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Forming polycarbonate sheet.

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gyro

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Jun 21, 2002
18
Due to the nonexistence of firms who will / can make aircraft canopies in polycarbonate in this part of Australia, we find ourselves in the position where we must make a compound curved canopy around four feet long, two and a half wide and two deep at the deepest point. We have a mould for the exact shape. The surface is tooling gelcoat.
Does anyone know- if we get the polycarb to the correct temp and we suck/blow it into this mould, will the finish be ok? Is there something that one can apply to the mould to help the forming? Two millimetre thick polycarb is the proposed sheet. Any ideas on how one could heat a sheet this size? We have looked at a few sites but they haven't addressed this specific question.
Thanks.
 
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The sheet is placed over a vacuum form with plenty of overlap. Over the sheet is a heating plate. When the sheet arrives at the glass transition temp or higher, pull the vacuum. I believe a thin lubricant, like silicone oil, under the sheet will facilitate the flow into the form. of course, you will need to develop the production parameters. Good luck.
 
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