We used to have a heating element, basically a metal box with a quartz rod, that was used to heat acrylic for bending. I desperately need to make some bends but cannot find it anywhere around the laser area. Does anyone have a clue where it is or what I could use as an alternative?
It is in the north warehouse over by the woodshop tools for sale. Saw it there last weekend.
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Thanks!
David Jeter
469.286.6418
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I heard a rumor that it was in need of some TLC on the wooden parts of it.
I found it and have been using it this afternoon. There are no wooden parts on it and it’s working great.
David Jeter
469.286.6418
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Oh that’s really good to hear. I wanted to use it at one point in the past, so I’m glad you have it working. Thanks.
You may be thinking of the homebuilt one. It was built into a piece of MDF and was pretty beat up from being moved around. It never saw much use since it was always tucked away under one of the lasers.
My hope is they will find a good home in the Plastics SIG and be setup in a semi-permanent spot.
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The one in the plastic sig is a long metal one, between 24"-36" inches long. It has a heating element in the center. Takes a little time to heat the acrylic enough to bend, but it works fine.
I was using the heater for a while but kept running in to the problem of the acrylic cooling before I could get it into the jig I had built. Ultimately I switched to a heat gun to finish. Here is a pic of the result. I made 22 magazine stands to display magazines as table centerpieces for an event.
David Jeter
469.286.6418
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Nicely done @David_Jeter! Such excellent laser work and alignment.
For those who haven’t bent acrylic before, it has a lot of “memory”. It wants to return to it’s former shape. A jig like David used holds it in place as the plastic cools.