Vacu-forming the cyclotron

Austin, Rick and I testing our first Proton Pack vacu-formed part.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• prop-making
• ghostbusters
• proton
• pack
• vacuum
• forming

[foxacoustics]

Ouch $36 for a 12" round .08" part.

How many are you having made and did that include the tooling/mold.

I have rotary machines that can make those parts for as low as $6 if you wanted 2500 or more.

[okieboyz]

The part you see is not the whole thing that we actually have made. The entire proton pack (of which the cyclotron is just a small part) is what the $36 is for. But your machine sounds cool.

[okieboyz]

The test you saw worked great, but we discovered that it was more cost & time efficient to use a professional plastic place with an industrial vacuform machine. He can do each shell for $36, which is pretty inexpensive.

[toxicfrost123]

where can i get that plastic at? and how long do you have to cook it for?

[okieboyz]

Any industrial plastic supply store will sell it in large sheets, about 4 ft. by 8 ft. The thickness varies, we use .08.

It costs about $40.00 a sheet.

We heat it at about 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, but the sag of the plastic is the true indicator of when it is ready to pull out.

[lycanothapy]

okay how thick is it when you do that?. do you have to do it multiple times? sorry for asking alot i just want to build one

[jumpinjax2]

Waited WAY too long to drop the plastic, should have had the vac running before you set it down. I have my table on top of the oven itself.

[dunlopmega]

so did it work or not

[toxicfrost123]

thanks alot...

[vacuumformer]

The best place to get sheet plastic is usually from a local plastics supply place, in full 4 x 8 sheets. (Look in the Yellow Pages.) You can get a full sheet of .030" HIPS (High Impact PolyStyrene) for about $13, or .060" for about $25.

Call around and find a place with no minimum order, or a low one like $15 or $25. Call and ask.