plastic shaping

[JangoSilva]

Hey i need some pointers on bending and shaping plastic. i tried to heat up my thigh armor and i ended up cracking it, not bad, but still cracked.:cry i need to flatten the pieces out then work on them, then later reshape them to my leg. any ideas would be awsome.

 

[biomechaniod56]

Are you using Sintra? How are you heating it? A heat gun worked great for me.

 

[Fett Teen]

i'm making my knee armor out of alluminumm...

 

[Fett Teen]

i'm making my knee armor out of alluminumm...


"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe..."

 

[JangoSilva]

its sintra, i tried putting under realy hot water, tried hairdryer and heat gun. i think the plastic is just mabe too thick. but then again, someone shaped it before...lol

 

[Philip Fett]

I have the same trouble you do, boiling doesnt quite work either, if you jack up the oven fan and wear something over yourt face, try moving it over one to the oven burners directly for a few seconds, just enough to be able to bend it, but you must be careful not to overheat it or it will droop.

 

[Prymer13]

A high intensity heat gun should work, but you really need to keep it close and moving it around. This spreads the heat spot over a larger area and makes it easier to bend. At first I thought it wasn't working either...but I found out that the longer I waited and more area I covered, the easier it was. You should be using .122" or 3MM sintra

Also, if you are making parts that require detailed shaping...I'd not use an ice bath afterwards. This way the sintra slowly cools and gives you time to work out any kinks...so-to-speak.

Pm me if you need any more info.

 

[JangoSilva]

haha i dont think there would be enough left to shape if i dipped realy hot sintra into ice. if just running under hot then cold water will crack it. id hate to think what an oven then an ice bath would do

 

[Kissker]

are you sure its sintra then? it sounds more like standard pvc... that or the foam coring of your sintra is broken and the cells no longer respond to heat like they should... in case you didnt know sintra is plastic sheets with foamy inside... the cells in the foam heat up and re arrange makin it flexable and bendy... for it to just crack like that.. you may have not heated it enough. only got the outside warm.. but... eh.. too think or broken core would be my guesses

 

[Boba Swede]

I used my oven to heat my sintra peices up.. works nice for pvc and plexiglas as well.. i put my armor peice on a porcelein plate and on the lowest setting on the oven ( 50 C ) for about 5-8 min really flexible and easily managed..

Oh.. and i have a hot air oven.. not a gas oven..