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Vacuum Forming Ramps - Anybody Tried It?

Kman

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Joined
Jan 15, 2019
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247
Location
Haslemere, Surrey
Anyone done this? Making the mould seems to be the time consuming bit but otherwise vacuum forming in general looks a fairly straightforward process judging from the You Tube footage. I guess 3D printing is the latest alternative process but kit cost is far higher.
 
Never tried but have watched the YouTube vids as well - Looks like fun. The forming machines cost a fortune when I checked but looks like you could jury rig something up yourself. Maybe the homebrew guys might have tried before, @Sven Normansson ?

Wasn't sure whether the 3d machines could print in clear?
 
Thanks Stumblor. I agree the professional formers are far too expensive to consider and a DIY former seems a very feasible proposition. I guess the other option is to find a factory that's willing to do an ad hoc press if you can supply the mould. I'm not very familiar with 3D printing but from what I've read it's possible to produce clear plastic items in both PET and polycarbonate.
 
If you do end up having a crack make sure you post your results - would be interested to see how you get on!
 
Petg is the plastic you want. Issue your going to have at home is having an oven big enough to heat the sheet required for the ramp.

Also, the sheet has to be 'dry' before, most formable plastics absorb moisture and that's what causes the bubbles in the heating processes.
 
Thanks Moonbus. Hadn't previously picked up on the moisture point anywhere. Yes, most of the You Tubers have built makeshift heaters as home ovens are too small. Trick seems to be to get an even heat across the plastic. The foil lined boxes with a heat source in the base look pretty effective and better than top down direct heaters.
 
I have been looking into this myself for a few years, just waiting to find time and an electric oven to strip.

If you make an oven for forming you may as well try powder coating as well. That's my long term plan.
 
The makeshift heaters for plastic don't seem robust enough to cope with the higher and more prolonged heating needed for powder coating which, I think, needs something closer to a kiln. But it's a good idea as much more demand for PC given all the rails, legs, coin doors and the like. You'll also need a sandblaster!
 
Only thing that restricts an oven is the thermostat. If you remove that circuit the elements will keep heating. Most oven elements will burn out at about 800 Deg C due to the wire used so 350 to 500 for powder coating is viable.
 
i have seen acrylic cut oven,ed bent and built in to letters at 3 sign shops since the mid 80,s while working in the sign industry, built up letters are a bit different from forming acrylic-i worked at gee tee signs in 88,the director made his own vacuumed red nose for red nose day to hang on his building,they were over £1000 at the time,he will never go to heaven :suspect: i will ask a few peeps i know in the sign game to see who vacuums acrylics:cool:
 
have a look at Adam Savages stuff on YT. It's easy in theory, a vacuum cleaner, box and a frame to clamp it down are really all you need. Use an old grill to heat the plastic. Cast (not extruded) perspex is easiest, PETG is best, Polycarbonate is a pig.
All the ramps on FP were vacuum formed. I sepnd most of my time CNC machining vacuum form tools. Be warned though that it is a dark art once it gets complicated.
 
Not sure how well 3d printed items would stand up to the stress. Though I've only done PLA dont think that would cope very well.
Could be wrong. (Probably 3d print mods and knick knacks and such ok though) :)
 
Not sure how well 3d printed items would stand up to the stress.
simply put, don't even think about it. Absolutely anything a ball can hit is not suitable for printing. Forget ALL the hype and nonsense you read and take it from someone who has a 1/4 million pound machine outside this window. Even that will NOT make parts suitable.
 
Sven, many thanks for the useful tips. Easy to see why there is probably a knack to getting this right that only comes with practice and a few tears of frustration along the way. I've browsed some of the Adam Savage YT footage as he does some really interesting projects. Yes, 3D printing doesn't seem a viable option just for cost reasons alone and I don't doubt your technical assessment of the lack of suitable impact resistance. I'm going to try the vacuum forming DIY route as the materials are relatively low cost, so if I can get a workable moulding to prove it works then it's a pretty attractive solution for where there are broken ramps to work from that are otherwise unavailable; a lot nicer than patching. Obviously the labour input means it's really only viable as a hobby...…….but that's true with a lot of what's done on PINS here.
 
i have a mate with a grp moulding firm- he could mould resin in an old ramp ,this could be taken to a moulding firm (sign firms are cheaper) hey presto new ramp
 
i have a mate with a grp moulding firm- he could mould resin in an old ramp ,this could be taken to a moulding firm (sign firms are cheaper) hey presto new ramp

I'm sure there would be a lot of people on pinside (and here) who would be very happy if you could reproduce the Diner cup or the black rose cannon.
 
I'm sure that's the smart and 'hands free' way of doing it Debbieneon, but somehow that way takes the fun and learning out of it...………….and if it works then it could open up doing more than just ramps. But who knows, I may repent after experimenting for a while!
 
Its the vac tool that will break your balls rather than the vac forming process itself.
If you wanted to sell a ramp it would have to be 100% perfect or you would never hear the end of it.
It would take many revisions of the tooling to get it right.
I've a CNC machine in work and vac formers and I wouldnt even try it!
 
If you're making multiples and they have to perfect then you're looking at an Aluminium buck and it being mirror polished. I'd say around £5k upwards if you can't make yourself. For a single home made one you can make a plywood & bondo or plaster of paris tool.
 
If you're making multiples and they have to perfect then you're looking at an Aluminium buck and it being mirror polished. I'd say around £5k upwards if you can't make yourself. For a single home made one you can make a plywood & bondo or plaster of paris tool.

Yep that's true.
You would have mixed results depending on the complexity of the ramp.
Imagine trying to make white water ramps........
 
ha ha! WW was going to be my first prototype- my fibreglass man makes moulds for almost anything,the gels are self levelling so they give a glass finish,the acrylic would lay down ok,its just the complexity of ramps but who knows- i have seen vac formed sign logos and various products over the years in the sign game all made from fibreglass moulds-the only possible issue would be it would have to be a perfect ramp to copy it,not broken or split, i will ask the right peeps some questions:suspect:
 
Kman- give it a go! i would seriously consider using GRP for a ramp moulding, these moulds must have been GRP for the manufacture of pinball ramps in the 80, 90,s way before 3D printing and newer methods of fabricating items ever existed
 
Yes, I agree it's costly and a complex setup to manufacture to a consistently tight tolerance if the plan is to produce even a fairly modest quantity for sale. But I'm not in it for the cash and really only interested to see how feasible it is to make specific ramps that I need to ideally replace faulty ones where replacements are generally unavailable other than maybe from salvage at some undeterminable time in the future. Ok, I could easily fork out a lot of £'s to buy up machines and strip them but there is no real satisfaction to me in that. Yes, creating the mould is obviously the key part of the challenge but I reckon it's entirely possible to fettle something from even an imperfect original, especially if you have the playfield and can therefore sculpt any missing/damaged parts. I accept entirely that this is a analogue endeavour in a digital age, but I'll give it a try later in the year if only to prove it's a dead end and award myself another medal for championing lost causes!
 
Might be worth checking out a guy on Pinside called Mark (Freeplay40 if I remember correct) he's vaccum formed ramps for quite a lot of games. I've got reproduction Genesis ramps from him on the way but I think he does them for 10+ games now
 
Thanks MP. Good shout and looks like Freeplay 40 still produces a small range of ramps to order. A pair of Genesis ramps quoted at $165. Nothing on his current list and future projects ticks my boxes. I guess he's got a fair lead time for R&D into a new ramp and probably wants to be assured of a few orders, like with repro playfields, before considering. Might try to tap him for some info on production process.
 
Question is, do you want a life skill that developed from pinball but let's you fix other things in life whilst enjoying a crazy adventure. Or do you want to pay someone for an end product?

The classic motivation vs time vs financial justification equation.
 
Petg is the plastic you want. Issue your going to have at home is having an oven big enough to heat the sheet required for the ramp.

Also, the sheet has to be 'dry' before, most formable plastics absorb moisture and that's what causes the bubbles in the heating processes.

Yeah this main issue for me, once you go above a certain size, no way to heat that up and pieced together sections won't be the best.

After looking for the last few weeks, to knock up a custom vaccum former the size of a playfield with seals and a couple of vaccums might work after some tests if you could heat it.

I haven't rung around yet but I'm guessing won't be cheap just get a couple of bits, they might also take a CAD or similar and make mould for you but costs probably too much.
 
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