Cold Bending Plastic Sheets

Chemically spectar is similar to the pete used to make disposable drink bottles and is commonly abbreviated as petg.

Cold bending plastic sheets.

Set up plastic or acrylic sheet in a simple bending jig. Be sure that the marked line is above the heating element. As could be inferred from its name cold curving is the process of bending the whole polycarbonate sheet to create a dome or an arch. After bending heat the acrylic on the outside of the fold line briefly to seal it properly.

Turn the sheet of acrylic over on the heating element every 30 60 seconds in order to avoid damaging it. Tensions arise during bending and the sheet may straighten out. Hot bending polycarbonate sheet. When you heat acrylic to 160 degrees celsius it becomes soft and bends easily.

Use long thin 1 inch or so in width test strips to practice your technique and learn how your particular heat source affects your chosen thickness of plastic. Some materials can even be cold bent using a press brake the same machine used for bending metal. Wear gloves as you do this to avoid burning your hands. Depending on the thickness of the material most plastics can be bent in a gradual radius without negatively affecting the integrity of the material.

Javascript is disabled on your browser. Cold line bending polycarbonate sheet is basically a prelude to fabrication process. This takes us to another important fabrication process. Cold bending some thermoplastic materials can be cold bent without the need to apply heat.

This video is about bending and thermoforming king plastic polymer sheets. Alternatively in case you don t want to cold bend polycarbonate sheet apply heat. Plexiglas sheet can be cold formed bent at room temperature in a smooth arc and held to a radius by forcing the material into a curved channel support. However cold bending is quicker and more favourable than hot bending.

Cold bending is further possible with more types of polyester. It s advisable to proceed with care. To view this site you must enable javascript or upgrade to a javascript capable browser. The process of cold bending of plastic sheets is the same as bending metal but since plastic is a vivid material than metal it causes more problems.

To set up your plastic or acrylic sheet to bend simple curves for your miniature and model projects you need to first remove the protective covering from the material you wish to bend. Bend the acrylic slowly and gently to avoid tearing the material on the exterior of the fold. They place the acrylic sheet over a long thin filament with the bend line positioned precisely above the wire. Spectar supposedly looks and handles much like acrylic but with the surprising property that it can be cold formed without breaking or whitening and exhibits a memory effect holding a cold bend until reheated.