Vacuum Forming with your Kitchen Oven and Vacuum Cleaner

[sobekcroc]

Is the mold itself the final product, or are there materials that you can use to make shapes like the original? The only material I can think of that wouldn't need heat to set is expanding foam, but I hear that's kinda messy.

[sebbyjuice]

out of all the videos i saw of this yours turned out the best

[gotalentguy]

Do you know of a place that sells extremely low temperature thermoplastic sheets so that you could use a live human's face to form the plastic?

[blobliblo35]

@gotalentguy maybe you could just make a replica of the face with something else (i don't know maybe plaster) and then mold the plastic over that replica.

[Blizzfart]

heya, nice video.

Can you tell me what cind of plastic is that,and where did you buy it?

oh,and if its not a problem, a link to a Online shop,where i can buy it.

Thanks.

[leif011]

thanks for uploading. ;) could you recommend any place selling cheap plastics?

like Styrene or pvc?

would be a great help if you did. ;D

[linolarios]

CAN I USE PLEXIGLASS?

[acidrain55]

What type of plastic is that, can you use any type?.

[DjMikal7]

@acidrain55 u can use abs or pteg either one works just look up frightstuff. but the vid uses abs plastic.

[TheHorrorDome]

Awesome! Very thought out.

[Shan23Studios]

Xcellent, No wonder why such a large number of views to your vdo.

Very good work, so committed. And that's your face.  Cool

[shewillvideo]

how thick is that plastic?

[ninjapocolypse]

so thats how they putt han solo in cryo

[vonrollskyway1]

Question,,Is this plastic paintable and is it U.V. resistant?What type of glue can you use to bond it to another piece of plastic and it to be strong enough?thanks a ton..

[trytthisnow]

PLaten l0l

[mike081283]

sweet were do u get the plastic from i want to make candy molds 

[sheepdog141]

Very cool.

[djgravitate]

This is so cool! ...How did you construct the vacuum forming table with the vacuum cleaner?

[zeekmizaka]

ummm...can i buy clear plastic stuff? cuz im trying to make a helmet and i need this process

[fuelban]

thanks , cool video, really informative guys.

thom in scotland.

[MrCouchpotato93]

thats the second time someone has been put in carbonite!

damnit!!!

[spartan5566]

great video! : )

[MrDizzizz]

You're going to think I'm an idiot, but this is a serious question.

Could I vacuumform myself? I want to make something like when Han was frozen in Star Wars, but with myself.

also, should the Vacuum stay on while it dries?

[eloid777]

what plastic is used here.... where to get it cheap ?

[starwarsjunkiie]

hey couldn't you vacuums form action figures?

[starwarsjunkiie]

hmm nice now i can mold some action figures that i bought and sell them hahhaha and yes it does look like hansolo kind of

[Darkviron]

Now I can make my own cheap plastic crappy Iron man mask!!! =D

[backbodydroper]

Hi....wir haben auch eine Tiefziehbox gebaut.cooles video!!

[btucker1975]

Hey bro, do you just have the "one big hole" under the mould, right?  I am making my machine and I want the best amount of pull for the extreme detail. I should do it with the big hole with mesh over it and then the mould on top of the screen mesh, right. Let me know, thanks man! :)

[mast3rbug]

wow, It works really well. I try since 1 week to do something with good result, but the thermoforming is really bad... The angles have always curves, the plastic is cold before the vacuum can remove all the air. Do you have small holes in your form? I beggin to think that my heaters are not hot enough...

[Dkmasteris]

where to get the plastic? (im not living in america)

does the plastic turn transparent?

can i find something at home to use as needed plastic?

[hellwyurm]

the plastic is styrene sheet plastic I buy mine from USplastics but you can get it lots of places

[cantdance4shit]

What specific type of plastic is this? ABS?

[guslingus]

Nice little video mate...

[richard16vg40]

good video :)

i,ll try it sometime

[vossperformance]

What kind of plastic do you use?

[eloid777]

where to buy sheet goods from?

[billybobjoe198]

"Tired of buying cheap plastic crap?"

"Now you can make your own"

I like how that implies it's crap. Nice vid though, would have liked a little instruction on how you had the vacuum actually set but makes enough sense.

[metalmacguyver]

Make your own tool box!!!!

[AAfilmproductions]

sorry i had to say this but at the end it looks like han solo

btw great vid thanks

[DONDEKILLER]

from what material is made your face mold?

[absolutsoju]

I would be ok with dead animals. Like a frozen chicken, or filet mignon

[MarchoftheMuffins]

I think maybe that were worded a little wonky. Will this give off any vapor or particles harmful to animals in the near vicinity? no need to answer this. I'm just clearing up a mistake here, i did not intend to put forth any leanings towards animal cruelty. Thank you

[MarchoftheMuffins]

Is this safe to do with pets, more pointedly birds in attendance?

[zaphraud]

I'm pretty sure that melting plastic is too hot for direct exposure to pets, from the pets point of view...

However, I cant think of any reason a human being would be harmed by doing this with a bird, other than the obvious hazards that birds present in every other circumstance (beak, talons, bird shit, etc)

[TylerHaslett]

This is NOT safe on ANY living thing! If you want to test me on that, go ahead and warm your Styrene in the oven as instructed, place your hand down where the lifecast would be, and call your pals to take you to the hospital.

[englundisgod]

could you mould this on great stuff foam or would it melt

[michaelcovert1]

SIC now i can make masks! that way! but where do i get the plastic sheets?

[MikeyNiv]

now i can make my own cheap plastic crap!

[Greichen]

Oh, is that all?

[early1900s]

Anybody know what the plastic sheet is called that is used to make the new item and if it is supplied in the UK? I cant seem to find anything on Google except companies offering a vacuum moulding service.

[ryanrocco154]

either ABS plastic or polystyrene

[ohnonotrose]

wait wait, how did you make the vacuum part? i know you used a vacuum cleaner but how did you set it up to get even suction?

[beerpongmasterss]

I need a plastic that can be used for vacuforming and also is transparant

[frederic470]

me too. i think its called Lexan

[frogpriority]

PETG

[kikikiko84]

1 more question:

what material that u use for making the mold?

i means that face?

[xakatski]

probably, plaster

[kikikiko84]

question :

what type of thats plastic?

[glennzoo]

polystyrene

[xakatski]

ehhh nooo, PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)

[fesojistheshit]

cool! what kind of plastic it that and where cand i find it? ;)

[PureBreed34]

one question, where would be the best place to find plastic sheets about the size of the one u used? somewhere like Home Depot or more of a art store like Micheal's?

[wingedsuperyak]

Thank you, you made this intimidating process accessible!

[Galforg]

Sir, I am forever in your debt. Excelent stuff, this shall be most useful come halloween!

[Blanked22]

Hey Awsome great :) I wanna do this also Where can I Buy this plastic ?

[Airazz]

Check out in the local plastic shop. It costs about $10 for a 120x140cm piece.

[Playboo62]

han solo

[debaucheryBotched]

You must be confusing this with the video "How to make money encasing fugitives in carbonate Part 3: acheiving perfect hibernation" by BobaFett325. LOL

[onegreeneye]

its taken me so long jusss to get it all together, after many failuress..but, finally have it all.. juss need to test my plastic, & see if i do right.. harrayyy!!- such a great project with my boys!:) thanks

[SK8ERRB]

I saw you on the halloween project site.

[youngcharlie36]

where do you get your plastic from, how thick is it?

I want to Vacuum form a phone from the 70's in black about 3mm thick

[djomdog]

Thanks!

[YouAdamNazzkl0wn]

sweet!!!

5 more stars.

[kranjFLY]

hi! i have a question:

what temperature you turn on?

is 250°c good?

[kranjFLY]

???

[wolfekeeper]

Yeah, 250 is good... if you want to make poisonous fumes and die. ;-)

The temperature depends on what plastic you're using, but most thermoplastics melt at a bit below or above 100C.

Of course 250C would work if you watch it carefully, but setting it lower is probably far wiser.

[drsheikhjunior]

Great video.Now I can make cowlings for my GWS BN2 Rc plane.Thanks for the video.

[shigalbigal]

Will a 1800W vacuum cleaner work?

[chinoxucv]

hey man! what kind of plastic are u using? it is pvc? thanks!

[letiamae]

that's really cool!

[adumwatkins]

nice sandals

[OGMO11]

is that the best thing you can come up with??? lol

[JimE2]

Looks good!

[turahk547]

if i did that my mom would kill me....

[treborly]

does the frame have to create an air tight seal with the box?....or does the plastic create the seal?

[inkersd]

Cool video, gives me lots of ideas to try. I had a question about the face though, what was it molded out of? And is there any tips you can give for sculpting it? Thanks.

[vacuumformer]

That's a life cast my wife made of my face, using an alginate mold with a plaster mother mold, and casting water putty from Home Depot in it. (Now we mostly use Ultracal 30 gypsum cement from a local ceramics supply place.) Check out my web site for more information on life casting and vacuum-forming masks. (See my channel description for a link.)

[Spoothead12]

What window frames are those

[vacuumformer]

I got the frame material at Home Depot, but I got the metal corners at a local True Value that happens to carry them. You can also buy them online (see the instructable and the comments on it for more info). Also see my web site for another way to make aluminum frames using C-channel from Home Depot.

[btucker1975]

@vacuumformer Hey bro, do you just have the "one big hole" under the mould, right? I am making my machine and I want the best amount of pull for the extreme detail. I should do it with the big hole with mesh over it and then the mould on top of the screen mesh, right. Let me know, thanks man! :)

[toxicfrost123]

where is the best place to get that plastic?

[TheFXKid]

I've never used a vacuform but, I've bought rolls of acrylic at homedepot and hobby lobby. The plastic is about 2ft wide and 1/16-1/32 inches thicl

[vacuumformer]

Usually the best place is a local sheet plastics supplier. See the comments on the instructable for more info. (See the video description and my channel description for links.)

[rlake76]

Where do you get the plastic?

[vacuumformer]

See the comments on the Instructable; look in the description field here for the link.

(Feel free to ask questions over there, where there isn't a 500-character limit on answers.)

[aznheadbanger]

yeah.. ive never done any of this before but im trying to make a master chief mold and do the vacuum forming...can anyone tell me how much this would all cost?

-mold,plastic,etc?

[vacuumformer]

If you're doing something costumey and that ambitious, you should definitely sign up for the forums at tk560 and ask on the vacuum forming forum there.

[aznheadbanger]

ahh nevermind i found a template for it and and i'll just resin and fiberglass it from there but thanks!

[NextGenNinja]

doesn't that make your kitchen smell like melted plastic for hours

[vacuumformer]

No, the fumes aren't bad (at least for thin HIPS) and don't linger. Having a couple of windows open does the trick.

For thicker plastics you get more fumes and you want better ventilation. (You have to cook them lower and slower and longer, so they have more time to emit fumes.) You want pretty good ventilation for that.

[nerdweed]

Hey :) Nice video... It may sound dumb but i want to vacuum form a square garden pot with some 3d draws... The pot is 3.5"x3.5"x10" and the 3d draw pops out 0.5"... how thick should my PETg or HIPS should be ? there is a formula to calculate that ?

Nice work by the way...

[vacuumformer]

PETG and HIPS are probably not the right materials for flowerpots... I'm guessing they'll be in the sun a lot, and those plastics are not UV resistant enough for continuous outdoor use. CAB may be a better choice if you need something clear, or LDPE (low density polyethylene) if you don't.

[vacuumformer]

Hmmm... now I'm not sure about the LDPE. A lot of garden stuff is made of black polypropylene, I believe. You should probably ask about this on one of the discussion boards linked to from my site. (CNCzone, Hobbymolding, or TK560.)

[nerdweed]

Still waiting authorization on TK560... by the way, the reseller im going sells UV resistant Petg.

By the way, have you tryed to form anything using Petg Bottles ?

[vacuumformer]

The thickness question would be a good one to ask on one of the discussion boards I link to, too... it's hard to answer within the 500 character limit here.

[seneca67]

Thank you very much. I have been looking for this very solution. I'll check out the site.

[sx976]

Well it took quite a bit of searching to find window screen kits here in Germany, but I persevered and succeeded. The aluminium sections are cut to size at 45 degrees and then clip together via plastic right angles that fit inside the aluminimum sections. I just hope they don't melt or I will have to make some out of metal. Having measured my oven when the wife wasn't looking, I don't think I can go much bigger than 250mm x 350mm for the frame.

[vacuumformer]

Let me know how the plastic frame corners work out. I'm afraid that they may work for thin and "easy" plastics (which don't need to be in the oven too long) but not for thick plastic or plastics requiring higher temperatures to get soft.

You may want to read my Aug 8 blog posting on making aluminum frames from C-channel. (My profile has a link to the site.) That may work better if you can't find aluminum corners in Germany.

[vacuumformer]

By the way, if you do find the aluminum frame corners in Europe, let me know and I'll add the information to the Instructable.

[AGEBjeff]

Wow, this was exactly what I have been looking for! Your step-by-step instruction on ...instructables... is totally amazing. I´m extremely thankful! The only thing my wife is a little worried about is the vapor from the plastic in our kitchen oven. Have you done any investigation into health issues?

Best regards from Oslo, Norway

[vacuumformer]

My understanding is that if you're using the most commonly vacuum formed plastics (High Impact polyStyrene a.k.a. HIS or HIpS, or PETG, or EVA) there isn't much to worry about UNLESS you burn the plastic. (It should NOT smoke). Warming these plastics releases gases that may be irritants but are not toxic or carcinogenic. Burning them, on the other hand, releases a variety of different combustion products that are not all well-understood and in some cases are toxic or carcinogenic.

[vacuumformer]

Start with your oven at a lower setting than you expect to actually need, and if the plastic doesn't get soft and sag within 4 or 5 minutes, turn the heat up 25 degrees and see if that does it. If you approach the right temperature from below, and you keep an eye on it, you won't burn the plastic or get a meltdown that you have to clean up.

For my oven, I worked up to 275 for EVA, 325 for styrene, and 350 for acrylic.

[vacuumformer]

Just in case I screw up and get a meltdown, I have window screen on the rack under the plastic. I expect I could whip it out of the oven before making too big of a mess. Some people use a solid cookie sheet, so nothing could get through anyhow.

[vacuumformer]

A special note about acrylics:

Dense acrylic fumes can be explosive, so don't let them build up in a closed oven. For my kitchen oven, I have to open the door regularly to peek and check on the plastic, because there's no window, and that lets some of the fumes out.

If you have a nice oven with a window, open the door a bit now and then anyway to prevent he accumulation of explosive gases. (Or don't heat acrylics in your kitchen oven.)

[vacuumformer]

If you don't want to use your kitchen oven, you can make a standalone oven for about $30 (in the U.S., sorry) from a two-burner electric range ("hot plate") and some disposable aluminum pans. See my web site for a link to a how-to.

I find that more convenient than doing things in the kitchen. Either way, make sure the room is well-ventilated but not breezy.

[sx976]

This is the first design I have seen that didn't require drilling hundreds of holes. The use of folded window screen is really clever. Thanks !!

[AngeloatBat]

Thanks for the quck response. Saved your Instructables page to Favs. Looks like a lot of good info. Will read it in depth tomorrow when I have more time. Appreciate your help. Many THNX

[vacuumformer]

The Instructable gives detailed instructions (and part sources) for the vacuum former. It only takes an hour or so to make, with stuff mostly from any home improvement store. (Except for aluminum window screen frame corners, which you may need to buy.

There's more info on vacuum forming, making vacuum formers, etc. at my web "Vacuum Former Plans" website.

If you click on "more" for the description of this video, you'll find links to those things you can click on.

[vacuumformer]

Ooops... that should have said "which you may need to buy online." Builder Depot has 3/8" aluminum window screen frame corners. (See the Instructable.)

[AngeloatBat]

Where can I get the plastic sheeting material? I need something about 1/8th inch thick and flexable. Can you show me how you built your vacuum table?

[vacuumformer]

The best place to buy sheet plastic is usually a local sheet plastic supplier. They're everywhere. You can buy a 4 x 8 foot sheet of plastic (in the U.S.) and score & snap it into smaller pieces to fit your frames. (For example, 24 12 x 18" pieces.) Look in the Yellow Pages under plastics and call around.

Try to find a place with no minimum order, or a low one like $15 or $25, or one that will waive the minimum for "will call" orders (that you pick up yourself).

[vacuumformer]

Oops. That should have said 24 12" x 16" sheets per 4 x 8 foot sheet. (Or 21 12" x 18" sheets.)

My local plastics supplier sells 4 x 8 foot sheets of 1/32" HIpS for about $12, and 1/16" sheets for about $23, so for thin plastic it works out to about 50 cents to a dollar for something like a mask.

[vacuumformer]

How flexible do you need your plastic to be, and how big? (What are you making?) Craft foam from a craft store is easy to vacuum form, and softish and flexible, but might be too soft or flexible for what you want.

PETG is more flexible and resilient than the High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS a.k.a. HIS) I'm using in the video. It's almost unbreakable.

[DanLee85]

nice!