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Monday 31 August 2015

Vacuum form windows

I used my home made vacuum forming setup yesterday to create the first draft of the windows for my Land Rover Discovery model.


The use of the kitchen oven and the remnants of the plastic smell afterwards had not go down well after I first tested my vacuum forming machines so before I did any more I spent just under £11 on a single ring electric hob. This is my first use of that hob. It's only 1500W but is more than hot enough to melt the plastic for vacuum forming.


I am much happier with the whole process being in the shed.

I didn't quite heat the plastic up for long enough yesterday but it was sufficient to get most of the mould covered. In future I think it needs to have drooped by at least 15mm before taking off the heat.


Trimmed up, I fitted it to check alignment. The front windows all fitted perfectly but towards the rear they are a fraction out.



I marked up the changes needed and adjusted the 3D model. I have increased the resolution to the best for my printer which is down to a Z height of only 0.06mm however that means the mould will take 12 hours to print.


I also vacuum formed the head lamps glass and I've offered them up. With a bit of trimming they fit as intended.


In both cases the lines from the 3D print were visible in the finished components so I am going to sand down the next moulds to have a better finish.


Talking of sanding down. I've probably done as much as I can without too much detail being lost so now the body just needs a final top coat of paint.

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