Forming/Shaping Styrene

maul2 · Post by **maul2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:05 pm

Any tips on say how to curve styrene in to a shape you would like... Cheaply.

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:45 pm

What exactly do you have in mind? I ask so that we may help. Is it a double curvature deal (like the upper hull of the Enterprise D or like a seagoing ship's hull) or a simple curvature (like a cylinder, an airfoil wing or a cone)?

Thick styrene? Thin styrene? Needs to be sturdy? Is it bigger than a breadbox? Or really tiny?

USSARCADIA · Post by **USSARCADIA** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:10 pm

Heat it up with a hair dryer or bending strip, bend to desired shape, run under cold water.

maul2 · Post by **maul2** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:57 pm

I really don't know, just general stuff. Although nothing bigger than a foot.

Mr. Badwrench · Post by **Mr. Badwrench** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:59 pm

There are many methods, and each one depends on the application. The techniques used to make a simple curve, like on a wing, will be different than those used to make a complex curve, like on a federation saucer. Sometimes vacuforming is the best answer, (and it's cheap). Other times it is easier to use a plank-on-frame buildup.

maul2 · Post by **maul2** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:14 pm

Plank on frame????

For now I think I'll just be doing simple curves. Nothing complicated and I have nop clue how to vacuform. So what am I left with. Any other ideas freely welcomed.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:43 am

"Plank-on-frame" is really simple, and very effective.

Think of building a fish skeleton - ribs interconnected via a spine for simplicity in this example. This is the "frame" in "Plank-on-frame."

The "Plank" part comes in when you cover the skeleton with pieces of sheet styrene cemented to the frame to build the skin on the fish.

Vacuforming is a little more complicated than what you want to get into here, but basically you use suction to force a heated piece of plastic down around a mold. The end result might be something shaped like an aircraft canopy.

I hope this helps.

Kenny.

Treadhead · Post by **Treadhead** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:15 pm

When doing plank on frame, you should use thicker styrene for the ribs and thinner styrene for the skin. If you don't, the frame could warp. Also you should taper the strips if your frame is tapering. Doesn't have to be an exact taper, but it helps in the long run.

Now, I recommend heating the strips so that they are somewhat pre-curved. The reason for this is that the strip wants to be straight and later on stress fractures could result.

And be very careful if you use zip-kicker if you are planning to use super-glue either to cement the strips in place or fill resulting gaps. I tried this and it really screwed up the styrene. The strips buckled at each frame point due to horrendous stress fractures resulting. Zip Kicker tends to make the styrene a bit brittle...

A Planked
Treadhead