I have been throwing a few ideas around in my head, and have been doing alot of research, but for some odd reason I could not find any information on molding or bending plexiglass without forming air bubbles.

Most of the tutorials that I have read referred to baking the sheet in the oven at a temperature range of 250-350, but all of them fail to agree on a set temp, and the results also varies.

So what I'm asking here is, does anyone have a good idea on bending or molding plexiglass to conform to a specific shape without baking so that while bending and molding, I can still handle the plexiglass and have better control on it?

Also, how much does a heat gun run for, what's its temp range, and what brand should I go for?

Thanks in advance

 

I use mastercraft heat gun (make sure u get all the attachments with it; and mine is a canadian brand): high (450C) and low (250C) - I'm too lazy to convert C to F, sorry

 

it's quite alright, thanks for the info. I guess that heat would be enough to melt the damn thing. Time for some trial and error I guess.

Does anyone else have any helpful suggestions?

 

you really need to bake it...the temp of the entire sheet of plexi needs to be perfectly even. you can't get that w/ a heat gun.

 

damn, I was hoping to do like a spot heat and then mold to fit, because for what I'm working on, the part to be molded is plastic, and won't behave too well in an oven to provide a solid mold, that, and I have no functional oven.

 

what exactly are you doing? They make a machine to bend plexi, but i'm not sure where to find it at or if it would work for ya.

 

well then you should make a mold out of it if you want to play it on the safe side.

one suggestion is if you're fast enough and if it's hot enough out...you can bake the plexi on something that's similar in size with the mold...then take it out and bend it the rest of the way. the PITA about plexi is that it cools VERY quickly since it's thin...the uneven cooling will give you weird results.

what are you bending/molding anyway?

 

It's only in experimental phases as I learn things, so for now, I plan to tackle the corners (I have a broken spare set laying around), then as I get more skills, I will try various components throughout the car.

 

eek.. good luck on that man.. I don't see it happening with good results... it's one thing to put an angle on a flat sheet, but it's another to do compound angles and curves like on a light.

That said, don't even think about the heat gun either... they have a tendency to boil or burn the plastic while your'e trying to heat it... you can't get it hot enough without getting the gun close, and you can't get the gun close without burning it.
been there, done that, finally took it to a plexi shop and had them do it for me.

 

Ditto on the heat gun. It would be like trying to warm the side of a candle up with a lighter.

 

Well ... if pieces, you are making, are not very big (i.e. fit in the oven), you might want to:
- make a template from sheetmetal (with side to hold "plexi" in place);
- cup out plexiglass (to fit a template above);
- place it in the oven;
- take it out "when" plexi have taken template's shape;
- cut "plexi" to the exect dimentions (etc.)

It might worth a try. Good luck!

 

I'm gonna risk it and give the oven a try, hope I don't throw more than 100 bucks worth of plexiglass for this trial and error thing, but hey, it's worth the learning experience. Thanks for all the input thus far.

 

I tried to work with plexiglass alot.... As in weeks everynight. I never baked it, but i used a good heat gun. I hate the stuff, lol.

 

man, if you're willing to share your experience and how things behave under extreme heat conditions, I would greatly appreciated it. Great job on the wade cover with fog corners btw.