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making polycarbonate frames
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Valen
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you can do it
it just dosent look pretty
the problem is the water in it vapourises and makes big bubbles.

if you heat it for a while (read several days) you can take all the water out of it then bend it like acryllic.
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Post Sat Nov 19, 2005 4:23 pm 
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Waddy the phoenix



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yeah every one saw how mine went when i stuck it over the toaster and in the oven you get bubbles (and the toaster catches on fire because the poly traps heat in it and super heats any bread crumbs makeing them combust Very Happy)
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Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 4:51 pm 
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kkeerroo
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The water that forms the bubbles actually comes from the chain molecules of the polycarb breaking down. Once this happens the polycarb becomes brittle and therefor unusable. The best way to bend polycarb, as my brother has already said many times, is to just cold form the panels. Just stick it in a vice and bend it like a piece of sheet metal. A panbrake would be great if you've you have access to one.
Give it a go before you say it won't work. After all theory is nothing without the practical
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Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:36 pm 
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Rotwang
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For what its worth I bend polycarb cold. Tried heating it and just made a mess, fogged and brittle. Confused

Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:05 pm 
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prong
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Has anyone tried heating the polycarb with boiling water?

If i am correct in asuming most soft drink bottles are polycarb then it does become floppy in boiling water.

I have not tried it with polycarb sheet because I do not have any, but even the fairly thick bottle nozzle (1 or 2 mm) is easy to bend once it is run under boiling water.

Boiling water also makes it easy to get even heating and you know you will not heat it too much. Also boiling water is easy to create and control where it goes. I will have to find a sheet of polycarb and see how it goes, could be worth a try though.

I would at least think putting the sheet in boiling water then doing as your normally would to cold form it could work better, even if it cools (if you cannot bend it underwater) a bit then it will still be softer than cold polycarb.

Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:42 pm 
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ffej
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quote:
If i am correct in asuming most soft drink bottles are polycarb then it does become floppy in boiling water.


Nah, most of them are PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
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Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 8:47 pm 
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prong
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hehe damn.

so does boiling water affect polycarb?

EDIT - asked google, and since they seem to make various utensils etc out of polycarb then it can easily take 100 degrees.

well, there goes that idea!

Now to try and melt a whole lot of coke bottles into one giant lump as armour, while it is not polycarb it is still pretty tough!

Post Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:04 pm 
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Rotwang
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I think wheelie bins are recycled PET. Smile

Post Mon Nov 21, 2005 2:22 am 
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dyrodium
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lol one amour idea i had once was PET bottles filled with expanding fillergap foam! Smile Interesting idea id like to try.
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Post Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:54 am 
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prong
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hehe its a good idea, I was playing with some of that foam at Borts house the other day, it is suprisingly tough yet light stuff.

Post Mon Nov 21, 2005 11:47 am 
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Big AL
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hell yeah the stuffs amazing


for bending the polycarb why not stick it over an open fire?
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Post Tue Nov 22, 2005 12:26 am 
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Glen
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because that would be the same as heating it in an oven which apparently makes it brittle.

heres an idea, get over this crap and use steel!! Razz jk
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Post Tue Nov 22, 2005 12:29 am 
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