OKay so right now I am in the process of (and jsut a few days away from beginning painting) working on my new case: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...180-024&depa=1 which i really like because it has so much room but one problem i have run into is the front panel of the case is curved so i can jsut put a piece of acrylic in the front like i had planned so i was looking online an found that i could shaped it by heating it in the over. THe problem i have found is trying to find a material that would be easy enough to make a mold for the acrylic to lay in. What is a material that i could bend but will not burn from high heat?

Hehehe glass! I dont know if you have those capabilites. Also if you have access to a accetyline torch you could make a mold out of thin steel and beating it into shape.....other than that go with artist clay. Meant for the oven and it wont burn up but its not as tough as other materials.

I heard that a heat-gun (the kind used for heat-shrink tubing and label removal) is good for molding plastic. As far as something to mold it with, how about sturdy cardboard? The acrylic would probably melt before the cardboard would burn...never tried it though.

This could be a tough one. I would personally use wood for shaping forms before cardboard... much less of a fire danger because even if it does start burning it won't go up as fast. Still, to be safe, do it in a fire safe area.

Have you considered simply carving the acrylic? My die maker uses acrylic for my steel rule cutting dies, and they are drilled and carved out to fit.... unfortunately it won't give you a nice clear finish and instead a sort of iced glass look. (But you MIGHT be able to melt just the outer layer of the acrylic that's glossy like that to get it clear again. MAYBE. I can't test it for you because even though I have solid acrylic carriers with dies, and a heat gun... I don't own the dies so I can't play with them.)

As for another off-the-wall approach, you might check a junkyard for car parts. There is usually plenty of curved glass there from car windows... maybe some of that might have the right curve and then you could just cut to fit?

Quote: Originally Posted by JCoyote This could be a tough one. I would personally use wood for shaping forms before cardboard... much less of a fire danger because even if it does start burning it won't go up as fast.

I don't think a heat-gun would cause cardboard to go up in flame. Might turn a li'l brown though.

you use cast acrylic because it wont bubble up.
use a heat gun because a torch can get too hot
the side you heat will be the side that expands thus curveing the acrylic like flame ~ ( acrylic
go slow because it can form stress cracks
dont heat it too much or gravity will screw you unless you hope to have it sink into a mold
look up vacumeforming

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth I don't think a heat-gun would cause cardboard to go up in flame. Might turn a li'l brown though.

Your heat gun obviously isn't quite the industrial model I have around. Prolonged exposure from the one I have can definitely light paper based products.

Granted, if I were doing this, I would likely use my flash curing unit to evenly heat the acrylic, but most people don't have access to those.

This is why I need to post here more, it gives me new ideas for all the industrial toys I have around me.

Quote: Originally Posted by KollinPBaller OKay so right now I am in the process of (and jsut a few days away from beginning painting) working on my new case: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...180-024&depa=1 which i really like because it has so much room but one problem i have run into is the front panel of the case is curved so i can jsut put a piece of acrylic in the front like i had planned so i was looking online an found that i could shaped it by heating it in the over. THe problem i have found is trying to find a material that would be easy enough to make a mold for the acrylic to lay in. What is a material that i could bend but will not burn from high heat?

Yikes. First of all, commercial acrylic does NOT need high heat to soften and form into or over a mold (known as a "Buck" in the plastic forming industry) --Leave a piece of acrylic in the oven even on low heat causes gasses to escape the material, build up and explode into a fireball--gas and electric ovens are notorious for this--

end modder's safety message

Someone who can give you a lot of information on this is Wordbiker. He has done quite a bit with acrylics and heat. From what he has told me, and from my testing a heat gun works fine. It takes patience and time, but does the trick.

Quote: Originally Posted by Foe Someone who can give you a lot of information on this is Wordbiker. He has done quite a bit with acrylics and heat. From what he has told me, and from my testing a heat gun works fine. It takes patience and time, but does the trick.

As long as it's not an industrial heat gun, I guess... ...not sure how many people have those, though. Mine's a $40 special.

Quote: Originally Posted by Coelacanth As long as it's not an industrial heat gun, I guess... ...not sure how many people have those, though. Mine's a $40 special.

You got ripped off Coelacanth! I only paid $30. for mine.

Well, I'm talking Canadian loonies, plus 15% tax, so it's probably pretty close to the same price.

You can get a cheap heat gun from Harbor Freight. I payed $19 for mine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35776

I would make a mold out of wood or metal. lay your plactic on the mold and evenly heat it from the center outward and allow gravity to curve it to your form. This stuff will stay hot for a long time so be carefull not to burn yourself.

we used a heatgun to mold it in robotics. one thign to remember, it will become very bubbly very fast with a gun, so watch it closely.

EDIT: i just remembered we were using polycarbonate, so i dunno if acrylic will bubble

I might just go to harbor freight then since it it only 15 minutes from my house.