Hard cover for LEFT side?

[Larry Fine]

 

[brianinpa]

"Everything I have," included the wife's oven... Shhhh!!!!! Don't tell her!!!!! I found out that about 10 minutes at 350 degrees will make that piece of plastic nice a pliable and I could make it as flat as the boards that I pressed it between.

When I heated it again with the hopes of forming it around my "mold," I quickly realized that a vacuum seal is going to be needed to hold the plastic piece in place while it cools. I could get it to bend around the piece of wood, but it was too hot to hold it very long, and it seems it must be held until it cools off to hold it's shape.

So, back to the drawing board. I need a sharper band-saw blade, some 2 x 8 wood to make a better mold and then I need the wife's vacuum cleaner and a vacuum sealing bag... The secret to this is doing it when she is not home!

 

[Larry Fine]

I'm gonna tell!


Eureka! I have it! A 3-D printer! A computer could make a mirror image of a scanned item and flip it.

 

[brianinpa]

Hmmmmmm.

 

[Kynan C.]

Absolutely amazing! I cant wait to get my garage in order! I feel so left out. Like a kid that has to sit in the corner in craft class.

 

[81 CB750K]

Are you familiar with hydroforming? You could try a version of that with some foam rubber, like what cushions or pillows are made from. Put the foam in a wood framed (or other material, plastic or metal, as long as it is sturdy enough) box big enough for your part. After you heat it in the oven, place your part on the mold, cover it with something so it won't stick together, maybe some material that has the texture you want. Then press the box with the foam down on your part, use weights or sit on it, whatever, until it cools. Then open it up and you should have your part. With texture and all. This might be easier than vacuforming.

 

[brianinpa]

That sounds reasonable as it would take some time to get everything inside the bag and the air sucked out. I'm concerned that the plastic will cool down too much by the time the bag starts to apply pressure to form the plastic.

For me, using weights and sitting on it are just about equal...

 

[brianinpa]

Absolutely amazing! I cant wait to get my garage in order! I feel so left out. Like a kid that has to sit in the corner in craft class.

I said it before, a man needs to have his priorities straight!

 

[Kynan C.]

I like the 3D printer idea!

 

[Larry Fine]

Me, too, if I could only justify the cost.

 

[Kynan C.]

I see on the net you can build your own pretty cheap!

 

[Dave Ireland]

I would try this;
Cut a piece of ply the size of the fairing hole. Cut another piece the same shape, but larger all round. Cut a third piece that forms a ring around the shape. Screw the ring-piece to the large piece.
Heat your plastic (assume that's it's already gone through the flattening stage) in the oven, place it over Piece 1, press Piece (2+3) onto it and leave heavy weights on the whole assembly.
Sizes will have to be practiced with and adjusted with scrap ABS as sacrificial pieces to get the right gap between P1 and P2+3 to end up with the right lip depth and lid width.

 

[81 CB750K]

I would try this;
Cut a piece of ply the size of the fairing hole. Cut another piece the same shape, but larger all round. Cut a third piece that forms a ring around the shape. Screw the ring-piece to the large piece.
Heat your plastic (assume that's it's already gone through the flattening stage) in the oven, place it over Piece 1, press Piece (2+3) onto it and leave heavy weights on the whole assembly.
Sizes will have to be practiced with and adjusted with scrap ABS as sacrificial pieces to get the right gap between P1 and P2+3 to end up with the right lip depth and lid width.

There might be a problem with that though. As you put the pieces together over the part, the bottom edge of the ring part might gouge the plastic. You might as well make an entire concave mold in that case. You would also need the convex side too. But I suspect you would have already made that. That would work. But it would be a lot more work than it would be if you used the hydroform method.

 

[Kynan C.]

3D printer!