how to bend acrylic

Bending acrylic is something you might do if you are building a case or enclosure for an object, for example. Alex walks us through preparing, bending, and working with PETG and Acrylic tubing. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Other methods for bending acrylic include drape forming, cold bending, free blown forming, and thermoforming. To do so, pass your heat source at an even, slow speed along the line of plastic in front of the jig, keeping it far enough away that the heat source will not singe your wood jig. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 71,906 times. It is important to trace each side of the bent acrylic. Using your template as a guideline on the piece of acrylic, sketch out the new windshield design and use the saber saw to carefully cut it out. Make your pressure on the acrylic as even as possible while you push. It has a very clean look, is easily cut (dremel, table saw, scroll saw, band saw, to name a few), and is durable. There are different methods for doing this, and each helps you to easily bend acrylic. If you are singeing the wood on your jig, you are too close. The acrylic glue requires at least five minutes to set, so it is recommended to clamp the enclosure together to help it set correctly. Plexiglass bending machine is a useful tool for softening and bending acrylic, organic glass, plexiglass, pvc, pc ,ABS, pp sheet into shapes. Do not keep your heat gun or torch too close to the plastic. If you want a straight line, make sure it is perfectly straight. To set up your plastic or acrylic sheet to bend simple curves for your miniature and model projects, first remove the protective covering from the material you wish to bend. This resulted in an angled rather than a straight bend against the jig. Polycarbonate is a better choice for highly demanding applications. Gather the supplies you need in order to bend the acrylic with a heat gun. If you don’t have a toaster oven, you can (carefully!) These benders are compatible with plastics such as acrylic, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, PVC, CPVC, ABS, and Kydex. What are the Properties of Acrylic? Bending acrylic sheeting can be a very precise process using expensive technology and special heating elements, but for do-it-yourself projects, bending acrylic sheets can be accomplished with tools commonly found around many garages and with the help of an extra person. When you are applying upward pressure on the end of your acrylic, you will feel it start to move against your hand, then it will move very quickly. Abraham specializes in both small to medium residential and commercial sized jobs, ranging from TV mounting to furniture assembly to home automation setup. Make sure you have a spare piece of scrap wood to help you with the heat bending process. Secure the sides with acrylic glue and an applicator, and use clamps to hold them in place to set for several minutes. This method works well for larger bends, but there is a greater risk of melting or scorching the plastic. To make side pieces, trace the sides of your newly-bent acrylic onto a flat piece and cut them out with a saw. For tips on how to bend acrylic with a strip heater and how to determine dimensions when bending acrylic, read on! A jig is a box or frame meant for holding a material and guiding a machine tool to the material. The photo below shows a test strip of sheet acrylic that did not bend evenly along the line of the jig. Heating something like a metal tube in the oven, then carefully heat up the acrylic/petg as well. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid4719217-v4-728px-Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"