Project: Vacuform Table

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coming soon…

Resources

Plastic Supplier found…
Sweeeet!

I just found a supplier online who delivers the Plastic I need. And they sell it by different sized cuts, one of which happens to be very close to my frame size! My frame is 18″ x 23″ and they sell it in 18″ x 24″ sized cuts. A quick pass on the table saw, and we’re in business.

Since Comicon and the Seattle Torchlight parade are right around the corner, I just went ahead and ordered 10 sheets of the .093 stuff. Decently priced too.

Since that’s the case, I’ll probably build a 18×12 sized vac table, so I can buy the 18″ x 24″ sheets, and cut them in half for molding small parts.

I think that will do the trick for the fleet trooper helmets…

Plus I read that a light coating of talcum powder will help with demolding tough molds. I’m definitly going to try that. The dome was a real pain to get out of the plastic last night. I do have some undercuts I need to get rid of, but once I had cut those away, it was still stuck fast. So maybe adding a little bit of an taper, and the talc, and getting rid of the under cuts will do the trick.

badger

Vacuform proof of concept

Vacuform – Proof of Concept!!
So tonight I put the finishing touches on the Vacuform table, and gave it a test drive.

I had to walk over to tap plastics and pick up some six cuttings of 0.060 thick Styrene High Impact. It was pretty easy, and I can probably do that when needed, assuming I actually need that thickness. (more on that in a bit.)

Then I decided I wanted to give it a go. I was pretty tired when I got home, and something made me grumpy for a bit, but I wanted to give it go, so I got to it. I added a 1″ extension on my table to fit the frame size a little better. I also gave it a half inch rise, since the vac hose connecter was bottoming out (who designed this thing, criminy!) Then it was set it up on the kitchen counter, and with the help of yimisty vacuform my first mold! I’ve helped others do it, and I’ve been around it, but I’ve never done it myself.

The first attempt was with the dome mold I’m concerned about. It actually sucked all the way down and around the mold first go! But, then I couldn’t get the mold out. The mold needs some work, it’s too easy to get the dome stuck in there. It’s really hard to get out too. And the 0.060 thick styrene pulls WAY too thin at the bottom, it’s nearly paper thin. I need to get some 0.093 styrene and try that, that’s what my friend whom I trade molds with uses. Unfortunatly TAP plastics stocks 1/16″ (.060) and the 1/8″ (.125″) which is probably too thick. I’ll have to do some research.

BUT, the cool thing is that my table worked. and worked the first time! Whoo!

After struggling with the mold for a while I finally broke it off the mold, it’s too thin at the edges to use anyway. Also I think I let it get too hot, because the top has some bubbling. Taker iterations didn’t have this because I pulled it earlier. It’s a matter of getting a feel for when to pull it out.

I wasn’t sure what to do next, I wanted to do more because it’s fun! ladysonnet reminded me that I had people asking about my rebel pilot chest boxes a lot, so I ran down grabbed my molds and tried to pull two at once.. Disaster! I didn’t get a good seal, and it was a loss. But hey, live and learn.

Third time I did only one chest box, and it worked just fine! I ran down, trimmed it out and tada! A chest box. I’m pleased that it worked out the way I wanted it to. and I have one usable piece in my first attempt at vacuforming with my own equipement. The only thing I used from the borrowed set up was the shop vac! The rest is all my own stuff, this makes me happy.

So in summary:

• Proved my setup works!
• Pulled one clean chest box.
• Need to investigate source for right thickness of plastic.
• Need to add some weather stripping on the table to make it easier to get a seal.

Yay!

Table mostly complete

Finished the assembly of the table top vac former. The coupling is caulked and curing now, and after that I will apply the foam tape to the top, and maybe try it out! Probably next weekend maybe?

Here are some progress shots of the underside. The Shop vac hooks up to the coupling, and supplies the vacuum for pulling hot plastic down around the mold. I already have a frame built, so I built this table to that size. I’m also going to make a smaller one for smaller projects like Tusken masks, and other things.

start of project

Later today I am going to start construction on table top vacuform table for my self. I have a borrowed table right now, but I want my own. I’m going to build it so that I can just put it on a folding table in the kitchen rather than have to assemble the whole table like the one I have borrowed is. All I’ve got so far is the fittings assembled. It’s a couple of bucks in Pipe Fittings from the hardware store, and a shop vac fitting assembled.

It’s in an L shape so I can build a box that sits on a table, and feed the Shop Vac hose into the side through an opening. This assembly will be attached to a sheet of Plywood, with some two by four risers, and some weather stripping to fit the frame onto on the top. A hole in the Ply will be made to match up with the fitting, and voila! a vacuform table. I have the frame already built, and I use my oven as a heat source, so hopefully I can get some helmets pulled soon. Also, there has been some requests for more Rebel Pilot chest boxes, so I will make a few of those as well. I might experiment with HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) for those, so see how they come out. Since the chest box is small, and mostly flat, it doesn’t need to be super thick ABS, and it’s painted too, so that hides the dull finish on the HIPS.