How To Shape Plexiglass Sheets

Attempting to create a smaller radius would snap the sheet.

How to shape plexiglass sheets. Wait about 10 minutes for it to warm fully. If you have a toaster oven set it to about 200º and leave the door slightly ajar. Note that the minimum radius of the bend you create is 180 times the thickness of the plexiglass sheet. Hold the heating gun approximately 4 inches from the line and direct the heat jet slowly back and forth along your line.

Have another person hold the sheet on either side of the desired bend. To create bends for small scale projects in plexiglass perspex or acrylic 1 8 inch and thinner you can use a small torch butane kitchen torches work well a paint stripping heat gun or an embossing heat tool which is a wand that works very similarly to a paint stripping gun. The difficulty with small projects having tight bends close together is control of the heat source so the adjoining curve isn t affected. Place the plastic sheet on a cookie sheet and place in an oven set to 250 f.

For instance the smallest complete circle you could form with a sheet of plexiglass 1 32 inch thick would have a radius of 5 6 inches. Fab glass and mirror also gives you the opportunity to project self made designs on your plastic with a few simple steps. Lay the sheet on a flat surface and. Force the plexiglass into the desired shape.

Most scale models won t need bends in acrylic more than 1 16 inch thick. Acrylic sheet for better energy efficiency. To cut the material with a scoring knife you should make a small cut in the marked area. Mark the shape with a black felt tip pen.

Since plexiglas acrylic sheet is opaque to most wavelengths in the infrared spectrum the surface exposed to the heater absorbs almost all the energy. If you don t have a toaster oven you can carefully use a heat gun to heat the acrylic. This should include any interior cutouts corners etc. The size shape and optical requirements of the formed part generally.

Use a plastic cutting knife to cut the sheet down to the general overall size. Plexiglass can be cut by hand using a scoring knife or a dremel tool. Then place the sheet on a table with the marked side facing up. Place the part of the acrylic to be bent just above the open door wait for it to soften enough and then bend it to the angle desired.

The rest of the sheet is heated largely by conduction. In both instances you would use a marker or ruler to indicate where you intend to cut it. Have the other person apply slight pressure as you slowly bend the sheet. The sheet will eventually soften along the bend line.

Since plexiglas acrylic sheet is an excellent insulator the surface.