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Well... practice definitely helps! ;)
Good evening everyone... just got myself settled after a weekend meeting with the AustinModders (www.austinmodders.com), great to see all you guys again!
While down there, one of the big pieces of this mod came to me.... to say that I am happy would be a severe understatement!
This is 1/4" transparent blue acrylic... that I had lasered to be the rad stand.
This shot is simply to give you a little depth on the color... it really is striking!
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand0a.jpg
These are pieces that were the centers of flame licks.
The whole cut:
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand0.jpg
And several more shots after I got home:
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand1.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand2.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand3.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand4.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand5.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand6.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand7.jpg
I have 98% of these flames cut. Due to the thickness of the material, and the density, some of the laser cuts did not make it all the way through. They are only a few places, but due to the delicate and intricate nature of this cut, it is absolutely essential that I have all of the cuts completed and not hanging as I pull the negative parts of the cut out. I have a plan where I will use an intricate engraver bit on my flexi-shaft Craftsman rotary tool, and use that to complete the cut from the back side of the piece. That way, if I do have a minor scratch, it will not be on the surface of the acrylic.
I have to take this moment to publically thank the person who cut this for me. A good friend that chooses to remain confidential, but they spent almost a full 10 hours cutting this. Only after the cutting had started, did we realize that the density of the material combined with the power of the laser... was going to lead to a Looooong manufacture time. *tips hat* Those that know this person, please quietly nod your head, but do not give his identity away.
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After I get both frames removed, my next "impossible* task is to get it bent to the form I want without damaging it... ;) something that many are skeptical I can do! Might even be "crazy" for trying... but that is what I am. I have 2 of these to try and make work. if they do not work, then I have to find another way to execute the vision! ;) Wish me luck!
I'll post up pics of the rad stands after I have them removed.
:D
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Bending 1/4" Acrylic, man thats going to take some patience. Hope you have some practice pieces before doing the Laser Cut ones. Looks to be very unique. Good Luck TD..:)
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Wow. Here's wishing you luck TD!
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Hehehe, thanks guys!
Yeah, practice pieces will be key. Remember all that debris from a few posts back?? Well.... "I Have scrap to test with..." ;)
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Holy crap this is awesome...Awesome job TD!
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*finally* had both time and weather!
Acrylic is not something I like to muck with when it is pretty cold... I feel like it makes it more brittle. Might be just me, but if I am going to be working with my only 2 copies of my rad stand, I'm taking every precaution, real or likewise... that could make the flames unexpectedly snap....
Well, this last week was busy, then I got clipped with a cold, and that yanked the batteries for about 3 days. Feeling a bit better, the weather warmed up... so I put in a few hours in the garage!
Using a combination of bits, I slowly and carefully worked my way around the acrylic, sometimes using a fine tipped engraving bit, other times using a reinforced wheel... and I started making progress"
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand8.jpg
I had to put a light underneath the acrylic to make out the cuts that were completely through, and then focus on the areas that were still hung.
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand9.jpg
Some of the chunks coming off...
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand10.jpg
Here you can see how I was using the light to path the cuts:
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand11.jpg
Ohhhhh daaaaamn.... almost there!!!
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand12.jpg
3 hours later, the 1st one if free!!!!
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand13.jpg
No broken flames, everything successfully released! I have a bit of careful filing and some polishing to do, but otherwise... HELL YEAH!!!!!
now.. add into this wonderful weekend of success, my wife opted to give me my birthday presents early (Later this month on the 21st) and she landed a 22" wide screen LCD on my lap today! Also got me an MP3 player so that I can listen to tunez while I work out! (I have *got* to get into better shape!)
So.... I'm ecstatic this weekend!
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Wow, toys and a successful cut-out all in one weekend. You are truly blessed my friend! :D
Can't wait to see the final "bent" outcome on those flames. (That is what you said you are doing right?)
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I am with James, you are truely blessed. WoW, your wife knew what toys to get and your cuts turned out looking good. Cool idea with the light.
Give us a clue where you plan on bending the Flame.
Good Job TD..
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You have some mad skills!! :eek:
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Any updates TD.. I don't want to sound pushy but I am really curious about how the bending progress. Still have my fingers crossed for ya..:p
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Hehehehe... I did a couple of test pieces the other day, TAZTG, and they did what I'd hoped they would do. I will however, have to build myself a wooden jig to mimic the rad's size for most of the bends. I'll have to do this due to the heat that I am having to apply to get the acrylic to bend is significant. and long in duration... I certainly dont want to damage the rad.
So, since my RL job is such a time leech, it will be a few days until I get the bending jig built.
Apologies for the lack of updates!
Thanks for the good luck! I'll need it!
;)
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Groovy.
Lots of heat and homemade jigs = fun pics for us sometime soon.
I can wait. (But not too long.) :D
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Just take your time.. I have a Heat Gun if you need to borrow another one. LOL Seriously, can you provide details of the heating process. I am thinking with the amount of heat you will need would some kind of furnace would be beneficial or would direct heat be better for bending a specific area. Have not done to much anything with acrylic thats why I ask.
:) :)
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Typically, when making longer bends, I take the heat gun and depending upon how sharp I want the ben, I may get directional nozels attached to slim down the heated air into a more controlled and narrow focused "beam" of heat.
The experiements I tried were using less focused, more generalized heat application. I want to get a cone on my heat gun to focus the heat. My current attachments dont fit this gun.
What you want to do, is heat the acrylic ot the point it is pliable, but not to the point it is liquid. To get 1/4" acrylic to that temperature, throughout the 1/4" of material, is a bit difficult. What I found was that by having a small weight source on the end of the acrylic that I was trying to bend, when I saw the weight start to dip, then I knew the acrylic temperature was nearly ideal.
Too much heat and the acrylic acts like liquid and start spreading out the material, which with the flames cut out, and the tight intricate spaces.... if the acrylic started to flatten and engulf those spaces, it could be disastrous.
So... I'll keep practicing!
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I think you would have been better off bending the material prior to cutting. The bend is going extrude the outer edge and slightly warp the flames, this could cause breaking in thinner pieces of material where the extrusion force is higher than the chemical bond strength of the material at a given temperature.
Good luck and dont forget to support your material on both sides.
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Given my limited exposure to resources, it would have been preferred to do what you state, but impossible to cut after said bending. Thanks for the tips!
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Took the day off from work today to celebrate the ol B-Day, and what better way, than to move ahead on the mod! ;)
First thing up is that in order for me to get most of these bends proper, I build a wooden jig that I could heat the acrylic up on and not worry about damaginf the joints in the rad. Last thing I wanted to do was do something that caused joints in the rad to unsweat...
1st pic is the acrylic laying ontop of my wooden rad/bending jig:
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand14.jpg
Started heating the corners and applying even pressure to the side:
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand15.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand16.jpg
Eyeballing the other side.....
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand17.jpg
And my first 4 bends are completed! YAY!!!! (wipes sweat)
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand18.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand19.jpg
Tomorrow, I'll try to get the rad into the acrylic and see how sturdy this is, and what I need to do to get it mounted into the roof section. I've got a plan, I just have to see if it will work! ;)
I've still gotta finish the bends to see how well it attaches to the top of the case... I may end up having to remake this acrylic to a different dimension. If I have to do it again, then you can count on the fact that I will use a local water jetter to cut this (same person that did DST). Or else I will have to source a larger wattage laser cutter. I already have the sheet of acrylic ready if this does not turn out well, but I'm going to do my very best to make this work! I am certainly not going to waste all the effort that my friend put into cutting this!
Damn, I'm happy to have finally bent this stuff!
Oh yeah, and to pinpoint the heat, I used a propane torch. My heat gun was too broad. I needed pinpoint heat application to make sure I did not have unnecessary bowing and shift in the acrylic.
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:eek:
So cool looking....
:eek:
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Holy Mother of __________! (Fill in the Blank)
Thats freaking awesome TD. You can see where the Jig was singed, must have been some serious heat. It turned out looking great. One thing.. I hate to see you Electric Bill for the Month! I know those Heat Guns can suck up the juice.. LOL
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I was using a propane torch and a LOT of caution! ;) The torch allowed me to pinpoint extreme heat.
The real trick to using that on the 1/4" acrylic was that you could quickly get the acrylic too hot... then it starts cooking off and making bubbles (found that out on a test piece). You have to think while using the propane... and this was my thought process.
Heat for .5 to 1 second at a time using as low a flame as can be set.
move to the other bend point on that same side. repeat...
let that set for a second or two and let the heat start to migrate through the acrylic, then do the process again to both joints.
Keep doing this to raise the temperature through the entire piece of acrylic, but you are doing it gradually. Otherwise you are heating one side of the acrylic way faster than the other side and they cannot catch up. You need the material to be the same pliable temperature through the entire thickness.
The torch allows for that, but you cant just "leave" it there, otherwise you will have problems.
Heat... stop for a bit.... heat.... stop for a bit.... heat... stop for a bit.... gradually is the key!
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Very cool.
Thank you for sharing the process!
Again, it's awesome looking. :)
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Quite welcome!
Also, left a bit out. I have 2 wooden blocks, one that sits on top of the piece to be bent, and one that sits on the side to press with, to make the bends you see. If you make it too hot, you end up leaving little creases from the wood, so make sure you have sanded the wood blocks down to a nice a smooth surface.
:)
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I did some interpretive "test mounting" today to see how the frame responded.
Not even really a test fit, just an estimation of "where everything is going to go..."
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand20.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand21.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand22.jpg
http://www.tech-daddy.com/wlog/deuce/rad_stand23.jpg
The rad will be sitting lower than this in order for the legs to have enough material to be integrated into the top of the case roof.
What I have come up with is that my initial thoughts of having the rad unit structurally supported from wrap under flame licks to the mid section and some encompassing end wraps to hold its front and back... is not going to work. I'll need to integrate the load bearing into each of the 4 "legs", which is likely to mean I'm going to fabricate some sort of support mechanism for the top and bottom of the rad and find a way to tie it into the legs.
When I rested the rad on top of the frame, it was easily supported, When I started suspending the unit the way I was planning on tying it all together, the little simulations had a lot of frame flex. So, I will find a way to tie in my support to the four corners. I've already got an idea... we'll see what happens!
