4 replies to this topic

[Phil Hackett]

Back in the corner of the dusty room was this small vacuum forming machine. Note! This will ***NOT*** pull Lexan (Polycarbonite) plastic but should work with styrene or other low temperature plastics.

 

Note it uses a Shop-Vac or other source for the "vacuum". The platen is approximately 9x13 inches. For scale there's a 1/32 scale mold on the platen.

 

It is 120 volt single-phase... or household power... as the product info label states.

 

I DO NOT KNOW if the machine functions properly. 

 

It's also fairly bulky and heavy (+30 pounds) so shipping might be a concern so a local sale is ideal.

 

Anyway, what is this worth to you? 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jay Guard]

Hey Phil:

I suspect your vacuum forming machine may be able to form polycarbonate (Lexan) if the vacuum system is upgraded with a vacuum tank and pump combo, which would probably cost around $150.  In my limited vacuum forming experience it's generally the amount of vacuum that limits what can be formed rather than the heater not being hot enough to sufficiently soften Lexan.  I certainly don't know for sure about your machine but it looks like a nice unit and it might well work for 1/24 lexan bodies with the vacuum upgrade.

[MSwiss]

Phil's looks identical to the one we had at Koford, during the 19 years, I worked there.

We had no problem doing Lexan®.

As a matter of fact, after Stu moved to Ohio, and had an outside source pull them, I would have guys like Beuf, inquire, if I still had Peugeot's, pulled off of that machine.

That was because they were so well formed, with part of the reason being, they were pulled one at a time, on that fairly large grid.

Which was vs. the earlier bodies like the Mazda and Aston Martin, which were pulled 2 at time.

Stu, after that time having someone else do them, bought a killer vacuumform machine, in the last year or 2.

[Jay Guard]

Mike:

Did you have a vacuum tank/pump system for the vacuum machine or did you just use a shop vac?

[MSwiss]

I honestly don't remember anything else hooked up to it.

I thought it was self-contained.

But that was 15 years ago.

If I was closer, I would pick it up.

It did an a great job heating up burritos, and a spectacular job, cooking a steak.