Modern technologies offer us new Construction Materials, successfully replacing those "natural" products that did not always satisfy us with their parameters - cost or physical indicators (weight, structure), additional difficulties in processing, etc. Such materials include ordinary glass, which today is successfully replaced by organic glass.

Properties and scope of organic glass

This hard synthetic material retained the transparency of ordinary silicate glass, but acquired many new advantages, which makes it possible to use it in the automotive industry, for the manufacture of glass doors, aquariums, greenhouse structures, roofs, many decorative details such as designer panels, advertising stands, for molding computer cases. Plexiglas evenly distributes light, so it is used to make all kinds of bright light-dynamic installations with flashing lights and running lights, which look especially attractive at night.

The material does not have such increased fragility as ordinary glass (and therefore not so dangerous), it is not so heavy in weight, it is easy to deform and cut. Like a thermoplastic exposed high temperatures become plastic. In this "secret" lies the key to how to bend it.

By adhering to some rules, you can easily transform the shape of this material. To do this, you will need special tools: a workbench, a metal pipe, nichrome wire, blowtorch and power supply with its regulation.

The advantages of plexiglass include:

impact resistance (5 times higher than silicate glass);
electrical insulating properties;
resistance to moisture and other external factors environment, frost resistance;
high light transmission capacity (up to 92%);
environmental friendliness (absence of toxic gases during combustion and heating);
unaffected by UV rays (throughput 73%);
resistance to chemicals;
flexibility in creating a variety of forms.

The disadvantages include its main property - the ease of deformation with sharp objects, which requires a careful attitude to products.

Sheets of organic glass are sold with a film applied to them, which partially protects its blanks from damage. However, the film is not able to protect the sheet from scratches or even cracks when it is cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw. In addition, these tools create a large number of sawdust. There are more functional ways of cutting and processing sheets of this material.

How to bend with heat

Plexiglas requires accuracy and timeliness of impact on it at the moment of softening under the influence of heat. This polymer of synthetic origin allows many mechanical operations to be performed with it to create both flat and voluminous objects.

Bending is not the most difficult task, but it requires some experience and compliance with some rules, which we will pay special attention to.

Bending with wire

Before processing, the sheet of material must be subjected to mandatory drying, otherwise moisture bubbles will form at the place of its bending, which not only spoil it appearance, breaking the transparency, but also changing its structure. Drying is carried out at a temperature of 80˚С at the rate of 1.5 hours per 1 mm of the workpiece thickness.
We fix the dried sheet on the workbench. We fix the nichrome wire at a distance of up to 0.5 cm from the workpiece, exactly along the line along which the workpiece should be bent. It is not necessary to draw a line on the sheet with a marker, since it will be very difficult to remove its traces after heating the workpiece. Set the stop to which the sheet should be deformed.
Nichrome wire for its heating is connected to an adjustable power source with the required glow temperature. Typically, the material begins to deform at an incandescent temperature of 150-190˚C.
After a sufficient time, the sheet, under the weight of its own weight, will begin to bend to the stop you set.

Bending with a metal pipe

To bend the workpiece to a certain degree, either a metal pipe of the desired diameter is used, or a workpiece made from plexiglass itself, or carved from wood.

We install the sheet on top of the pipe, and then heat the sheet with a blowtorch in the line of contact with the pipe until the material begins to succumb and takes the form of a pipe.
Cooling of the product is carried out smoothly, evenly and continuously up to a temperature of 60-70˚С.
Secure the sheet in a vise on a flat table. Lightly scratch the fold line.
Heat the sheet along the drawn line with a building hair dryer (or soldering station hair dryer) at a temperature of 150-180 ° C and start bending the sheet without taking the hair dryer away from the place of heating. The sheet should be heated gradually, without bringing it to melting. If the sheet is more than 5-6 mm thick, it is better to warm up on both sides of the sheet, either simultaneously or alternately. The last side of the sheet that is on the convex side of the bend is heated. Cold areas of the sheet should be covered with something, leaving only a narrow strip along the heating line. The width of the heated strip should be three times the thickness of the sheet.
The sheet should be bent away from the heat source, that is, the heat jet should be directed to the convex part of the bend.

Bending with a hot air gun

You can also bend it after heating it in boiling water, in an oven, using a gas burner, or even with the fire of candles lined up in a row. heated thin sheet it is easily bent by hands (with gloves!), it is also possible to squeeze out any depressions in it.

With the help of heat treatment, organic glass can be cut, for example, using a heated spiral. It is especially convenient to use a spiral for cutting small products.

Spiral cutting

For cutting plexiglass, a spiral from a heater, from a soldering iron, from an old variable resistor is suitable. Approximate parameters of the spiral - length 7 cm, diameter 0.3 mm, power supply 12 volts, energy consumption 1.5 amperes. At the same time, the spiral heats up red-hot, which is not at all necessary, since the material will melt and emit smoke with a pungent odor. The spiral is soldered to metal pins, and the pins are soldered to a cable connected to a regulated voltage power source.

Gluing

Plexiglas can not only be bent and cut, but also glued. For this, you should not use cyanoacrylate glue, with all its advantages of “grasping tightly”, since in the places of gluing the material loses its transparency (turns white), and the glue spreads easily and quickly in different directions. I must say that gluing parts is not an easy task, compared to gluing ordinary silicate glass with silicone glue or a hot glue gun.

And yet, you should glue with dichloroethane - a poisonous transparent liquid agent that dissolves almost any plastic. Dichloroethane is applied to the cleaned joint surface and they are immediately joined for setting. Then a mixture of shavings and dichloroethane with the consistency of jelly is prepared, the seam at the junction is filled with this mixture. Before this procedure, it is worth practicing, and work should be carried out with mandatory protection from toxic fumes of dichloroethane, followed by hand treatment in warm water and soap.

Organic glass can be bent even when cooled. True, the bending radius should be 230 times greater than the thickness of the sheet being bent.

To learn how to bend the material without damaging it, it is worth remembering that a good preliminary training never hurts in any work.

Often the desire to make their home even more attractive and interesting encourages the owners to use very rare and intricate materials in their work. Previously, vinyl records and metal alloys were used for decoration, matchboxes and scorched wood, textiles and leatherette, as well as much more: experienced master finds a use for everything. Today, polymer plexiglass has gained wide popularity, which can be used both for decorative purposes and as a material for creating intricate fixtures. domestic use. Through creativity, skillful hands and certain knowledge of organic glass, you can create truly unique items that will later become your pride and decoration at home.

A little about the material

The named material is a polymer alloy having high strength and at the same time maximum ductility (subject to high temperatures). The composition of plexiglass includes amorphous polymers, which mainly consist of unfolded and linear macromolecules. This composition of the material allows you to achieve its absolute transparency, strength and lightness.

A new material that significantly expanded the possibilities of builders and designers

The advantages of plexiglass used as a material for creating decorative elements interior are:

Therefore, organic glass is becoming more and more popular among jacks of all trades.

It is worth noting that completely different intricate gizmos can be created from plexiglass. It can be cute whatnots and fancy shelves, small aquariums or pots under houseplants, semicircular partitions in the room or simple countertops. At the same time, in some cases, it may be necessary to bend the plexiglass at a given angle.

You can carry out this task at home in compliance with the basic rules for working with plexiglass.

Several principles of working with plexiglass

Before you start melting and bending plexiglass, you need to learn a few principles that will help you get the job done as productively as possible and without unnecessary waste of material.

So, to form a detail right size it is necessary to cut off a piece of material of the desired parameters from a whole sheet of plexiglass. This will result in an economical consumption of material and higher productivity of the work performed.
For work it is necessary to use only pure plexiglass. For this purpose, it is recommended to wash the material.

It is important not to use abrasive materials to clean plexiglass. Only a soft cloth and natural drying of the polymer sheet. Otherwise, noticeable and unsightly scratches and stains form on the plexiglass, which spoil the appearance of the material and reduce its transparency.

After washing the plexiglass, do not immediately start bending work. Let the material dry. This will take at least a day in a dry room with room temperature. Alternatively, blow dry at 80 degrees Celsius.

The principle of calculating the drying time of plexiglass with a hair dryer should be as follows: 1 hour per 1 mm of material thickness in each of its sections.

When starting to heat plexiglass in order to deform it at the desired angle, please note that the heat treatment of the material must be carried out from the opposite side relative to the bending angle. That is, we heat the top of the material and bend it down.
To bend plexiglass, it is enough to use a heating temperature of 150 degrees, and for melting the material and pouring it into prepared molds, a temperature of at least 170 degrees is needed.

Important: for proper bending of plexiglass at home, you need to heat up an area of \u200b\u200bthe material that is three times its thickness. That is, if your plexiglass has a thickness of 3 mm, then for its even and beautiful bending, you need to warm up such a section along the line of the intended fold, the width of which will be 9 mm. With this thickness of plexiglass, it will be sufficient to process with a thermal device on one side of the material. If the thickness of the plexiglass exceeds 5 mm, then it will be necessary to carry out the process of heating it from both sides along the line of the intended fold.

After bending the plexiglass, it is important to allow it to cool naturally. Do not use water or cold air as a cooler. It can harm finished product in the form of cracks, bubbles, etc.

Ways to bend at home

Necessary materials

In order to give plexiglass desired configuration, you can use one of several popular methods:

Heating the material with a building hair dryer;
By boiling;
with nichrome wire.

Depending on how the plexiglass is bent, you will need a heating element (building hair dryer, nichrome wire, or a saucepan of boiling water). In addition, prepare:

Hacksaw for metal;
Vice for reliable fixation of the Plexiglas plate;
Foma for bending (pipe, bar, countertop, etc.);
Abrasive material for grinding the edges of the product;
A little water (to cool the material while it is being cut).

Preparatory work

If your future product requires the use of a small piece of plexiglass, then you first need to cut it off from the common canvas. To do this, securely fix the plexiglass in a vise and cut off the desired piece with a hacksaw. In places of fixation, do not forget to lay soft material, which will prevent damage to the plexiglass.

For cutting plexiglass can be used as hand saw, and electric jigsaw

Important: Use only a sharp hacksaw. Otherwise, the material may be damaged and deformed. When cutting Plexiglas, cool the cutting line with water. This will avoid overheating of the plexiglass and its possible melting.

If a crack appears on the material during cutting, do not worry. It can be removed with a little trick: treat the edges of the split with chilled acetic acid. By shearing the plexiglass at the split, allow the acetic acid to penetrate deeper into the pores of the material. Then squeeze the plexiglass at the crack. The material will fuse and the polished crack will not be visible.

Boil bending

This is the easiest way to bend plexiglass, requiring almost no additional tools.

Be sure to use protective gloves to avoid burns.

5. Leave the part formed from plexiglass until it cools completely.

With a hair dryer

If you have to bend enough big piece Plexiglas, then use a building hair dryer for these purposes. Its power will allow processing a large area of organic polymer material in an extremely short time.

With nichrome wire

With the help of a nichrome wire carefully stretched under the plexiglass, it is possible to achieve bending of the material in a straight line without effort. To do this, you must perform the following steps:

Video: bending plexiglass with nichrome wire

We bring to your attention a short video that will clearly demonstrate how to bend plexiglass using nichrome wire.

Glass is a material that is often used in everyday life, but, unfortunately, often breaks, therefore, today it is increasingly being replaced by a new artificial analogue - plexiglass. plastic glass is a polymer that is not afraid mechanical damage and also very easy to handle.

Therefore, polymer glass in everyday life is used in different options, especially when smooth surface want to get a variety of forms. The most important advantage of artificial glass is the ability to bend. On the one hand, bending glass is not at all difficult, but on the other hand, you only need to know the principles and techniques of bending.

Plexiglas properties

The composition of plexiglass includes various polymers. They give the glass strength, polymer glass is even stronger than silicate glass. Plexiglas is a lightweight material, so when it is used in structures such as roofs, canopies, no solid supports are required.

In everyday life, polymer glass can be found in a variety of ways, just look at the photo with polymer products: aquariums, decorative design elements, shelves, TV stand, Coffee table. Artificial glass has excellent transparency, so interior doors and partitions can be made from it. Probably the only drawback of plexiglass is its flammability and thermoplasticity, but the last drawback can be turned into an advantage, because sometimes artificial glass has to be bent at home.

Flexion rules

It is very simple to bend polymer glass with your own hands, you just need to know the principles that guide the processing of artificial material.

In order to bend the glass correctly, it will have to be heated, so it is important that the area for heating is several times thicker than the material used. For example, if you have glass of about 6mm, you need to heat only one side, but with a higher density, it is better to apply heat from both sides. And the outer side of the product should be the last to be heated.

If you do not have the task of melting the material, but you plan to simply change its shape, give the new kind product, there is no need to use high temperature. Only to obtain a new form, for example, to fill in molds, you will need to heat the polymer glass to 160 degrees.

Sometimes when improper processing plexiglass bubbles appear, this is the first sign that the glass was not cleaned before work. Therefore, before work, clean the glass, you can do this using detergents without abrasive particles. Just do not forget to dry it after that, since only after drying can special equipment be used. In order to avoid damage to the glass, it is necessary to perform the bending movement smoothly and evenly. After you heat the area, it is better to wait a bit until the glass heating temperature drops to 60.

How to bend glass?

On the net today you can find a lot of advice on the correct finishing of plexiglass and even watch the guide on the video. But to systematize the information, it is better to read our instructions first. If you want to bend polymer glass at home, then you will need the following tools and equipment.

Necessary equipment and bending methods

Before working with plexiglass, you need to cut out the finished part or product, its edges. It is better to take curved plexiglass with heat-resistant gloves.

In order to bend glass at home, you need to heat it. And this means that you need to find a device that can quickly heat up the required area. Various devices are suitable for heating glass, ranging from candles to a soldering iron. It all depends on the heating area, for example, small pieces of plexiglass can be heated by simply boiling them in water, for larger parts you cannot do without a tool. Consider the most simple and convenient of them.

Heating glass can be done using a building hair dryer. If your material exceeds 5 mm, then we will heat it from both sides. Before heating the glass, you need to prepare some kind of template for bending, a wooden machine, or we will simply bend it, for example, on the surface of the edge of the table. So, we direct the hair dryer to the area needed for heating. After making sure that our material has become softer, we immediately give it a shape, without waiting for it to cool. It is necessary to bend in the opposite direction from the heated side. And if you heat both sides, then outer corner must be folded last. After the polymer glass is bent, you need to leave it aside for a while to cool.
Nichrome wire can serve to heat the surface of the glass. For such a process, you need to fix the glass on the edge of the workbench or table, and lay a 5 mm wire from the sheet under it. - we get a home-made thermobending machine. Nichrome is connected to the transformer and heated, after heating the wire, the polymer glass will begin to sag. You should not "help" the glass to bend, it threatens with the occurrence of internal stresses.
Sometimes the bend does not need to occur along the entire plane of the perimeter, or you need to bend the glass at 90 degrees. In this case, you can use a soldering iron. We mark the area with a pencil and draw soldering irons over it, slightly melting the surface. You need to bend the glass until it cools.
Sometimes glass is required not only to bend, but to give it a rounded shape. For such purposes, you will need a certain rest of the pipe around which our material will twist. In this case, it is better to use a blowtorch.

In the event that you need to bend a large area of artificial glass, the craftsmen advise you to practice on a small area. With the help of any bending technology, you can decorate your home beautiful crafts from plexiglass.

Colorless polymers, various plastics and other synthetic materials are actively entering our lives. Organic glass should also be included in this list. It is used for repair and construction works, V furniture production. Souvenirs, photo frames and other various handmade items are also made from plexiglass. Often people ask how to bend plexiglass correctly so that the surface is smooth and give it the desired shape.

What is plexiglass?

Organic glass is durable. This artificial material has a high transparency. Glass does not break due to the polymers in its composition. By chemical composition and many characteristics, plexiglass is completely different from natural glass.

This material is also called polymethyl methacrylate, and plexiglass. Basically, plexiglass is used for the manufacture of aquariums, shelves, countertops, photo frames and other items. Moreover, it is used as interior doors. Craftsmen who know how to bend plexiglass correctly make figurines, key rings and various decorations from it. To give organic glass the desired shape, certain rules must be followed.

Properties and features of plexiglass

This synthetic material has a number of advantages due to which it is successfully used in the automotive industry. Billboards, greenhouse structures and roofs are made from it. Unlike natural glass, organic glass is not brittle, has a low weight and is easily cut and deformed under the influence of high temperatures. It is this feature that reveals how to bend plexiglass at home.

In addition to these features, this material has other important advantages, namely:

It has electrical insulating properties.
Good light transmission.
Does not break, safe for others.
Moisture-resistant, does not deform and does not deteriorate under the influence of external factors, frost-resistant.
When heated, it does not emit toxic gases, environmentally friendly material.
It bends beautifully.
Not affected by UV rays.
Resistant to chemicals.

Plexiglas sheets go on sale with a film applied on top, it protects the material from cracks and scratches.

Organic glass bending rules

Due to thermoplasticity, organic glass easily changes shape. Before bending plexiglass, you need to familiarize yourself with the following rules:

It is necessary to heat glass only in places of a bend.
For heating, it is better to use special linear heaters.

If there is no linear heater, a variety of improvised devices are quite suitable:

soldering iron;
electric stove;
gas-burner;
candle;
boiling water.

Before you start working with organic glass, it is better to practice a little so as not to ruin your work.

Principles of plexiglass bending

A linear heat source is able to heat the organic glass so that it bends in a certain place. This type of source can be made from an ordinary one. A linear heat source is often made from ordinary candles, just line them up.

Another option, how to bend plexiglass, is with the help of cylindrical objects. They are used as a template, it helps to give the organic glass the desired shape. In order not to burn yourself while heating the glass, you need to use heat-insulating gloves or silicone tacks.

After the work is completed, the resulting products must be cooled gradually, thereby minimizing the stress inside. If the polymer needs to be completely melted and then poured into molds, you need to make sure that the casting containers are clean, otherwise this will affect the appearance of the product.

Preparatory work

A lot of patience and accuracy greatly affect the quality of the work performed. You also need to know how to bend plexiglass evenly, in accordance with all technologies. It is better to prepare all tools and materials in advance. To carry out this procedure, you must take:

nichrome wire;
blowtorch;
Workbench;
metal pipe;
power supply.

Several operations need to be carried out with organic glass, this will allow you to make a better fold:

How to bend plexiglass with a hair dryer?

Since organic glass is a thermoplastic material, it can be easily shaped and bent by exposing the material to high temperatures. It is very simple and easy to bend plexiglass with a hair dryer, so this method is used most often.

First you need to clean the glass from dust and dirt, and then determine the place of bending and scratch it on the sheet. After the material is heated to the desired temperature, the scratches will disappear.

With a vise we fix the glass on the edge of the table, heat it up and bend it gradually. During work, do not turn off the building hair dryer, since the temperature must be constantly maintained.

Having familiarized yourself with how to bend plexiglass with a hair dryer at home correctly, you can easily perform a neat fold.

Bending with wire

Bending organic glass with wire involves four main steps:

Before bending plexiglass, it must be dried, otherwise the structure of the material will change and this will affect the appearance of the product. Drying is carried out at a temperature of 80 degrees, about an hour and a half.
Next, the sheet is placed on a workbench, and the nichrome wire is attached along the line of the future bend.
In order for the nichrome wire to heat up, it must be connected to a regulated heat source.
Under the influence of heat, after a while, the sheet will begin to bend under the weight of its weight.

This method is good if the farm has a special machine, and it is necessary to process glass in large volumes and quickly, preparing for further use or furniture design.

Other ways to bend organic glass

To bend organic glass, it is immersed in boiling water for 1 minute. Then they take out the material and immediately bend it, putting silicone gloves on their hands. There are also many other ways to bend glass at home, with improvised means:

Gas-burner. With the help of a burner, it is very easy to make a bend, just heat the organic glass in a certain place. In order for the heat to get exclusively to the place of the bend, a tin can should be attached to the gas burner, at the bottom of which a hole similar to a slot is cut out.
Soldering iron. Using a soldering iron to bend organic glass, you can get a high-quality and accurate bend. But before you start the main work, you need to practice.
Hot pipe. Before bending glass hot pipe, it must first be prepared and wiped with a solution of soda.

When working with plexiglass, you need to learn one thing important rule: To bend this material, it must be softened in a certain place. To do this, you can use any heat source. The shape of the material changes just as easily, you need to make a little effort, and an unremarkable Plexiglas strip will turn into a real work of art, you just need to heat it up to the required temperature.

Now you know what this material looks like, what it is and what characteristics it differs in, which means you will be able to cope with the task by figuring out how to bend plexiglass.

Often the desire to make their home even more attractive and interesting encourages the owners to use very rare and intricate materials in their work. Previously, vinyl records and metal alloys, matchboxes and scorched wood, textiles and leatherette, and much more were used for decor: an experienced craftsman will find a use for everything. Today, polymer plexiglass has gained wide popularity, which can be used both for decorative purposes and as a material for creating intricate household appliances. Thanks to a creative approach, skillful hands and certain knowledge of organic glass, you can create truly unique items that will later become your pride and home decoration.