Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: boogieman on September 18, 2008, 08:35:33 pm
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Has anyone tried bending lexan? I read somewhere you can bend it with a sheet metal brake. Does this sound right or is this just internet crazy talk?
Also, i read you can turn a circular saw blade backwards and cut it like that, or use a fine tooth jigsaw. They said to tape the lexan so your tools don't scratch it as you slide it across. Does this sound about right?
I plan on using 1/8" if that makes a difference to any of the above.
Thanks!
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There are those machines with a glowing thread. Just put the lexan on it, let it heat up in the line you want to bend, and then bend it on a pre-formed shape of wood or something.
You can cut it with a knife and break it too. I don't know how the edges are when breaking, but the line is very straight, you won't get that straightness with a jigsaw. But experiment a little with it.
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I've used different saws to cut plastics but never lexan. Probably will be ok with a fine tooth saw if you have one handy and don't have access to somewhere to cut it properly.
Best thing to do it you want to bend it is to have some sort of structure to place it on to bend it, but you should be able to do it with a heat gun. It will get incredibly hot so make sure you have decent gloves and something to weigh down the part you are bending.
It would be easier to find somewhere to bend it for you properly as doing it yourself is crazy hazardous if you have not done it or something similar before, or am I just accident prone :dunno
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A metal brake will not work, I am sure of that. Instead of using a table saw to cut the plastic, I would use the saw to cut a piece of wood that represents the shape you need and then use a router with a template bit to cut the Lexan.
If you want to bend it you will need to buy heat strips that soften the plastic around your bend radius. I have used cardboard wrapped with aluminum tape as a heat shield and a heat gun to bend Acrylic before. The idea is to shield the entire piece except for the bend radius area. Apply heat , bend.