How can I make my own cancopy
 

Hi

Can I use an old PET-bottle (We have two kind's here in Sweden one hard and one soft). I try to make a mold in pink foam and planning on take the soft PET-bottle and form it over the mold with a heatgun.

Does anyone have any guidance in this matter or shall I forgot the whole thing.

How can I make my own cancopy
 

Your thinking is good, but the pink foam may melt before you get the PET soft enough to form. Try it! ;)
Dennis-

How can I make my own cancopy
 

Hey Jacs...

Dennis is right. You might find the PET needs quite a bit of heat to mold over, and that it will need quite a bit of pressure to form the plastic over your mold.
You might want to try making your mold out of wood or some other easily shaped material.

Or another thing, you should look up the threads in here about vacuum forming. Doesnt look too hard or expensive.

Good luck

Goose

How can I make my own cancopy
 

Thanks for the input, the vacuum way is not applicable for me so it seems that I have to speak with my friend that works for the automobile industry makeing parts in plastic and kevlar.

Is it the thicknees of the petbottle or is it the material it self that is going to give me this problems. Othervise it's just epoxy and glas cloth and solid paint that applice.

How can I make my own cancopy
 

Jacs

Carve your plug from hard balsa - make sure that it is firmly wedged in the bottle - shrink it with your heat gun - the plastic shrinks easily and the trick is to shrink it evenly - works pretty well and is not difficult - may take a coulple of tries to get it perfect, so make sure you have a few spare bottles!

How can I make my own cancopy
 

"...the vacuum way is not applicable for me..."
**************************************

I was curious, what would keep you from vacuum forming?

I started vacuum forming parts about 2 years ago and it's easy, though time consuming. All you need is an oven and a good vacuum source - like a Shop-Vac. I don't know if they sell Shop-Vacs in the UK or Sweden so in case you don't know what this is, it's like the name implies - a vacuum cleaner for the shop (though you can use it anywhere). It seems to have a stronger suction than a standard household vacuum but who knows - modern household vacuum cleaners are pretty powerful these days.

If you thought you might like to give it a try there is a good book available through RC Modeler magazine titled, "Do It Yourself Vacuum Forming". It's one of their 'Anthology Books' which are listed in the back of every issue. The book talks about having a "secondary source" of vacuum available right at the last seconds of the molding process. But I've found, if you set your mold up right, you don't need the secondary source and can use the Shop-Vac alone. I've been molding cowls, canopies and wheel pants for several years and the results looks as good as anything I've seen included in kits.

How can I make my own cancopy
 

I have seen people make one from a 2 liter soda bottle.