Plastic Moulding

What is it?

Plastic moulding involves using heat to cut ot mold plastic. You can take a look at what the iForge has available below.

To use any of the plastic moulding machinery, the compulsory user training and hot tools training need to be completed. These are available here and here.

Machines available at the iForge

Vacuum Former

Vacuum forming is a technique that is used to shape a variety of plastics. It works by heating a thin sheet of plastic which is pulled over a mould to imprint the shape into the plastic.

Line Bender

The line bender heats a sheet of plastic on a line. When heated, the plastic becomes malleable along the line where it can be bent using a jig set to the desired angle.

Hot Wire Cutter

Hot wire cutters can be used to cut expanded polystyrene such as blue foam or depron. It has a a thin, taut metal wire which is heated using electrical resistance to around 200°C.

When the wire moves through the material the heat from the wire vaporises the material just before it touches the wire.

Vacuum Former

Line Bender

Hot Wire Cutter

iForge Reps taking care of machinery

The Hardware team is responsible for understanding and maintaining the various pieces of machinery we have at the iForge. If there is an unusual issue with a piece of equipment, the Hardware team is the first to be notified. Find out more about them and the other teams that keep the iForge running on our Meet Our Team page!

If you want to be a part of the Hardware team or any other iForge team you can register your interest here.

If you want to see what other teams you can be a part of by volunteering with the iForge click here.