformed shell like the original damaged light bars to fit inside of when I put the helmet back together after repainting..

I was able to find a frosted very thin plastic sheet at a local plastic supplier, and figured if I could find someone with a vacuform machine, I could see if they could use my frosted plastic sheet and the solid light bars to create new light bar shells. Does that make sense?

Here are pictures:

Can anyone here help?

 

[CustomCreations]

can you use the solid bars as the buck for the required vacforming?
If so, and you can use a jigsaw to make a wooden frame, you could do it at home with just an oven........
let me know and Ill post the instructions.....

 

[jvasilatos]

Yeah exactly... I want to use the solid ones as the buck. I can do this at home? The vacuform setups I've seen look pretty big and require a lot of space, you think I can do this at home?

JV

 

[Jumpin Jax]

Yeah exactly... I want to use the solid ones as the buck. I can do this at home? The vacuform setups I've seen look pretty big and require a lot of space, you think I can do this at home?

JV

I'd call that a BIG yes

 

[GF]

Yeah exactly... I want to use the solid ones as the buck. I can do this at home? The vacuform setups I've seen look pretty big and require a lot of space, you think I can do this at home?

JV

By using the solid one as your buck the replica piece will end up being bigger, you need to make mold or pattern from inside of your damaged hollow ones to get the same exact size when forming your new ones.

GFollano

 

[CustomCreations]

if you have enough room in the helmet to allow for the increase in size of the new piece,you could do this at home ok. (although the shape required would be easy enough out of strips of wood?)
Trace around the outside of the buck.
Get the buck ready by then double side tapeing it to a nice firm flat surface.
now, get your trace.
measure the thickness of sheet material you are going to use to form with.
'thicken' the tracing , all around all the edge, with this mesurement.
Ie, if it was 20mm, and you are using 2mm sheet, then the final thickness should measure 24mm.
Add a little bit extra for luck, making it, say 25-26 mm 'thick'
transfer this outline to a 15mm sheet of wood (mdf in the uk :rolleyes)
Cut it out so the 'hole' of the shape is in the middle.
When you place this cut out panel over the buck, it should sit nicely with even gaps all around?
heat the sheet material up in the oven, Be carefull with what you put the sheet on- dont want it to stick, of pick up grill marks !bare in mind smells, gas, etc please.... prob set the oven at around 120 deg.C
keep everything really near the oven .
checking regulary on the sheet, once it gets floppy, movin it really fast over the buck. helps if the sheet is over sized so you arent fiddling.
once over the buck, very quickly force the cut out panel over the sheet, and the buck.
you should be able to press and hold the shape without a vacuum assisting?

 

[jackdoud]

You don't even have to go as big as a conventional oven. I've got a small setup that uses a toaster oven. I've seen others that just use a hotplate and some tupperware. Pics of mine are on my website here: http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/jdoud/vacctable.html