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Thread: How to 'curve' Acrylic sheet using home tools

  1. #1
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    How to 'curve' Acrylic sheet using home tools

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    1. How to make a curved piece of acrylic sheet using home tools?
    2. At what temperature does acrylic become soft enough to be moulded?
    3. What home appliances can be used for the works?

    anyone with past experience kindly share and give some advice.

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    Back in school's technical design lessons, we put the acrylic sheet in the oven to soften it before moulding it....maybe you can try this method?
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    hair dryer or an open face stove,
    the stove with the open flame you have to have good control.
    Keep moving around the spot just to get it soften then bend it over an edge.
    Need to make sure it's reallt soft or it will snap.

    I did that for all my ayclic.
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    Pardon me... I want to ask the opposite...

    How to straighten acrylic sheet that had warped and bent?
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

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    hi thomas, you could either do the reverse of what i'll be eventually doing OR we just exchange acrylic sheets

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    Quote Originally Posted by Justikanz
    Pardon me... I want to ask the opposite...

    How to straighten acrylic sheet that had warped and bent?
    Need to soften the whole piece of acryclic sheet or at the bended areas (either in oven or over the stove. Then place it on the floor (with newpapers and a wooden board (better to ensure flat surface) and place another piece of wooden board over it. Then place heavy stuff evening on the surface of the wooden board. Leave it for a while to cool (few hours?!?) and then should be ok.

    Disclaimer: Just a thought and never tested! Try at your own risk!

    Well, the idea is to soften the sheet before making it bend or flat. Best to make the whole sheet soft but not easy at home. Also not sure which temp should set for oven. Maybe easier to get a new one???
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    I think so too... Actually got a new piece, just wondering if the old one can be salvaged... Gummy, if you want a piece (quite thick) to play with, let me know...

    Now got to think of cutting the acrylic...
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

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    hi thomas, thanks for your offer, but i'll pass. i am just thinking of working with 1-2mm thick(or thin) sheet . the thicker it is, the harder to work with. it is just some project i have in my mind right now. wonder if anyone has this material to spare. also, do you think that an electric iron is hot enough to soften the material?

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    would a hair dryer be better idea? isit hot enough?

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    I seriously think an iron would spell trouble... Try a hair dryer first. Then try the 'barbeque' method over the fire... I seriously don't think you want to use your oven... There might be poisonous fumes emitted and staying within the oven... Not good if you are going to use the oven again for food...

    My usual paranoid 2 cents worth...
    Last edited by Justikanz; 13th Jun 2006 at 00:34.
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

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    Noted.. thanks for your professional advice.. Mr. material engineering.. any websites that shows the properties of acrylic or MSDS(if available)???

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    Eh? How do you know I studied Materials Eng?...

    Anyway, that has nothing to do with my studies...

    MSDS? For acrylic? I don't think so... Unless you have the specific molecular structure of acrylic... Then should be able to find over the Internet...
    Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/

    I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted! ), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted! ), C.tonkinensis(Melted! ), C.walkeri, C.wendtii 'Brown', C.wendtii 'Green', C.wendtii 'Green Gecko', C.wendtii 'Tropica' and Cryptocoryne x willisii

    Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...

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    ha. saw that from one of your 2,638 posts. could be from your introduction.
    meanwhile, i'll try to do some internet research on acrylic properties.

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    Actually you could just boil it, the 100 degrees will make it soft and ensure it doesn't get hot enough to bubble.

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    Quote Originally Posted by XnSdVd
    Actually you could just boil it, the 100 degrees will make it soft and ensure it doesn't get hot enough to bubble.
    You just kidding or you tried before?

    So far, I have just justed a candle only to heat up the portion to be bent. That limits me to straight lines only That also means that I have to use new sheets with the covering sheet still on. Else, I have a hardtime cleaning away the soot left by the open flame.

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    "Characteristics of the material
    Acrylic Plastic
    Half the weight of glass
    Impact resistant
    Unaffected by sun or salt spray
    Temperature range of -30 to 160° F for continuous service

    ..Acrylic can be heated to make it pliable. It will become rigid again when it cools. Never heat acrylic in a kitchen oven. Explosive fumes can accumulate inside the oven, and ignite...
    " extracted from http://www.sdplastics.com/acrylic.html

    i guess that from the above, acrylic should not be heated inside an oven over reasons of fire and toxic.

    skf, have you tried using a hair dryer? is it feasible?

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    Quote Originally Posted by gummynut
    "[I]Characteristics of the material
    .....
    skf, have you tried using a hair dryer? is it feasible?
    Nope, never used a hair dryer before.

    My guess was that it might take too long and I am a little impatient..

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    How about using the heat generated from the toaster, just place the portion you want to bend. Once it soften bend it on some pre-form surface (kitchen table to get right angle or milo cans to form semi circle )

    Ya...one more thing u need to peel the protective sheet off before you heat it, mark it with whiteboard mark on the portion of the bend...and get the balls rolling

    Quote Originally Posted by gummynut
    1. How to make a curved piece of acrylic sheet using home tools?
    2. At what temperature does acrylic become soft enough to be moulded?
    3. What home appliances can be used for the works?

    anyone with past experience kindly share and give some advice.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Justikanz
    Pardon me... I want to ask the opposite...

    How to straighten acrylic sheet that had warped and bent?
    Depends on how it got warped. If it warped just like mine because you placed it on top of a tank as a cover, you just have to flip it. It'll warp back... then warp the other way...
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    Quote Originally Posted by skf
    You just kidding or you tried before?

    Yup, i've tried it before. Just boil it like you would pasta.

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