Chronicles of a Vacuum Forming Machine
Raxx's Special Model
Woah woah woah!?!Yeah, that's right. Another DIY project by yours truly. What happened to the 3D printer? Well, it's complete but I have to take a break from it to get this done! Generally speaking this is not fully a 3D project. In fact, there is hardly any 3D CG involved whatsoever. However, I wanted to put it here because it involves making art functional in the form of cosplay and such, and may inspire some of you guys to do it yourself as well.
The MachineThe last decade or so, vacuum forming machines have become more and more popular amongst costumers/cosplayers thanks to its capacity to make plastic forms using molds. The vacuum former melts sheets of plastic and casts it over molds using suction to make the plastic fit very tight over the details before it cools and hardens. Common usage of this machine is seen in movie props, concert props, costumes, etc. It is extremely handy since there is a large surface area available (my machine will be able to form up to 20"x20" pieces), and depending on the mold, you can make many casts over and over of the same object. It's often used to make armor for characters like the Stormtrooper in Star Wars.
There are many different variations in size and design of the vacuum forming machine. However, like with 3D printers, you can't find a good one that prints a decent amount of volume anywhere for less than $2,000.
The $$$Yes, this is yet another set of costs to add to my DIY bill
Cost-wise, it should be around $400-$500 to build. My model will be a middle-range, low-maintenance all-in-one machine. You can build a vacuum former for less than $100 if you use just your oven and an old shop-vac lying around, but you know me...gotta go all out.
The Project
Like with the 3D printer project, I have a project that I wish to complete using the vacuum forming machine as the primary tool. This time, however, I have until May 25th to finish it, so I have five months to work on this project. This forum topic will cover the building of the actual vacuum forming machine very lightly, with only a bill of materials and maybe a few videos of it in action. The primary focus is the entire project itself.
I mentioned cosplay before. Conventions are a great way to just let go of yourself and be someone else with other people who do the same. I participate in anime conventions, primarily Animazement in Raleigh, NC. It'll be my third time going to this convention, so I wanted to start getting serious about my outfits and set myself a world apart from the casual cosplayer that does the same stuff over and over.
3D printing introduced me to a bit of hobbyist/prototyper technology that I think could be used to make some really nice costumes.
For my project, I want to build the costume of a redesigned Megaman series' character or boss with a full suit of armor (or a similar type of futuristic armored/mecha character). You may ask, "so what?", since there has no doubt been quite a lot of those around already. The thing is, I intend to also implement a robotic
voice changer with speakers in my helmet, and implement LED lights in my suit of armor and weapon, to run in programmed patterns using an
Arduino chip, based on how I trigger them. If I can get it figured out in time, I'd even make the LEDs in my helmet resonate with my voice. If possible, I'd like to make the suit somewhat modular so that it's easier to put on and off.
What the project entailsA lot of time will be spent working on the design and making the molds, before I even do any casting. A lot of planning and conceptual design must be done on paper first so that I can piece together functional armor with functional electronics inside, while being cool-looking at the same time. Some parts will undoubtedly require the services of my 3D printer. There will be a bunch of trimming, painting, sculpting, carving, wiring, etc.
Major ObstaclesAsides from school, not much. I'm merely limited by my genius, which is to say I'm not limited at all
So that's it for now! I'll post my progress as it gets done (the machine should be completed this weekend), feel free to share your opinions or ideas.