Vacuum Forming is a process used to mold plastic into a desired shape. A thin sheet of plastic is heated to a soft state and then air pressure is used to press the plastic down around or into a mold. Vacuum forming can be used to make a variety of items, anything from product packaging to bath tubs. That being said, a vacuum former is probably one of those things that would be nice to have around but may not get a lot of use. Therefore, spending any significant amount of money on one would result in a low-value situation. For some folks, building one from scratch may be the way to go.

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[Amalgamized] built his own and did a great job documenting the build. There is a two-pronged attack to keep the costs down on this project. First, the frame is made from readily available materials that you probably have kicking around in your wood scrap bin. The sides of the frame are 3/4″ plywood and the hole-filled top is made from 1/4″ MDF. A piece of PVC pipe connects the chamber below the top piece of MDF to a shopvac. The shopvac pulls the air down through the top’s holes; think reverse air hockey table.

Attack prong #2 is that there is no dedicated heater. Binder clips secure the plastic sheets to an aluminum window frame which are then put in the oven for a few minutes between 250 and 300ºF. When the plastic starts to droop, it is quickly removed from the oven and placed over a mold. The shopvac creates a low pressure zone under the plastic and atmospheric pressure pushes the plastic down around the mold.

Posted in Tagged,, Post navigation. What’s the big deal about portable psones? You have one you made on your site, there are heaps out there, why bother posting it on the net? I’m sure you have many reasons, many of which would be applicable here. And also, now that I have seen this on My Favourite News Site™, realised that such a thing exists, I can search for more versions on the net.

Like my old teachers used to say, if you don’t have something constructive to say, don’t say it all. Stfu and get off my lawn. Sorry everyone else for feeding the troll. There was no trolling. It takes an hour and some scrap wood, duct tape, several screws and piece of plumbing (for the vacuum machine to link into). You can make one for a couple of bucks.

There are many many YouTube tutorials on making a vacuum forming table, and sites around too. Regarding suction, one decent vacuum machine can work as long as you only have minimum number of holes in the top, also I tried a while back with 12mm thick MDF and the suction caved in the table, so surprised 4mm thick MDF or similar works – I use 20mm MDF. Vacuum suction is quite strong after all as it needs to be. Also with the styrene, no issue using you oven as it doesn’t give off fumes too much (doesn’t smoke), and 1.5mm thick is perfectly fine, 2mm thick max. HaD is about innovation, creativity and invention. The vacuum former is none of those; it is a tool to make something rather than being it.

BTW one tip, especially if you are trying to make two halves of a case to meet together, when you’ve done vacuum forming, release it from the mold, trim away the excess styrene from the sides, then put it back in the mould as best you can and use a heat gun (I use a 2Kw one) to soften the plastic and then press that onto the mould; you will then have your case halves meeting more accurately.