Interest Home Vacuum Forming device from Neon Nautilus - Make more stuff!

[Neon Nautilus]

Would you like to be able to vacuum form parts for your modelling and prop projects?

Recently I had a need to vacuum form a part for my Klingon Bird of Prey model build. Commercially available machines, even those small dental ones, were more money than I could justify for the amount of need I'm likely to have, so I came up with my own solution. It's simple, easy to use and brings a smile to my face every time I pull a new part. It's opened up a whole host of making possibilities for me, so I'd like to offer it for sale to others too.

The system consists of a vacuum box designed to be clamped in your existing workbench or vise.
Your vacuum cleaner can be attached to a port on the bottom of the box.
There is a two part frame that holds a sheet of styrene firmly in place with bulldog clips.
The styrene can then be softened with any heat gun.
Once the styrene is ready the frame is pushed down over your custom form on the vacuum box and the vacuum cleaner activated for a few seconds.

Here's a couple of videos showing me making cannon cowls for my Bird of Prey model.

It's so satisfying popping that part off the form!

I'm looking to offer a small, medium and large option (A6 shown in the video, A5 and A4 respectively).
I'd like to know if anyone else would benefit from this and get feedback on the idea before I offer it up for sale.

Is it something you would have a use for?
How would you use it?
Do you see any potential pitfalls that would prevent it from working for you?

If you're sold on it already then message me for more details!

Thanks for your time!
Luke

*** Klingon Bird of Prey thread linked here if you're interested / specific vacuum former post here ***

 

[Scott Graham]

I might be interested. I think the a5 size might be best just to be sure I have enough size for most projects.

 

[rms77]

I picked up the A6 version and I'm really happy with it. It's beautifully crafted, with laser-cut markings to indicate where to place the butterfly clips to hold the plastic in place. So far I've used it to make a replacement canopy out of PETG for an Angel Interceptor, using a buck made from Milliput, and I'm really happy with the results (ignore the peeling clear-coat failure on the main body of the model).

I've also done a few test pulls with styrene sheet and they came out really well.

The A6 unit is perfect for me - I will only be vacuform things fairly rarely and at small scale, so I can't justify buying a full-scale commercial machine. I will most likely be vacuforming one or two small pieces at a time, so using small sheets of plastic also minimises any wastage when making a small part. Having said that, if I ever get into scratch building whole models, an A5 or A4 sized unit would be really useful.

One other thing I like about this unit is that the regular layout of the holes transfers over to the vacuformed plastic around the part. I'm hoping to find uses for this textured waste material in future builds.

It's a really nicely designed and put together piece. I'm sure it will come in handy in future projects.

 

[ventuoguy]

Wow that's awesome!! Works like a charm- love the seagull sounds in the second video . Can the buck be 3D printed I wonder?