Heat Shaping Acrylic Sheets

Bending shaping plastic with hot air gun heat gun.

Heat shaping acrylic sheets.

For thicker sheets it will take longer and for thinner sheets it will take less time. This phenomenon is relatively common in thicker sheet. Force the plexiglass into the desired shape. Attempting to create a smaller radius would snap the sheet.

Since plexiglas acrylic sheet is an excellent insulator the surface exposed to the heater may overheat before the rest of the sheet is hot enough for forming. Preparing hot air gun w. Acrylic comes in two varieties. For thicker acrylic you will need to use a metal bar clamped very securely and you may only be able to work with narrow strips of material as your heat source may not be able to heat wider areas of thick material.

Tutorial for how to. This article uses a sheet about 1 4 thick so all times are about 10 to 15 minutes per step. Over bend the sheet slightly to prevent memory and then let the sheet relax back into the form. For instance the smallest complete circle you could form with a sheet of plexiglass 1 32 inch thick would have a radius of 5 6 inches.

Ideal for perspex acrylic plexiglass polycarbonate. Plexiglass or acrylic sheet this system works well for small pieces of plexiglass in thicknesses of up to 1 8 inch. Note that the minimum radius of the bend you create is 180 times the thickness of the plexiglass sheet. Cut out different shapes from the sheet.

Acrylic oven baking sheet aluminum foil timer felt for handling the acrylic and to prevent scratches tools for forming tools for forming may include. I can t recommend for. A mold any object shape you can press the acrylic into to give it shape mallet and or a peen for shaping caution i ve only tried this in an electric oven. It comes in both transparent and colored options and can be machined laser cut or heated and bent into almost any shape.

The rate of radiant heat input can be decreased but that would result in a longer heating cycle. Heat create melt our plastic sheets with heat gun 150f and mold to any shape you like by using your hands or using tools. Continue to direct the heat jet back and forth along the bend line until the acrylic sheet fits into the form at the correct angle. The only major variable that can affect the forming process is the thickness of the plastic sheet.

Acrylic is a wonderful plastic that can be used for all sorts of different projects.