Quote:
Originally Posted by T205 GB
The end result is to be able to run a large production number but as of now I just need about 20 shells made. The plastic is a type of lexan material use in the food industry. It is just now becoming available in film thicknesses and clear color. The plastics is virtually free of everything and is UV resistant also. There are some other neat benefits also. The mold I guess I can have it made here at my work if I need to. We do a lot of vacuum seal molding and other stuff like that for the food industry. I guess I just wanted to see what all I needed to do to have some made but it sounds like I might have to do it on my own.
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They make some polycarbonate/Lexan for 3D printing, but from what I've read it's difficult to work with that process.
If they do their own molds there, a CNC machine will make a decent small mold pretty quickly.
I haven't tried forming it into a mold, but I've done some machining and bending. I have a few ideas how I'd do something thin like a slab, but I'd have to experiment a bit. Heat control is the key, too much and the stuff gets bubbles, and develops internal stresses.