Full Version: Bending plastic

From: geebeau [#1]
 6 Feb 2005
To: ALL

Hi, all..
What's the easiest way to bend a piece of Rowmark plastic so that it can stand by itself?

Thanx,
Steve

From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#2]
 6 Feb 2005
To: geebeau [#1] 6 Feb 2005

Steve,

A strip heater is the easiest way. I think they kick in at about $150. Not sure about that. I got one as part of of an acquisiton from an engraving shop, which was going out of business.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

From: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#3]
 6 Feb 2005
To: geebeau [#1] 6 Feb 2005

Johnson Plastics has a couple in their catalog. They work very nicely.

I think a while back their was a discussion about how to build a homemade strip heater. I will see if I can dig it up.

Found it here> http://www.engravingetc.org/forum/?msg=272.1

EDITED: 6 Feb 2005 by DATAKES

From: geebeau [#4]
 6 Feb 2005
To: Engravin' Dave (DATAKES) [#3] 6 Feb 2005

Thanx.. I was looking for more of a quick0-fix do it with a hair dryer type of thing..

Steve

From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#5]
 6 Feb 2005
To: geebeau [#4] 6 Feb 2005

You can use a heat gun to do it , you dont get fantastic results cos of the fact that you heat up too much of an area , if you can localise the heat to a mm or so either side of where you want to bend , you get better results. Just use 2 strips of 6mm supawood or something that doesnt retain heat to mask the rowmark except for a narrow strip where you want to bend , heat the backside of the rowmark Use the heat gun on the exposed strip heting as evenly as you can , you should see it beginning to deform or warp a little , it's probabably hot enough now. remove one piece and bend using the other piece as a straight edge to get the bend straight. You have to hold the piece in position till it cools otherwise it tends to straighten out. Practice on some scrap to get to the right temp - overheating will tend to mar the front finishes at the bend (especially gold and silver) .

From: Jim (PUZZLEHEAD) [#6]
 6 Feb 2005
To: geebeau [#1] 7 Feb 2005

The cost of a strip heater is an excellent investment. Mine pays for itself several times over every single week. If I used it for nothing more than foldover type name badges, it would pay for itself every week. I also do a lot of free standing signs and I have bent over 2 million restaurant table or tray tents with it. You can also make things like machine safety shields, Lane Closed signs for grocery stores, Next Teller Please signs, clear acrylic literature holders and unusually shaped industrial panels. I have several chains of jewelry stores that buy lots of tiny free standing price tags from me. When I want to make a softer bend in the plastic (which is most of the time) I put a piece of U-Channel aluminum over the heat strip so it heats a slightly wider strip of plastic.

I love the smell of melting plastic in the morning..........The smell, you know that plastic smell, the whole shop, smells like...Profit!

From: Zonas [#7]
 12 Feb 2005
To: geebeau [#1] 12 Feb 2005

There was a previous discussion about this starting with posting # 272.1

Zona
Zona's Engraved Creations

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