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Heater for bending Lexan?

2K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  d.d.machine 
#1 ·
I need to bend some lexan (polycarbonate). I need a series of straight brakes in it. I have done it cold in the past and done it with heat tape. Each works but I want to do it better.

I know there are expensive box type heaters. What I want is the heater element to make one. It needs ot be 4' long. I am envisioning something like a flourecent bulb that develops heat instead of light. It needs to heat to at least 200 degrees and be pretty consistent in that range (if it goes from 0-1000 degrees I won't be able to fine tune the heat enough).

Once I get the element, I can form a box and put a slit in it to concentrate the heat. Any ideas on where I could find a heating element like this?
 
#2 ·
Check with a restaraunt supply store. The heat lamps in the kitchen here at the hospital use something very similar to what you're looking for. It uses two pin "tombstones", as does a flourescent lamp, but the tube is clear and it contains a coiled heating element. These are about two feet long, but you could double up easily. ;)
 
#6 ·
I don't know if you have any plastic fab shops in your area. What they use can best be described as a "hot wire". Basically it runs some sort of voltage control through a wire (looks like a guitar string) that's stretched across a frame (like a brake with out the bending lever). It only takes a few seconds and the lex or UHMW or whatever is hot enough in that area to bend it to 90 or whatever you need. It's a very dangerous piece of equipment if left on. My friends shop burnt down because of it. Really effective for tight radius bending. It's kind of like the booty fab tire groover (hacksaw blade and a stick welder). :grinpimp:
 
#7 ·
I do a lot of it and just use a heat gun,,, make a cheap plywood form to the shape you want then bondo the joints and sand a nice rad`s into them and clamp it about 2" back from the first bend with a board all the way across the sheet them go back and forth with the heat guy were you want it to bend ,,, clamp it next to the next bend and heat it up agion. works great after you get the hang of it ,,, P.S. make your form nice or the parts well come out looking like crap
 
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