Mattel Vac-U-Form: It does work!

Andrew Gorman · Post by **Andrew Gorman** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:37 pm

I just fired up my example of the much maligned Mattel vacuform machine for the first time, and am pretty happy with the results. I got it on eBay for about $20.00 US delivered, and did some minor tuning as described in various places on the web- some silicone grease on the plunger assembly, scraped the melted goo off of the heating element, added some better feet and replaced the missing molding platform with some plastic grillwork from an old juice dispenser and it was ready to go. I cut a piece of sign plastic to a rough fit and pressed it into place. There was/is no way I would punch all of those little holes! Once the plastic softened up a bit I pinched it into place a little tighter.
The part I was copying was a simple, shallow cone-actually a re-entry shield from some Hot Wheels Mars lander- and the machine did a fine job. My only tip is to wait for the plastic to get really soft and saggy before flipping it over the mold, and then pump for your life! A metal cover over the plastic and heating element DOES speed up the heating process.
For anyone who occasionally makes small parts, the Mattel is just fine, and best of all it a small, self-contained unit that can be put away out of sight, and brought out and put to use in a few minutes. No rounding up the plastic frames, vac box, shop vac, heat gun and oven a more serious set-up would require. Small, cheap, and easy to use. I like it.
Andrew

mightymax · Post by **mightymax** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 10:36 am

I have had one for 20 years and would not trade it for anything. We airplane modelers learned early on, that you could make really great airplane canopies using the Vac Form.
I do punch all of those small holes because I don't believe it will work properly if the plastic is just sandwiched in the frame. Actually I cut several sheets of plastic to size. Then I take an original sheet and tape them all together. The original sheet becomes my template. I then mount the appropriate size drill bit in my cordless screwdriver and drill em out. Really only takes a few minutes and I have about 6 sheets ready to go if needed. Also the trick to knowing when the plastic is heated just right is this. When you think it is ready take a pencil and gently poke the plastic with the eraser. If the indent you made goes back to the original flat shape of the plastic you are ready. Now flip the frame and a couple quick pumps on the handle a Wala!

Cheers,
Max Bryant

Styrofoam_Guy · Post by **Styrofoam_Guy** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:57 am

I also got one from ebay and it does work well with if used right.

I also punch/drill all those holes as it seems to produce better results. One key thing is the seal around the table edge. Once that is tight things work better. I have taped the edge with some Tamiya masking tape.

I also do one draw of the plunger insted of pumping it up and down.

Alex
Styrofoam Guy

jack wendt · Post by **jack wendt** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:01 pm

Styrofoam_Guy wrote:I also got one from ebay and it does work well with if used right.

I also punch/drill all those holes as it seems to produce better results. One key thing is the seal around the table edge. Once that is tight things work better. I have taped the edge with some Tamiya masking tape.

I also do one draw of the plunger insted of pumping it up and down.

Alex
Styrofoam Guy

i use the handyman's secret weapon for sealing around the deck.
http://public.fotki.com/jackwendt/vacuforming/

novahobbies · Post by **novahobbies** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:21 pm

No frakkin' way. Is that a LIT Akira? Did you vaccumform the whole thing???

If you haven't shown this pics to Starcrafts, you really should.

.........that's really something, dude.

Paulbo · Post by **Paulbo** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:52 am

I have one sitting in the basement - tried it once when I got it off EvilBay. Wasn't happy with the results but in looking the thing over I realized it needed some work to get it back up to speed and haven't had the time.

Definitely noticed the need for grease on the piston, but hadn't thought about adding a grill to the platen - great idea.

My one major gripe was the length of time it took to soften my plastic. I assume that the heating element is dying. Anyone have any thoughts on replacing / repairing? I have access to flat electric elements, but none that get hot enough.

I would greatly appreciate any links to the sites mentioned earlier. Thanks!

EDIT: I have one of those food vacuum-sealers and thought it might be good for adding an extra "oomph" of vacuum. (It has a hose connection for cannisters.) Anyone tried this with the Mattel or a "regular" vacuformer?

Andrew Gorman · Post by **Andrew Gorman** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:00 am

Upgrade parts and drilled PVC sheets are available from:
WWW.VAC-U-FORM.COM
I ordered some styrene sheets from
http://www.geocities.com/weirdtornadoe/ ... heets.html
A little more expensive, but they came well recommended.
The heater just doesn't put out that much heat- remember it's a kids toy. Your element is probably working fine. A cover over the element, like vac-u-form. com sells is a big help, but the instruction book says to let it heat up for 10 minutes. Scraping the goo off off the element helped mine. If you're impatient, you could probably just blast the plastic in the frame with a heat gun. A molding platform is essential- otherwise the mold is too far away from the plastic.
How much vacuum does the seal-a-meal pull? My guess is it wouldn't add too much to the piston vacuum. I've heard of some Mattel units adapted to use a shop vac, but that just seems to be moving away from the all-in-one-unit advantage that the Vac-U-Form has. If the piston is shot, there are some similar piston,valve and cylinder parts in some breast pump repair packs that could be adapted. Silicone grease is probably all it needs.
Hope this helps,
Andrew

Paulbo · Post by **Paulbo** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:26 am

Hi Andrew,

Thanks so much for the great information links! I'm ordering the upgrade kit right away!

Paul

Dr. Yo · Post by **Dr. Yo** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:12 pm

Boy, this is nostalgia! My old machine gave up the ghost in the early
'ninties, after seeing use since it was new in the sixties. I remember
in the pre-internet days when the things were going for upwards of
a hundred bucks.

mightymax · Post by **mightymax** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:06 pm

Dr. Yo wrote:Boy, this is nostalgia! My old machine gave up the ghost in the early
'ninties, after seeing use since it was new in the sixties. I remember
in the pre-internet days when the things were going for upwards of
a hundred bucks.

I paid forty for mine 20 plus years ago and thought I was getting a great deal! These things were like gold back then.

Max B.

Styrofoam_Guy · Post by **Styrofoam_Guy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 11:57 am

Wow excellent web site for grade up parts. Affordable too

Alex
Styrofoam Guy

jack wendt · Post by **jack wendt** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:52 pm

novahobbies wrote:No frakkin' way. Is that a LIT Akira? Did you vaccumform the whole thing???

.........that's really something, dude.

yes, and thanks dude.

Andrew Gorman · Post by **Andrew Gorman** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 6:48 pm

I installed the upgrade kit from vac-u-form.com, and it does make a tremendous difference! The kit is inexpensive, easy to install ( everything fits) and well thought out. A little snooping turns up that they are manufacturers of vacuform automotive accessories-
http://gaugepods.com/
so they know what they are doing with hot plastic and vacuum! I used a weirdtornadoe clear styrene sheet to mold a dozen astrodomes and was really impressed with how well it worked. Plastic sucked down faster and better than the last time, the closely fitting lid did seem to speed up the heating process, and the new little one-way valve also seems to work a little bit better. In short, the upgrade kit makes several small improvements that take a lot of the slop out of the Mattel machine and make it a small, but effective unit.

The holes in the plastic do seem to help, and I picked up a 1/16" hole punch at the craft store which should speed up the process, and makes neater holes than a drill.

Andrew

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:19 pm

Andrew Gorman wrote:I installed the upgrade kit from vac-u-form.com, and it does make a tremendous difference!

Thanks for the links, Andrew! I just got my upgrade kit as well. While my machine is still in good shape, the upgrade/repairs should improve it.

I also got some of their sheets. They're cheaper than the other link you mentioned, probably because they don't have the little holes around the edges. They recommend heating the empty holder first, then clamping the sheets in. This is what I've done before, and it works well; the most important part is to get the sheets the right size, and that's where buying them pre-cut helps.

The only issue with the Lotek upgrade kit us that there are no instructions included... but their web page is pretty clear.

Vacuforming clear sheet can be tricky at times, since the clear plastic is mostly transparent to the IR from the heating element. One trick I learned from Scott Lowther is to paint the clear sheets with black acrylic paint, let it dry, then vacuform. This really speeds up the softening of clear sheets. The black paint comes off easily with alcohol.

Frank

Styrofoam_Guy · Post by **Styrofoam_Guy** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:00 am

Hmm I never thought about prheating the thing before adding the styrne sheet. And here I was drilling some of the holes.

I tried without the holes and the sheet pulls away from the clamping frame during vacforming and I lose the seal.

I will have to try it again as drilling holes is a pain. Anyone have a quick way of making the holes?

Andrew Gorman · Post by **Andrew Gorman** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:49 am

My kit came with instructions- the only information you're really missing is drill a 3/16" hole for the replacement valve-I cant find the instructions right now, so that figure is from memory, Make sure it makes sense before you do anything rash. The extra silicone seal goes around the top of the cylinder.

The 1/16" hole punch from the craft store works great for punching the holes on a few sheets at a time.

Andrew

Antenociti · Post by **Antenociti** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:59 pm

interesting discussion chaps...

we're at the stage now where we want to start adding clear canopies to some of our (1/56th) wargames models - so we're looking at small items around 2x1 inches or so at the most....

There's a chap on eBay selling fully upgraded Mattel vacuforms for $125USD including postage... or a chinese import of a dentist machine for about the smae in Sterling....

any recomendations for buying a machine (UK side - although even US side even with the hit Sterling has taken).... or would making one be a lot simpler and cheaper?

edit:

actually its $115USD (~£75.00) for a up-gunned Mattel or £145.00 for a small 100mmx100mm dentistry one.
I'd need a converter to run the mattel in the uk but - sounds tempting to me for the mattel - any thoughts from anybody?

Andrew Gorman · Post by **Andrew Gorman** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:18 pm

Two things to think about-
1) The Mattel is more than 30 years old
2) It is drawing a lot of amps to power the heating plate, and at first thought the usual electric shaver power converter might not be able to provide that.

I'm happy with the Mattel for making 3 or 4 pulls a year, but for production work the new dental machine that runs directly from mains power could be a better bet, and parts might even be available. If the Mattel heating plate goes out you have to either pirate one from an also 30+ years out of production Thingmaker, or build your own.