Cool vid from our pals at tap plastics showing how to build a strip heater which is commonly referred to as a plastic bender but really doesn t do any bending in and of itself.
Diy plastic sheet bender.
I went forward and built a crude machine.
Ideal for perspex acrylic plexiglass polycarbonate.
To set up your plastic or acrylic sheet to bend simple curves for your miniature and model projects you need to first remove the protective covering from the material you wish to bend.
I went on a mission to confirm if i could bend plastics such as plexiglass or lexan with any precision of accuracy.
Use wood or metal supports not included under the sheet during heating.
Place a sheet between the heating bars to soften it.
Preparing hot air gun w.
We specialize in fiberglass resins and fabrics for fiberglass repair plastic containers and custom f more about tap guy this video segment will show you how to build a plastic line bender using briskheat strip heater so that you can bend plastic at home.
It s just a long skinny heating element that makes it easy to soften a sheet of plastic along a straight line so you can bend it with your hands to an arbitrary angle and or against a jig for more precise control.
Bending shaping plastic with hot air gun heat gun.
As the wire is not electrically insulated i don t want any voltage above 12v or 24v.
Tutorial for how to.
These benders are compatible with plastics such as acrylic polyethylene polypropylene polycarbonate pvc cpvc abs and kydex.
Diy acrylic plastic bending machine step 1.
Next step was to secure particle board from high 400 watt header lamp.
All thermoplastics go through two distinct phases as they are heated.
Heating time varies between 30 seconds and 12 minutes based on material type and thickness.
How does it work.
Sheet benders for plastic.
Use long thin 1 inch or so in width test strips to practice your technique and learn how your particular heat source affects your chosen thickness of plastic.
I had few left over particle board chip board pieces i managed to find 3.