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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: whiskerBox on Tue, 18 October 2011, 10:21:11

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: whiskerBox on Tue, 18 October 2011, 10:21:11

Does anyone here have vacuforming experience?

Here is what I was thinking, we could create clear keyboard cases by using this process

Building a Vacuumform Table (http://www.studiocreations.com/howto/vacuumtable/index.html)

 and The Basics of Vacuumforming (http://www.studiocreations.com/howto/vacuumforming/index.html)


Maybe with materials like these
[ATTACH=CONFIG]28915[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]28917[/ATTACH]
material link and pricing (http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24077&catid=442)


The whole goal would be to replicate this look, but with whatever keyboard you wanted.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]28916[/ATTACH]

I am personally thinking of attempting to do this on a Filco

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: whiskerBox on Tue, 18 October 2011, 10:37:35

Quote from: ripster;433568

.08" is pretty thin.  You'd have to suck harder than Linda Lovelace for acryllic.

well in addition to 1/8" they also have 1/4", but its obviously a little more expensive($28.84 for 1/4" x 12" x 24"). I just assumed that the thinner 1/8" sheet would be easier to form, but I've never done this before.

Obviously I will just try the cheapest acrylic I can find first until I figure out how to do it because **** ups @ $28 a pop would suck

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 18 October 2011, 10:57:51

The point was that vacuum forming is done with ~.08" thick sheets of low melting point platic.  You're talking about trying it with either .125" or .25" thick sheets of acrylic that have a much higher melting point.  You're not going to vacuum form that stuff with a shop vac.  Doubt there's anyone that vac-forms the stuff.  Besides that picture of the acrylic KB is all cut sheet.

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: whiskerBox on Tue, 18 October 2011, 11:18:16

Ok this is the type of stuff I need to know, so basicaly I wouldn't be able to vacuform anything of a thickness that would be worth making a keyboard case out of!

Maybe Dust Covers? LOL.

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 18 October 2011, 11:38:47

Yes, the Filco dust/shipping cover is a perfect example of something that's been vacuformed.  Also if you're into model airplanes or cars you can vacuform canopies and bodies  :)

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 18 October 2011, 11:40:41

If you do want to form acrylic sheet it's usually done with a torch and forms to force the shape.  Mostly this is just simple straight line bends, anything that's multi-axis is going to be done with a press and forms of some sort.

Title: Vacuforming keyboard cases?
Post by: whiskerBox on Tue, 18 October 2011, 11:42:59

It all makes sense now, This will definitely not work for the application I was thinking of.