This is my homemade vacuum forming machine first try. I want to make a metal detector coil housing but I failed at the first time. May be due to using a too thick plastic (2mm polystyrene) or not enough temperature. The vacuum is obtained from a small vacuum cleaner (1400W) Here are some pictures of the device and a video. Next time I will try with a thinner plastic or other type (ABS). Part 2 - After some fails, the success! Well, today I will talk about the second try. I'm using the same type of plastic - polystyrene, 2mm but now I have a thermometer so I can measure it's temperature. I also added some screws to the frame, so I can prevent the plastic sheet from moving with the heat (because of expansion / contraction) and finally I got a good result as you can see below: I kept the plastic in the oven until it reached about 150 degrees celsius at the center of the sheet. Almost perfect. Not 100% because it seems I moved slightly the form out of place and it is not centered. ...
DYI and homemade lover. Making things by ourselves gives us pleasure and it can be useful for so many everyday life tasks.