need help with my vacuum former

[bung87]

hey guys , ive just built a vacuum former ( nothing fancy , just a simple setup ) and tried my first pull last night and ran into a problem , im using 2mm smooth white abs and after its formed , its coming out with textured areas on it , some areas are as smooth as a babies bum and some areas are rough as guts , is my buck causing this , is abs the wrong stuff to use , am i heating it too much or too little , i cant find any info online to help me , so any info you can give me is greatly appreciated .cheers

 

[division 6]

ABS absorbs moisture and will orange peel if not properly dried out first.
If it looks burnt then you're over heating it.

 

[bung87]

thanks for the quick reply !!! whats the best way to dry them out ( sun ?? )

 

[division 6]

That should work as long as it's not humid out.
Or a box with low heat source.
A friend of mine made a wood box with slots for the sheets to be spaced for air circulation and used a drier (may have been a hair drier, the kind with a hose)

 

[bung87]

ok , dont know if this is a stupid question but how do you tell if its dry enough lol ( is there something i should look for , or is it just a trial and error thing ?? )

 

[division 6]

Trial and error.
If it doesn't orange peel then it's dry.

If you can't get it smooth then sanding and spot putty is your other option.
Sanding will be needed anyway if you plan to paint.