In modern design, organic glass (plexiglass) is becoming increasingly popular . The ability of this light and durable material to bend causes its widespread use in many areas of industrial production and in everyday life. Plexiglass is successfully used in construction, automotive industry, electronic equipment. High light transmission of the material allows its use in the design of luminaires for various purposes.
The possibility of bending plexiglass with your own hands at home allows the owners of their own houses and apartments to create a unique interior in the rooms, without investing a lot of money.
The advantages of organic glass
Plexiglas is a sheet material that has a high degree of transparency. Organic glass is made using various polymer components, so it has a lot of advantages compared to ordinary glass.
Such advantages include:
- permeability of the light flux of the order of 92%, which does not decrease with time, while the original color of the glass does not change;
- resistance to physical impact is five times higher than traditional glass;
- high resistance to moisture;
- simplicity and ease in processing the material;
- when burning does not emit harmful gases, as it is an environmentally friendly material;
- It has high resistance to chemical mildly active substances;
- good ability to bend plexiglass allows you to give the material any shape, while its optical properties do not change;
- has high electrical insulation properties;
- Plexiglas is a frost-resistant material;
- the material easily transmits ultraviolet rays (up to 73%), while yellowing is not observed.
The disadvantage of organic glass is considered to be weak scratch resistance, so care must be taken during operation.
Plexiglass cutting
To make a specific product from organic glass, first of all, it is necessary to cut the details of the right size. It is not recommended to cut using an electric jigsaw or a hacksaw for metal, since a lot of debris is formed during the processing of plexiglass and glass can be scratched.
It is best to cut and bend plexiglass with a hot nichrome wire. Such a device is not difficult to do on your own.
The main nodes of such a device are a spiral of nichrome and a power source, which must be selected for power. The wire can be purchased from a distribution network, you can also take it from a soldering iron, heater or variable resistor. For normal operation of the device, the length of the spiral will have to be selected experimentally, since the value of the resistance of nichrome is different. So that when cutting there is no smoke and smell, it is not necessary to heat the spiral to red.
Next, we make a homemade pen with two insulated metal pins. A wire is connected to one end of the pins, which is connected to a power source, and the other will hold the spiral. For convenience, you can install a switch on the handle.
The main advantages of the cutter
A cutter of this design has a number of positive qualities:
- lack of garbage after the cutting process;
- the ability to fully control the process of cutting plexiglass, so you can cut out any shapes;
- spiral cutting does not scratch the surface of the sheet, unlike mechanical sawing;
- plexiglass edges are even, so there is no need for subsequent processing of the section;
- there is no need to exert physical effort in the process of doing the work.
In this way, you can cut almost any plastic material, and not just organic glass.
Plexiglass bending methods
Plexiglass bending at home can be done in several ways:
- using a hair dryer;
- using nichrome wire;
- using a metal pipe of various diameters;
- bending in hot water.
All these methods are easy to carry out independently in a domestic environment, and no complicated equipment and tools are required. The main condition for high-quality flexible plexiglass is strict adherence to the process and safety measures.
Equipment and tools for work
Depending on how the work is planned to be carried out, the following equipment for bending plexiglass is used:
- cutting device;
- clamps or a vice for reliable fixing of a leaf;
- a sharp knife or cutter for stripping the ends of the part;
- container for liquid;
- electric power supply;
- template of the future part, according to which bending of a certain radius will be carried out;
- a source of heating the surface of the material (blowtorch, gas burner, building hair dryer);
- heat-insulating gloves to protect hands from burns.
After preparing the equipment, it is necessary to prepare the material for work.
Plexiglass preparation for the bending process
To eliminate deformation in the process of bending plexiglass, you need to remove all oil and greasy stains from its surface, that is, make a complete cleaning of the material. This action is fundamental in the preparation of plastic material.
All surface contamination is clearly visible with a careful visual inspection of the sheet. Then you need to rinse the plexiglass surface with warm water and a detergent dissolved in it. In the presence of greasy stains, gasoline or kerosene can be used.
Do not use any abrasive materials to clean the surface, as they can lead to scratches on plexiglass.
After processing the material with a detergent, it must be well dried. Drying should be carried out at room temperature, while its time depends on the thickness of the material. It is recommended to spend one hour of drying per millimeter of material thickness. Then you can begin the process of bending plexiglass.
Plexiglas bending with a hairdryer
If you need to bend a large piece of Plexiglas, then a special building hair dryer is used to heat the fold. Thick parts need to be heated from two sides, but workpieces of small thickness are heated from one side opposite to the bend.
The order of the work is as follows:
- The workpiece is clamped securely with clamps or vice.
- Mark the necessary fold line.
- The nearby area is flexible with a hairdryer. It should be borne in mind that the width of the heating section should be two times its length.
- As soon as the bend point is heated to the desired temperature, you need to substitute the template and quickly bend the plexiglass until it cools down. It is advisable to carry out the process of plexiglass bending with a minimum number of movements.
If the material cools down a little, then during bending microcracks may appear in its structure, which in the subsequent operation will destroy the material.
Bending with nichrome wire
This method is considered the most technologically advanced. For its implementation, you will need a special nichrome wire and a constant voltage power supply, preferably with the ability to adjust its value.
The technological process is as follows:
- We clamp the prepared workpiece in a vice or, if the dimensions do not allow this, we use several clamps.
- Above the bend line we stretch the string to bend plexiglass. The height of the wire above the surface of the material should not be more than five millimeters.
- Then we connect the wire to the power supply. Gradually increasing the voltage, we obtain a filament temperature of 150 ℃. At this temperature, the material is deformed.
- When the bend line becomes softer, the sheet begins to tilt down. We give the details the necessary bending angle.
At the end of the operation, we give the curved billet time to cool.
Plexiglass bending using a pipe
Such a method is considered the most effective if plexiglass bending is required along the radius. For these purposes, a metal pipe is used, the diameter of which corresponds to the bending radius.
The sequence of actions when using the pipe:
- A sheet of organic glass in a cold state is placed on a fixed pipe along the necessary bending line.
- We clamp the workpiece with a wooden rail using the clamps.
- With a gas burner or blowtorch, we gradually heat the pipe.
- When the material becomes plastic, carefully rotate the material around the pipe to the desired angle.
Plexiglass bending in hot water
This method is most effective for bending small parts. The simplicity of the work and low energy costs determine its widespread use.
The bending technology is as follows:
- Bring the water in the appropriate size tank to a boil.
- Lower the workpiece into the water.
- We keep the workpiece in water for a certain time, depending on the thickness of the part.
- After warming up the workpiece to the desired temperature, it is removed and the desired bend shape is given.
To protect against burns, all operations must be carried out in special heat-insulating gloves.
Bending with a machine
To process a large number of parts, you can use a special machine for bending plexiglass (do it yourself less efficiently in this situation). The use of such machines is most economically justified at industrial enterprises.
The nichrome thread in the machines is not used naked, it is placed in a special glass flask. The entire heating process, as well as bending the workpiece to a predetermined radius, is automated. The drive of the machines can be mechanical or pneumatic.
To increase productivity, the machines are equipped with several heating elements that can be moved to the desired distance.
Of course, the advantages of using the machine are many, but at home its use is economically disadvantageous.
The use of manual methods to give the blanks of organic glass the necessary shape will solve many design problems. It is only necessary to remember the protective measures when working with hot material.