Set the flat piece of scrap wood on top of the acrylic to keep it in place in the jig while it cools, so that it forms to the correct angle. 28 August 2020. Place a sheet between the heating bars to soften it. Leave it at 90 degrees to cool down for a couple minutes, and you have successfully bent an acrylic! Allow the tubing to heat until it becomes pliable. How to bend Acrylic/Perspex: The best way to bend acrylic is to use a strip heater with an element running between two watercooled tubes, preferably made from stainless steel. In 2018 and 2019, Fixin’ To do was rated as a Top Pro by Thumbtack. This method works well for larger bends, but there is a greater risk of melting or scorching the plastic. It is important to trace each side of the bent acrylic. When you have your sheet at the correct angle or have bent the curve you want (for a window or the front of a curved bakery case, which may not be at 90 degrees Fahrenheit), hold the plastic gently in place for a few seconds until it sets up again. Remember to wait until the initial bend in the acrylic has completely cooled before attempting another bend in the same sheet of acrylic. Clamp the acrylic to a work table, and proceed to turn the gun on and heat up the piece of acrylic, using a steady back-and-forth sweeping motion. If you don't apply heat evenly to the bend line of a sheet of plexiglass or acrylic you can create bubbles or scorch marks that cannot be removed. Make sure that your line exactly follows the shape you desire. Acrylic is one of the frequently-used plastic plates in the market at present, so people call the device which can bend the acrylic into shapes “Acrylic Bending Machine”. The distance and speed will be different depending on the thickness of the material you are working with. Use the spare piece of flat scrap wood to push the acrylic back and down while you aim the heat gun at the acrylic. References. In 2018 and 2019, Fixin’ To do was rated as a Top Pro by Thumbtack. When a bend line exceeds 24 inches in length, there is a tendency for the part to bow across the bend. When you feel that your sheet is allowing you to push up evenly on it, remove your heat source and set it safely aside on a stand or heat-resistant surface; the end of your tool will be hot! How To Bend Acrylic Sheet Acrylic Benders , Find Complete Details about How To Bend Acrylic Sheet Acrylic Benders,How To Bend Acrylic Sheet Acrylic Benders,Acrylic Letter Bending Tool,Tools For Hand-made Led Channel Letter from Other Bending Machines … Remove the pins from between the joints as you apply the cement. Avoid sheets of thin plastic/acrylic that claim to be embossable. This can cause fumes to gather in the oven and eventually ignite. The bend was made before the material was evenly softened, and this resulted in an angled rather than a straight line bend. Small butane torch, embossing heat tool, or heat gun, Scrap wood (at least 1/8-inch thick and wide enough for the clamps), Plexiglass or acrylic sheet (up to 1/8-inch thickness). Then, scale your design and take the proper measurements. Some types of sheet acrylic are sold as heat withstanding, or plastic which can be embossed from stamp and scrapbook stores. Acrylic has great potential as a building material for would-be makers. A jig is a box or frame meant for holding a material and guiding a machine tool to the material. As it heats up, you can use your fingers to gently bend the acrylic upward. There will come a point when the material will move upward easily as it reaches a molten state. Gather the supplies you need in order to bend the acrylic with a heat gun. Once heated it will bend easily. Secure the sides with acrylic glue and an applicator, and use clamps to hold them in place to set for several minutes. The reason this works is because acrylic plastic actually melts at 405 F. Polycarbonate is a better choice for highly demanding applications. If you do not have a heat source that will work for thin materials, try the method shown for heat welding plastic, using a metal kitchen spatula or blade heated against an iron, then pressed against the material. Set the jig aside until you need it. He holds both his TSBPE Plumbing Examiners and Electrical Apprentice (TX) Licenses. This resulted in an angled rather than a straight bend against the jig. A China graph pencil or permanent marker works well, but the marker will not be able to be removed. Do not keep your heat gun or torch too close to the plastic. Most scale models won't need bends in acrylic more than 1/16 inch thick. In the sense of the principle, it can bend the acrylic into shapes by heating and softening the plates. Run your heat tool gently back and forth along a cut plastic edge to soften it just enough that it turns clear. There are different methods for doing this, and each helps you to easily bend acrylic. The paper-thin acrylic sheet shown below was bent with an embossing heat tool, which was easy to control above the jig. Make sure you have a spare piece of scrap wood to help you with the heat bending process. Try to keep the heat source at a right angle to your sheet of plastic/plexiglass. Tips If the area to bend is on an outer curve or bend, or if you want to create a tighter corner, try using a frying pan on LOW heat to hold the plastic area to bend. It may be helpful to overestimate your dimensions, since you will be heating and bending the acrylic. Heating time varies between 30 seconds and 12 minutes based on material type and thickness. There are blades and tools made specifically for cutting, heating, and bending acrylic but [Marija] shows… Do not assume that both sides are the exact same shape. To set up your plastic or acrylic sheet to bend simple curves for your miniature and model projects, first remove the protective covering from the material you wish to bend. First, sketch out your design. You may need to use wood glue or nails to assemble your jig into the shape you need, depending on how you plan to bend the acrylic. use a heat gun to heat the acrylic. Then, aim a heat gun at the point on the acrylic you want to bend. This article has been viewed 71,906 times. Use long, thin test strips (1 inch or so in width) to practice your technique and learn how your particular heat source affects your chosen thickness of plastic. Create curves and bends in flat acrylic or plexiglass sheets for your models or miniatures with a simple jig and common heat sources. To make side pieces, trace the sides of your newly-bent acrylic onto a flat piece and cut them out with a saw. The heat from the rod, will help keep the acrylic/petg soft enough to bend. These benders are compatible with plastics such as acrylic, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, PVC, CPVC, ABS, and Kydex. Did you know you can read expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow, http://makezine.com/2013/02/06/workshop-wednesday-heat-bending-acrylic-enclosures/, http://hackaday.com/2013/02/07/heating-bending-and-gluing-to-make-acrylic-enclosures/, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jig, http://www.technologystudent.com/joints/desk17.htm, http://www.plaskolite.com/Fabrication/Acrylic/Forming, https://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infacrylic.html, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow, Sheet of acrylic large enough for your needs, A heat gun, which is an electrical tool that heats and softens a variety of materials, Cutting tools, such as a Dremel saw, circular saw, table saw, and/or razor knife, Chinagraph pencil, also known as a grease pencil, or permanent marker. Abraham Schwartz is a handyman and the owner of Fixin’ To Do, a home improvement service in Austin, Texas. Using a heated blade would be a more reliable method. Before you bend acrylic, set it between 2 pieces of scrap wood and clamp them together with a vice. Use acrylic cement to glue the back piece of acrylic to the bottom piece. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/3e\/Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid4719217-v4-728px-Bend-Acrylic-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"