Tanasoo Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I've made some good progress on my vacuform machine. I have about half of the forming table made, and all of the cement board cut out for the oven. That was not fun XD The skill saw hated it and it made so much dust it looked like a severely foggy day! I also picked up the aluminum sheet for the forming table surface. I figure I'll finish up the forming table tomorrow, and the oven on Wednesday when the coil and insulators get here . Then hopefully I'll get some metal and weld it up for the frame on Thursday or Friday. I also found myself an old vacuum pump laying around. It looks older than me, but with some new oil, it was running fine. The thing is pretty big, and sucks pretty fast, but I don't know if it is fast enough to use without a tank... I have an old portable air compressor laying around that I might cannibalize for the tank. It's nice and quiet, too I still need to order some plastic, because I might be able to get it locally. And I still need to make the molds. I plan on gluing together some scrap MDF and seeing how that turns out; I know some guys that make airplanes out of composite that use MDF for molds. They also have a huge CNC mill that is about the size of my room *drools* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkamino Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Hey Matt, Just a note. I use a 5 hp shop vac along with a vacuum chamber. The shop vac is good if you have to "work" the pull with a heat gun to better the details. The vacuum chamber gives the pull that first blast sucking everything down tight. Just an idea. If you like it, just be sure to install a check valve in the shop vac line so you don't lose the vacuum of the chamber through the shop vac. Sounds like your off to an awesome start. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Thanks for the advice! I might be able to accomplish the same effect with just the vacuum pump because it has to much flow, but I'll probably end up adding some plumbing for a shop vac as well with a check valve. Right now I have it fit for a .5" threaded PVC for the table because that is the size of the vacuum line, so I'm unsure how that will work with my shop vac... I guess that's what experimentation is for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I finished the vac table today. And it sucks! In a good way, that is. I'm really happy with it. I also got the pieces I ordered for the oven, so I can work on that tomorrow. I can't wait until I can start using it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Did some more work on the oven. Unfortunately, I only had about a quarter of the day to work on it... I have all of the supplies, and I should be able to get it assembled in another half day's work, then it's on to the plastic frame. I have a few questions about the material. I can get .06, and .125 styrene sheet pretty cheap, as well as ABS ( no .08 in either size, but I can get .093 in black) in the same size for the same price (ABS is slightly cheaper) I heard that ABS is more durable, so I'm thinking .06 would be fine. But I also hear ABS is harder to form... What do you think I should get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nairod Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I'm not an expert on vacuumforming but I read that ABS was hard to form than styrene. Even heated, ABS remains a little rubbery! You will need a great power of aspiration. Or maybe work with heat gun to refine the details (but it is not most practical) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkamino Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 ABS is harder to form than Styrene (HIPS). But ABS also seems to hold the heat and stay pliable longer than styrene. The best results for forming a helmet are 0.08" HIPS or ABS. For bringing out the details, stick with the HIPS but ABS is far superior in durabilty. For armor I'd use 0.093" ABS. I've never done armor in HIPS but I am assuming 0.093" up to 0.125" would work depending on the piece. I've even use 0.125" ABS for the chest plate....very heavy duty. BTW, I've seen split decisions whether or not the haircell (textured side) of ABS telegraphs through. I have not noticed this to be a concern however my pulls do not come out glass smooth. I have not had the opportunity to work with smooth on smooth ABS. If your looking for sheet goods and don't mind the shipping costs here is a good link: Total Plastics, Inc. Otherwise I go through a local glazing contractor who makes large orders from time to time and does not charge me for shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Well, I have good solutions for vacuuming, so the ABS should not be a problem there. I can only get .093 in black unfortunately. So do you think I should go with .125 or .06? ABS or Styrene? If the ABS is more durable and doesn't take the details as well, then I'm thinking .06 because the thinner material will take better detail, and still be durable. Just a thought, again I have never done this before. Edit I can only get .093 in white ABS, never mind about the black... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkamino Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 For armor my honest opinion is 0.093" ABS. If you're doing a helmet and your only choices were the three (0.125", 0.093", or 0.06") then 0.093" ABS would be the choice however it will take some "hand work" with a heat gun to really bring out the detail. I think 0.06" is way too flimsy and you should forget 0.125" for a helmet. Just keep in mind, like any other new venture, practice makes perfect. Unless you have a trained professional guiding you through, be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them. On my first run of armor I bet I went through about 3 full sheets (48" x 96") of ABS before I finally got the thickness, heating, etc right and could make pulls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Yay! I learned how to weld today! Makes me feel special... And gave me a funny sunburn =\ Anyway, I'm getting close to finishing this thing, and I will be ordering the plastic soon. I'm going to go with .093 abs, thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted July 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 I finally finished the oven today and got it all wired up. I turned it on and there was a dead short... The good news is that it was supposed to be like that It got nice and hot, drawing 20.5A at about 109 volts. All I have left to do is make the plastic frame and plumb in the vac table. HOPEFULLY I'll get some more free time to work on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacTrooper Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 YAY! another vacuformer. i form my stuff out of pretty thin styrene, 1/6" stuff for armor. what's nice about that is i can reproduce FINE detail. and 1/6" styrene is MUCH tougher that you would think. sure you can jump on an ABS chestplate and run it over with a car and it'll spring back (I'VE DONE IT.... ), but when it comes down to it, the lighter the armor the better, and plus i can always fix or reform any problem piece. ABS is just plain toxic and annoying to form. that's why i dont form it anymore, that and i cant fine smooth and glossy for ABS, just haircell. keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daetrin[Admin] Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Fascinating! I don't even have a vac table but this is pretty cool information to learn about. It's pretty interesting to hear how our white armor is made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Well, I'm pretty much finished with the vac table. I built0 a little table for the forming surface that holds it about 6.5" above whatever it is setting. I also cut the legs on it so it will stack on top of the oven when it is not in use. I still haven't ordered the plastic yet. Perhaps I should go with Styrene? You say 1/6" as "thin" but most places recommend .08 - .09. I can get it in .06 and .125. If you can get fine detail in 1/6 (.16) then .125 should be fine, right? I also plan on making some paintball stuff, do you think a paintball impact will break .125 or .06? I also just found out that the dealer I was looking at getting it from only sells haircell abs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkamino Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I'd recommend starting with styrene (HIPS) to get some practice for the simple fact it is cheaper than ABS. I would not go over 0.125" (1/8") for any armor. Maybe pick up a sheet of each thickness and each type of material to see how they form. The HIPS will form most armor up to 0.125" with fair to good detail but definitely not a helmet and maybe not the upper back and abdomen. If you use ABS forget using anything over 0.093".......0.0125" may only work for the chest and lower back and maybe only a couple other parts. As for paintball, either material will work while ABS being the more durable. The breakage will occur from wear and tear of physical use rather than impact from enemy fire. Finally, haircell ABS is pretty much industry standard. I have only found two suppliers offering smooth on smooth and the costs are over double what I pay for haircell ABS. I have not had any major difficulty with haircell but others have noted it telegraphs through. Perhaps my experience has shown that thicker ABS (I use mostly 0.093") will prevent the haircell from telegraphing through...just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the info, that helps a ton! Now THIS is too bad! The site no longer exists, but I sent the guy an email... No response yet. Edited February 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanasoo Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 No response from Mike... I'm going to go ahead and get some .06 HIPS, and some .06 ABS. I'll see if the haircell shows through. The .125 HIPS is about $8 a sheet, so I don't think I'll be getting any of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacTrooper Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 DONT GET HAIRCELL ABS!!! IT SHOWS THROUGH, NO MATTER WHAT. don't waste your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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