Thermoforming and mold making

Denzien said

It's leather




Wouldn't you like to know? :mwink:




I don't want to vacuum form onto the seat, I want to make a mold of the seat which will be used for vacuum forming a thicker piece of plastic.

I was thinking that, with a heat gun and a thin plastic that could get to temp and cool easily while I form it by hand, I could make an inverted form of the seat from which I could make a heavier duty mold for proper thermoforming.

Click to expand...

I'd test the idea out on something leather you don't care about then first. Try with no powder. Then try with baby powder. Then maybe try with silicone mold release.

Then, make sure whatever you use, you can easily wash off of your seat.

I haven't done much thermal forming myself. We make parts that use that process but someone else does it. I don't know how tacky - if at all - the ABS would get.

Also, depending on the geometry of the shape you're trying to mold, you may not be able to remove the mold (you want a drag angle of 2-4 degrees usually). That's why I was asking the end purpose or what this looks like to get an idea to visualize it.