Molding Acrylic Sheets

Simple bends can be made by heating the bend point with a wire heater.

Molding acrylic sheets.

Acrylic sheets can be relatively easily heated and formed to a desired shape. Have a mold ready to use. In order to cast with acrylic resin you need a mold. These acrylic sheets served as a useful bullet resistant glazing on fighter planes during world war ii as it was light strong and easily molded onto the skin of the aircraft.

The example here is the outside of a mold but it can work inside too. Mallet and or a peen for shaping. In designing a part for thermoforming several things must be taken into consideration to. A mold any object shape you can press the acrylic into to give it shape.

I canu0019t recommend for gas ovens. Protect the surface you re working on by laying down sheets of newspaper and spraying them with cooking spray or a mold release product. Iu0019m forming the flatware and using 2 forks and 2 spoons i already have to shape my acrylic fork and spoon. Plexiglas acrylic sheet has been considered the standard of the industry since it was first introduced 75 years ago because of its unsurpassed quality ease of use and wide range of colors patterns thicknesses and sizes.

Make adjustments appropriate to the specifications of your project. Step 2 make a mold. Work on a smooth glass surface as the heated plastic won t stick to glass. Perspex sheet is a tradename for acrylic sheet known throughout the world just like lucite acrylic sheet.

Molds for thermoforming can be made out of many materials ranging from wood or plaster to aluminum or steel. Plexiglass is unrivaled in its ability to withstand the weather and is unmatched by any other plastic glazing. Or the entire sheet can be heated and draped or forced to take the shape of a desired form. Just heat the sheets above 150 degrees f for 2 3 minutes until they turn from translucent to clear using a heat gun.

Plexiglass or acrylic sheet this system works well for small pieces of plexiglass in thicknesses of up to 1 8 inch. Caution iu0019ve only tried this in an electric oven. 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. As you ll need to put the plastic sheet into the oven this is your size limitation.

Once soft mold them into any shape you desire. Upon cooling they will be strong and permanent. After forming cool. Five years later this resin was formed into a transparent sheet and the acrylic era began.