I’ve done some vacuuforming for some projects of mine, but I’m troubled by a problem that I can’t solve.
Many times, the final plastic product is plagued by wrinkles as the plastic conforms to the final shape. I simply cannot figure out why it does it and why it doesn’t, and I don’t have much time or spare plastic to figure it out. Anyone have any experience with the process that can help out?
I’m using a home-built box and I’m heating stuff in the oven.
I don’t really know anything about vacuuforming, but my boyfriend used to work with vacuuforms quite a bit. I tried to convince him to sign up for the Dope so he could answer your question, but he didn’t want to go through the hassle of making up a screen name. I thought it was a shame that someone wouldn’t get an answer due to his laziness, so here’s his answer:
This is very common in vacuuforming when you’re working with a taller piece. It’s caused by the slack of the styrene folding in on each other as it drapes from the pattern. What will help is to put in a separate piece of material around your pattern (Think of a castle wall) that’s about a third of the height of the tallest point on your buck and say around 1/2" space in between. What this new piece will do is it’ll prop up the slack, give it some structure and prevent it from folding on itself. Only issue with this technique is that it tends to make the bottom of your final vacuuform part a bit thinner. Try and see if this is acceptable.
If you need more clarifications, I’ll try and get him to sign up for the board.
Thanks.
I poked around the net, and found a forum where the same question popped up. They stated it’s also caused by excess plastic. I made a smaller box, and that seemed to take care of the problem.
How did you make the form? The molded piece is very professional looking.
Where did you get the plans for your box?
It’s a resin cast of a schwartz soap dish. I’m making a Crow T Robot for a film project. I used a simple mold compound from Tap Plastics for the negative mold (forget the name), and their two-part quick-cast plastic for the mold itself. Love working with the stuff.
It’s based on one I saw at a friend’s years ago, and is very simple. The one I built the other day only cost about $17 for parts. It’s plywood box with holes in the top, a hole in the side for the vacuum cleaner hose, and a simple hoop frame to hold the plastic. Size is based on the parts I need to duplicate. I could use pegboard for the top, but that’s just an additional expense. Easier to drill holes.
I can provide more details after the holidays if desired.
I’d love to have them. I don’t have a need for a vacuforming rig at the moment, but at one time I was thinking about making my own matte box. I ended up getting a very nice one from an Indian company, which didn’t quite break the bank. I had to make modifications so it would fit on my Aaton with the OEM-style rails, but it was easier than building one from scratch! (Or paying through the nose for a Chrosziel.) (Photobucket link, for the text.) There have been other times when I’ve wished I could vacuform something, so it might be handy to have a box around the house.
