Acrylic lampshade/ litho

[Sallen1215]

I'm considering using 1/8" thick acrylic and carving 4 separate images and thermoformng it into a squarish shape to create a lampshade. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to thermoform or has anyone done something similar to this? all help would be greatly appreciated.




Stephen

[fwharris]

Stephen,

I have not done it but others have placed the acrylic in the oven to warm it up (not sure on the temp) and then formed it. CarveJerry did a litho lamp this way.

[Sallen1215]

FW i have the DC from the forum and it does ok for wood, but im running into trouble with lithos, does your system do better on the acrylic fibers and dust? also what is the lead time on getting one of your DC hoods?



Stephen

[jaroot]

We have formed 1/8" acrylic in the oven at about 300 degrees for about 5 minutes. It gets real plyable real fast. I also have the DC from the forums and what I've done to it is to extend the lip on the front and on the sides back to the frame of the CW. The problem with it without that mode is that the vacume end is too far from the bit. I've not had a chance to use it since the mod but I am expecting it to be much better. I also have built a cyclone separater for my dust collector and that seems to have improved it's performance as well.

[fwharris]

FW i have the DC from the forum and it does ok for wood, but im running into trouble with lithos, does your system do better on the acrylic fibers and dust? also what is the lead time on getting one of your DC hoods?
Stephen

Stephen,

I can't make a comparison to the forum version as I have not made or used it. How big is your dust collector? The litho material, corian and acrylic, do tend to float and stick more than wood so you would want a higher air flow to pull it in. I have only done a few lithos and had good performance as far as sucking up the dust. Others who do a lot of corian say my version really sucks it up.

I try to ship my inserts out with in a day of getting the order. I make them up as I get the orders and most times ship USPS priority mail as it is cheaper than UPS and gets to the customer faster. Usually 2 days vs. 5 days plus postal service delivers on Saturdays..

[hess]

FW i have the DC from the forum and it does ok for wood, but im running into trouble with lithos, does your system do better on the acrylic fibers and dust? also what is the lead time on getting one of your DC hoods?



Stephen

Stephen I have 3 of his DH In cutting Corian on 2 units the hoods work great but you have to have the suck to make any of them work. I use a HF unit that has 1500 CFM. I have run all 3 units at the same time with little build up noted

[CarverJerry]

Here is a pic of a litho that I did a while back where I heated it up in the oven to around 300° for I believe 7 mins and formed it around a plastic bucket. I use 1/4 inch corian for all my litho's and I also have the ringneck's vacuum system on my machine. It works good but with the static caused by the cutting of plastic you will always get some of it sticking to the machine, I just use an air hose while my vac is still running and blow it out the best I can. Hope this helps.

CJ

[JDPratt]

I have been wanting to try something like your talking about for some time now. If you do it, I would love to here how you accomplished it and see how it turns out. I was thinking about separate pictures of grandkids around a lampshade for a typical table lamp. I was worried a little about the weight of all that corian in a lampshade though.

John

[Sallen1215]

FWharris, i am using a 1200cfm steel city system on a 6 in trunk line, its the first port so it gets maximum pull on the DC, I have a sheet metal shop but no sense in renventing the wheel, expect a purchase rather soon from me. and JDPratt my design is a 12" square lampshade out of either 1/8 or 1/4 acrylic and then epoxying a brass frame to accept the standard lamp top piece. ill post a design photo later on tonight of the conception

45489
Stephen

[fwharris]

FWharris, i am using a 1200cfm steel city system on a 6 in trunk line, its the first port so it gets maximum pull on the DC, I have a sheet metal shop but no sense in renventing the wheel, expect a purchase rather soon from me.
Stephen

Stephen,

I will be watching for your order! Hmmm making a insert for a guy that has a sheet metal shop,,, looking forward to your feedback and ideas!

Thanks,