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Number of plastic sheets to do a full set of armor?


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  • 2 weeks later...

I've done a fair amount of vacuum forming over the years.. The amount of usable table comes down to two things... how efficient your heating system is and how strong (and fast) your vacuum system is. Nichrome coils set in ceramic insulators is the best way to evenly heat sheet plastics in my opinion and using a high volume tank to create your negative pressure is gives much sharper pulls than a shop vac.

 

That having been said, if you built (or had access to) a well-designed VF table to accommodate say 2' x 2' squares of material, I think you would use about two 4' x 8' sheets of plastic for a full suit, maybe little less if you were able to get good pulls on grouped items. If your system is less efficient, there will be more failures and the amount of material used will go up.

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Yes in metric terms sheets of 60x60cm is the most economical way to cut up a sheet of ABS, you should also be able to vac form all parts of a TK from that size. Be prepared for a learning curve and some wasted plastic while you work out the appropriate length of time to heat your plastic based on your heater element and vac pressure. The trick is getting consistent pulls on all the various shapes. Also bare in mind not all ABS is the same quality, so it may take a while to find a good supplier. You can also practice with different thickness to see how your table deals with 1.5mm, 2mm ABS and HIPS.

There is a great deal of satisfaction when you finally get good clean and even pulls. There are also other aspects to consider, so keep researching before you invest too much money :)

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