bdevillier19 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 i came across a relatively cheap and effective way to build a plastic bender and thought many of the DIYers here might find it useful. i have used it to make float switch mounts for my ATO's and soon to be frag racks. instead of using the battery like shown in the tutorial, i used a power supply from an old pc that i modified into a desktop power supply like shown here - http://www.instructables.com/howto/desktop+power+supply/ i also added another piece of wood and another aluminum guide to the other side of the hot wire so that the material is supported on both sides. i will post pictures tomorrow after i dig through the garage and find the box it's packed in but the link has plenty of pics. hope somebody finds it useful. http://www.wa4dsy.com/robot/hot-wire-plastic-bender things i plan to change are - make it wider because its curently around 10" or so. find an actual power supply because it will look cleaner. Link to comment
Horerczy Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I just went to walmart and bought a cheap heat gun. But this is a cool looking project. Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 I used the heat gun method before but this gives you a bit more precision and keeps things square a little better as well. Link to comment
Hdale85 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 If you don't make it as hot it shouldn't bubble as much as the guys did in the link. Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 I haven't had any problems with it bubbling yet, although I haven't used it for any extended amounts of time. Link to comment
StevieT Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 How much is this expected to cost? Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Well I already had a power supply that I had made so my cost was $15 for the wire, about $25 for wood and other materials. If you buy a 12v 7 amp power supply they run 15-20 on eBay. Link to comment
Endevor Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Very awesome, I've been looking into these for a while now. Still a bit shaky on making anything on my own with acrylic, but I hope to start working with it soon! Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 i was nervous turning it on for the first time. lol. i was anticipating the white smoke but everything worked out good. i made a 90* form out of a couple pieces of wood so when the plastic was warm enough i place it into the form until it cools and get nice square 90* bends Link to comment
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