How to build a Plastic Heat Bender

muskiejack Says:

Feb 18, 2008 - Hey! Thanks for posting it. I wasn't even looking for it but stumbled upon it accidentally. I can think of many uses for this procedure.

ZoidzillaSam Says:

Aug 2, 2009 - Hey guys, Love all your stuff. Its so helpful! I would like to ask, Could this be used for a Vacuum forming table, one that has a heating side and a vacuum side? Thanks for the help and great videos!

tapplastics Says:

Aug 11, 2009 - Since this is a line bender, only a strip of the acrylic would be heated. For vacuum forming, the whole sheet must be uniformly heated. This is usually done in an oven ( not a kitchen oven!) where the heat is applied to both sides at once. When the material is soft, it is removed from the oven and vacuum formed. We sell a book on do-it-yourself vacuum forming on our website.

poosaypirate Says:

Oct 13, 2009 - why not a kitchen oven please? also can one heat and form "welded" plastic?

tapplastics Says:

Oct 13, 2009 - We do not recommend a kitchen oven for safety reasons. What do you mean by welded plastics?

poosaypirate Says:

Oct 13, 2009 - thank you for your answer, by welded plastics ( i meant Plexiglas) and by Welded, i mean your video on joining plastics to make a box explains that Plexiglas is not Glued together technically but welded or soldered because a small amount of the plexis actually dissolved to create the join - im very curious and excited to know if this is something on can then later heat and form

tapplastics Says:

Oct 16, 2009 - Acrylic is held together using acrylic cement which is a solvent this welds the pieces together. Gluing after heat bending can cause crazing near the heated area.

YoungFMiamiFL Says:

Nov 10, 2009 - Can you make a cone for a cone skimmer ?

tapplastics Says:

Nov 12, 2009 - That would be hard to answer without seeing the part.