Making my flat sheets better?
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Hey I need some advice on making flat sheet material from HDPE. Currently I make my sheets by taking two pieces of 6061 aluminum and heating them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I also heat the shredded plastic material that I plan on converting into a sheet up in the oven along side the aluminum on a baking sheet. I then wait 1hr and 30 mins and take them all from the oven and sandwich the plastic between the two pieces of now hot aluminum and clamp it together with c clamps. The only issue I am having with this method is inconsistent thickness throughout the sheet and what I mean by that is when I cut the sheet out of the excess material some of the sides are thinner or thicker than the others. Does anyone have any advice for solving this problem?
One way would be to add some spacers around the perimeter, outside of your trim line that limit how much the plates can compress on each side. If you don’t have enough oversize for spacers, then you may have to get a little creative to achieve the same effect. Maybe you could put a sleeve or marker around the outside thread of the C clamps so that they all close to the same gap and then use a tightening sequence that avoids creating a wedge.
1. You need to put the plastic on the aluminum WHILE hot and in the oven.
2. When you take it out place spacers around the edges of the aluminum sheet and then immediately apply extreme pressure. If you wait until its cool, then the pressure does nothing. You want to be squeezing the plastic while it’s hot, really hot!
One other thought is the aluminum strong enough to apply extreme pressure? I usually use 1/8″ steel to hold the force of 1.5 ton press.
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