Vacuum Forming. It is a technique used by many to create plastic recreations of molds . It requires:

• Vacuum Table
• Plastic Frame
• Plastic Sheets
• Heat Source
• Custom Mold
• Vacuum Source

The Process:

A Plastic sheet is snapped between a frame(same size as Vacuum Table). Then, the Frame(along with the plastic sheet) is heated(more on the heating processes later) to the proper temperature. Once that temperature is reached, the frame is tooken away from the heating element and is placed upon the Vacuum Table and Mold. After the frame is placed on the table, the vacuum power sucks the plastic down on the mold, creating a plastic recreation of the mold.

I will update this with more info a bit later. Might want to sticky this as it seems to nearly be the only topic on the subject, let alone in the entire forum.

Anxiously awaiting your updates and dicussion!

Ditto

I use to do this quite a bit when I had a RC helicopter. I made my own helicopter bodies. It works pretty slick.

For thin plastics (less than 3 mm) you just need an old vacuum cleaner motor to pull the plastic over the mold. If you are going to thicker you will need both a vaccuum cleaner motor (for the large volume of air) and a vacuum pump (for the details), and a one-way valve to switch between the 2.
The thicket I ever pulled was 1/4" (6.35 mm)

Baby powder works as a good release agent.

Polycarbonate (Lexan) has to be dried for a few hours at low temperatures or it will bubble.

The molds have to have draft so that you can get the mold out. (you can vacuum for a golf ball, but you cant get the ball out once its done without cutting up the golf ball)

Same, I've made RC plane parts and car bodies this way, and I wanted to make some fibreglass molds for replicating other parts using this process.

I don't have the vacuum table anymore, but a regular shop-vac was all I needed at the time. I had the table set up so that I could just pop the shop-vac hose into it.

I worked for a couple of years for an outfit that produced scale R/C models, ruined my hobby

I did the fiberglass r&d work and layups along with the vac forming for all kits.

I mostly got involved with them because I wanted to learn the fiberglass mold making part of the hobby. Since I really liked flying scale competition at that time. Did I mention it ruined my hobby?

To do a glass mold right takes a lot of time, money and effort. One off parts badly done takes almost as much effort as quality parts.

For quick and dirty vac molds we used a product called Hardings Hard Rock Water putty. I would first carve the part from a dense urethane foam. Fiberglass the foam then prime and paint with a high temperature paint add whatever detail needed, then vac that part. Then you can use the Hard Rock Water putty for cheep and replaceable molds for that part.

A simple vac table can be made from a piece of 3/4 ply. Drill "X" size hole in the middle of the platen, top, to accept a 90 degree drain fitting that fits your vac hose. Now using a piece of screen door cloth, metal not fiberglass, cut out a piece of screen that fits the top leaving a 1/2" or so lip all around, staple down. The screen material provides the area around your mold to pull the air out from around your mold. Around that lip attach felt weather stripping to provide a seal between your plastic and the top. Block up the top to give you a stable surface and allow for your vac hose attachment.

Make up two frames to sandwich your plastic between. Clamp the plastic between the frames heat up the plastic, your wifes oven will do just fine, until she finds out. Your plastic should sag at least an inch to an inch and a half.

Turn on your vac, put on your oven mitts, pull the frame with the plastic out of the oven and prepare for suckage!

This may not sound right but thicker plastic will pull better than thinner plastic. The thicker plastic will hold heat longer although the thicker plastic transfers less detail.

Good luck!

And watch it, that plastic's hot! LOL

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font]Well, good day everyone, as i am new to Lumenlab,my apology if there is something disagreeable to my way of replying this posting, but may i ask anyone if recycled plastics, like old water plastic bottles is applicable as materials for making a project? I really don't know anything about it but i wanna try using it for there are plenty in our locality .