MAKE: Noise — Discuss this article

Showing messages 1 through 10 of 10.

• DIY vacuum forming resources
  Reply
  
  For people wanting more information on DIY vacuum forming, there's a ton of information on the web.
  
  A good place to start is my Vacuum Former Plans web site. (Look for "vacuumformerplans".) It has links to a bunch of other sources in the side bar.
  
  There are vacuum forming forums on tk560, CNCzone, and hobbymolding.
  tk560 is the most active and friendliest to beginners. CNCzone has the most depth of pro and semi-pro expertise.
  
  There are also vacuum forming discussions in various forums at RCgroups and RCuniverse. (About making model plane parts, and helicopter and car bodies, and boat hulls.)
  
  A couple of classic books:
  
  Douglas E. Walsh's "Do It Yourself Vacuum Forming for the Hobbyist"
  
  Thurston James's "The Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook."
  
  You can get both of those from Doug's build-stuff web site. (Doug is the MVP of DIY vacuum forming. He shows up on the aforementioned forums sometimes and is very helpful.)
  
  If you want to form thick plastics for strong cases, machine parts, etc., be sure to check out my site and Doug's book for how to make a high-vacuum system that can pull 5x harder than a vacuum cleaner, cheaply.
  
  
  

  Posted by drcrash on September 10, 2007 at 10:55:30 Pacific Time

• Perfect Timing
  Reply
  
  This is great... I just bought a vintage rc car with a brittle lexan body. I'm going to combine this and the mold making tutorials from a couple issues back and make extra versions of the body before I run it into the ground!

  Posted by losmuertos on August 20, 2007 at 10:09:23 Pacific Time

• Perfect Timing
  Reply
  
  I think I'm going to practice making a mold on a crappier lexan body first. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best material to use for pouring into the original body? I'm looking for something that will be able to make multiple vacuum formed copies and that will be easy to remove from the original (ie, won't destroy the original body).

  Posted by losmuertos on August 20, 2007 at 17:34:06 Pacific Time

• Perfect Timing
  Reply
  
  I've read and heard that you shouldn't heat or mold plastics in your oven if you plan on using it for cooking as well. Plastics off gas. The residue stays baked into your oven and then gets cooked into foods that you make. Yum.

  Posted by ludlow on October 25, 2007 at 07:02:36 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  I think I'm going to practice making a mold on a crappier lexan body first. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best material to use for pouring into the original body? I'm looking for something that will be able to make multiple vacuum formed copies and that will be easy to remove from the original (ie, won't destroy the original body).

  Posted by losmuertos on August 20, 2007 at 17:33:42 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  I'd use water putty or Ultrcal-30 gypsum cement.
  
  Water putty is a plaster-like repair substance that's tougher than plaster of Paris. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's.
  
  Ultracal-30 is much harder than plaster of Paris, but cheaper if you buy a 50-lb bag (for about $23) at a local ceramics supply place.
  
  See my VacuumFormerPlans web site for links on making molds with alginate and casting with plasters.
  
  Big tip: mold vent holes in by putting greased skewers or wires in the plaster, then pulling them out when it's mostly set.
  

  Posted by drcrash on September 10, 2007 at 10:22:06 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  Expanding Foam, found at Lowes/Home Depot.

  Posted by xhriscarbon on August 29, 2007 at 11:44:22 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  Expanding urethane foam in a can is hard to work with; it sets up almost instantly and you tend to get irregularities and voids. It's also not cheap if you do the math.
  
  Two-part urethane foam that you mix and it foams up is easier, and a bit cheaper in quantity, but still not easy. (Urethane sticks very well to almost anything, so you've got to be very careful about mold release.)
  
  Most people are better off with water putty or gypsum cement.
  
  
  

  Posted by drcrash on September 10, 2007 at 10:25:15 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  Expanding foam was my first thought too, but that stuff can be pretty sticky. Any ideas for a release agent?

  Posted by ~ascpi on September 05, 2007 at 19:45:22 Pacific Time

• Any suggestions for moldmaking materials?
  Reply
  
  I'd use a mold release designed specifically for urethanes. (Urethanes are the hardest thing in the world to release.) But really, I don't think you want a foam for this.
  
  Foams are good for filling in hollow castings reasonably cheaply, but they don't make great mold surface materials for vacuum forming.
  
  If you want to cast a very durable vacuum forming mold, use a solid urethane for the outer shell. Doug Walsh (the god of DIY vacuum forming) recommends Kwik Kast BC 8002 (gray) from BCC Products. It's cheaper than most urethanes and works very well. Hollow cast it, then fill it in with something really cheap. (Maybe styrofoam rubble and expanding urethane foam.) Or cast it around a solid plug of something cheap. (Like concrete. Dirt cheap, but very heavy.)
  
  
  
  

  Posted by drcrash on September 10, 2007 at 10:35:27 Pacific Time