Vacuum Forming

[HighFive]

Looks like a good place with knowledgable people for me to ask a couple questions on Vacuum Forming. Looking to Vacuum Form a windscreen for my motorcycle that isn't made in translucent acrylic. Recently purchased some 20"x20"x1/8" translucent cast acrylic sheets from Tap Plastics. I've made a mold from fibreglass of said windscreen. Do i need to put form release on the surface of the fibreglass, or can you use something like bondo on the surface? Maybe even primer? Heck, do i need anything at all? Attached are some files of the fibreglass mold I'm referring to. Also looking to back fill the underside of the mold. What would you suggest. Was thinking expansion foam, but it may stick to the acrylic. Any and all help in this matter is greatly appreciate, Carl.

 

[Chernobyl]

Looks like a good place with knowledgable people for me to ask a couple questions on Vacuum Forming. Looking to Vacuum Form a windscreen for my motorcycle that isn't made in translucent acrylic. Recently purchased some 20"x20"x1/8" translucent cast acrylic sheets from Tap Plastics. I've made a mold from fibreglass of said windscreen. Do i need to put form release on the surface of the fibreglass, or can you use something like bondo on the surface? Maybe even primer? Heck, do i need anything at all? Attached are some files of the fibreglass mold I'm referring to. Also looking to back fill the underside of the mold. What would you suggest. Was thinking expansion foam, but it may stick to the acrylic. Any and all help in this matter is greatly appreciate, Carl.

We're primarily a costuming community and probably wouldn't be able to advise on vacuum-forming for larger projects such as motor vehicles. That said, acrylic should be fine and I doubt it'll stick.

 

[HighFive]

Thanks for the reply. Considering the size of the part i'm trying to vacuum form is 16"x16", i hardly considered it larger than what would be used on this site. Even with the size aside, its more of a issue of material. Quick google search comes up with 981 hit's when looking into vacuum forming on 405th.com. Has anyone vacuum formed using acrylic sheets and a fiberglass mold? Thanks.

 

[peterthethinker]

Ive for a 24X24 bed . Ive tried thin Acrilic and one of the problems is that you need to clamp the sheet to the frame VERY well .. Unlike HIPS ,It does not flow well and when you go to lay the hot sheat on the buck you might just pull the sheet off the frame.

how tall is the part is a huge factor .

that part is VERY shallow Should work IMO..
Infill ,,I have used GreatStuff foam. it does work!

TAP Eh? You must live near PDX .

 

[DaMatt]

HAHA Peter I was thinking the same thing when he mentioned TAP

TAP is supposed to be pretty good about answering questions on projects (They used to be anyways).
Maybe give them a call and get their opinion too? Worst case they say no and you've got no better advice than Peter's.

 

[HighFive]

Guys, thanks for the replies. As far as the Tap deal goes, its one of the first places searching the net for sheets that i found. I'm in Windsor, Ontario across the river from Detroit. The part is 4" deep, so not very big. Since the last time i was on here, i've tried going the foam route, that was a bust. Ended up leaving a huge cavity on the underside of the buck. Then went back at it with concrete the next time, inverting the Buck and boxing it in, filling the voids with the foam spray, then filling with concrete. Now i'm going to go ahead and make my vacuum box, and wait till the end of the week for the sheets to arrive. If i run into a problem as far as the plastic goes, do you have a place that deals in translucent HIPS. Also, if you see something that's not going to jive, please feel free to critique whats going on here. First time for everything they say. Thanks eh'