How to bend plexiglass at home. What parameters should be considered when bending glass? Several principles of working with plexiglass

Durable and lightweight, Plexiglas is gaining popularity in modern design and the construction industry. This allows you to easily expand the possibilities when creating artistic solutions, because by giving it various, even the most bizarre forms, you can achieve a fresh and elegant atmosphere in any room.

Not only for interior decoration plexiglass can do, it finds its use in creating unusual interior items. Unlike natural glass, its artificial counterpart boasts one amazing advantage. The fact is that it is easy to bend, thanks to which, even at home, you can get the necessary shape to embody any idea.

What is worth stocking up on before the fold?

Before getting to work, it is worth stocking up on some tools that will come in handy for the described method. In addition to the blank itself, you will need:

a device for heating a sheet of plexiglass, these include construction hair dryer, gas torch or blowtorch;
a shape or bending template of the kind that you want to get from your workpiece;
hand protection - heating to a high temperature can be fraught with burns, so it is better to protect yourself and prepare silicone tacks or heat-insulating gloves.

Preparatory stage

The main stage in the preparation of the workpiece is to clean its surface. Any grease or oil stains must be removed from the surface to avoid negative consequences for plexiglass with its subsequent deformation, namely warping and the formation of air bubbles, which will no longer be possible to remove.

All these spots are quite clearly visible during a detailed examination, so it will not be difficult to remove them. It is often sufficient to rinse the workpiece with warm water and a small amount of synthetic detergent. If it becomes necessary to remove complex greasy stains, you can use kerosene or gasoline - they break down fat molecules at once.

Be sure to remember not to use hard abrasive materials when cleaning. They contribute to the appearance of scratches from which there is practically no escape. A regular kitchen soft sponge will do a good job of cleaning the plexiglass.

At the end of the wash, the plexiglass must dry. At room temperature drying time varies depending on the thickness of the workpiece. It is accepted to proceed from the calculation of 1 hour per 1 millimeter of glass thickness. Only after the plexiglass has dried can you start bending it.

Before bending the plexiglass at home, make sure that you are satisfied with the size and shape of the workpiece. If desired, a plexiglass blank using a hacksaw for wood. Check that the hacksaw blade is not dull, because only well-sharpened teeth will allow you to get the required quality of the processed edge.

Plexiglass bending rules and process

After the preparatory work it is necessary to determine the place that should be bent. Be sure to draw a line with a marker along which you want to bend the workpiece. Let's pay attention to several points that must be observed before direct work:

Since plexiglass acquires the ability to bend under the influence of high temperature, heating equipment should be selected based on the size of the surface that you intend to bend. This means that it is not necessary to heat the entire piece of glass if you have marked one fold line - local heating is sufficient for this.
The area to be heated should have a width that is two or more times the length of its length. Compliance with this point will significantly reduce internal stresses glass after cooling.

The choice of a heating source also depends on the size of the plexiglass piece. So, for example, for thin sheets (up to 3-5 mm), a simple electric stove... For thick workpieces, it is better to prepare a building hair dryer, with the help of which you quickly reach the required heating temperature. It is 150 degrees for plexiglass.

In addition, it is worth remembering that such thick workpieces must be warmed up on both sides - this is necessary in order to prevent cracks from appearing during bending.

Let's go directly to how to bend plexiglass at home. The process can be broken down into several stages.

The entire piece of plexiglass is heated, or a separate site... To do this, you should act on the material for some time. heating device, and so that the heated side is opposite to the direction of bending. In the case of thick sheets, the latter heats up the side on which the outer corner bending.
Reaching the required temperature is determined by eye - the material will become more malleable and slightly cloudy from the inside.
Have a pre-formed shape or bending template handy, which can be either rectangular or circular.
As soon as you understand that the material is ready, it must be bent immediately, it is advisable to use the minimum number of movements and get the required shape as quickly as possible, without allowing the material to cool. If you miss this moment, then microcracks may appear in the structure of the plexiglass, which will subsequently begin to destroy the part from the inside.

The workpieces are very small size can be modified by simply leaving them in boiling water for 5-7 minutes. The material will have time to soften so much that you can give it a completely different shape with your own hands. A prerequisite here is work in special gloves that will not allow the high temperature to damage your limbs.

By the way, it should be noted that plexiglass can also be melted at home. Only for this it is necessary to warm it up even more - at least to 180 degrees. This can be done for polymer glass castings.

Molds prepared in advance can be different, but the glass itself in the molten state flows well and completely fills even the thinnest parts of the mold. Before casting, it must be ensured that the mold is free of dirt, in order to avoid both an unsightly appearance of the resulting casting, and possible defects that can be caused by dirt.

After fold

To complete the instructions on how to bend plexiglass at home, you can describe the final stage, which is the cooling of the finished part. There is no need to create special conditions for this, it is enough at room temperature for a couple of hours. But it is important to insulate the material from possible sudden temperature fluctuations. A violation of the slow cooling can lead to the formation of cracks on the surface or in the structure of the plexiglass.

After cooling down, you get a new product that has retained everything positive traits plexiglass. Safe and beautiful material, having received a new form, can still very long time please its owner, while it took quite a bit of time and effort to create it.

Plexiglas, although strong, but quite plastic material. It is this property that allows you to change it appearance giving ordinary parts new shapes. Often, it is enough to simply bend the material, turning the plate into a three-dimensional figure. And usually, with how to bend plexiglass, at home, in a garage, any workshop and even in nature, there are no difficulties.

Basic rules to know

Plexiglas is a thermoplastic material, and thanks to this it is able to change its shape. But if it is required to bend it only in one place, a local effect of heating is necessary. The width of the area on which it is produced must be several times greater than the thickness of the material. To ensure this, apply different ways.

How to bend plexiglass

We will assume that we have a heat source, now we can begin to bend the plexiglass. But first you need to clean its surface. Dust and dirt, oil and grease stains must be removed from it. Do not use aggressive and abrasive substances. Greasy stains cleaned with gasoline or kerosene. Material after washing, as well as being in humid environment it is necessary to dry at the rate of 1-2 hours for each millimeter of thickness. It is worth considering that if the cleaning is carried out poorly, then in the future, in the places of deformation, the formation of air bubbles is possible.

Now they mark the line of the future fold and begin to warm it up. When the plexiglass heats up, it becomes plastic and can be bent. This is usually done according to some pattern. So, you can bend plexiglass into a pipe if it is used as a frame. Various techniques showing how to do the job are shown in the figures.

Often, a nichrome thread is used to heat plexiglass. How to bend plexiglass with this approach is shown in the video:

In this case, you will additionally have to use some kind of voltage source that warms up the wire. Another way to bend plexiglass is with gas burner- shown here:

Remember the main rule: in order to bend the plexiglass, it must be softened in the right place. How this is done does not matter, the source of heat can be anything.

Changing the shape of the same plexiglass is quite simple to carry out. A little effort, and its usual strip will turn into a comfortable stand or take on any look you need. You only need to warm up to the right temperature the place of the future fold.

Due to its properties, modern organic glass has gained great popularity in various industries industry and in everyday life. It is successfully used in the automotive industry, in the production of greenhouse structures, interior doors, advertising structures, individual elements of building facades, various designs in the electronics industry. Due to its light transmission and large colors from it are made various lamps for industrial and household purposes (flashers, running lights).

The main features of working with organic glass

To achieve good results when working with the bending of organic glass, you should take into account its features. They will allow you to get rid of possible waste and waste of material. Bending plexiglass at home is not a complicated operation.

When choosing a material, it is necessary to clean the workpiece, it is better to rinse it clean water and remove all small particles that are on the surface. This is due to education electric charge on a surface. It is necessary to avoid the use of any abrasive materials, even the smallest fractions. This will lead to a significant decrease in the transparency of the future part. After rinsing, professionals allow the plexiglass to dry for 24 hours, preferably at room temperature. If time is limited, you can use a construction hairdryer. In this case, it is necessary to observe the thermal regime. The temperature of the directed air flow should not exceed 80 ° C. To receive good result use an empirical approach that allows you to calculate the drying time. According to this approach, it is necessary to spend one hour for every millimeter of glass thickness. Therefore, if the glass is 3 mm thick, it must be dried for at least three hours.

After drying, you can start production of work. However, it should be remembered that it is more expedient to heat the required area from the opposite side of the fold surface. If you need to get a given inner corner, warm up the outside of the glass.

The heating temperature must be taken into account. Plexiglass, like a material made from organic compounds, can not only heat up, but melt and even catch fire. Professionals advise keeping the heating temperature at about 150 ° C. If, in addition to the task of changing the surface configuration, it becomes necessary to fill a certain shape with organic glass, it must be heated to a temperature of more than 170 ° C.

An important feature is the need to warm up such an area of organic glass, which is three times the thickness of the glass. When bending glass 4 mm thick, a strip with a width of 12 mm should be heated. For material with a thickness of more than 5 mm, it is necessary to warm up on both sides along the line of the planned bend.

After completion of work, it is necessary to cool the part, without using quick ways cooling (flow cold water or air). Such a rush can lead to the formation of internal cracks, bubbles, deformation. Therefore, to obtain the required bending angle, it is necessary to carefully follow the technological sequence.

Bending methods for organic glass

The most well-known principles for bending plexiglass are:

With the help of a construction hair dryer.
Flexion in hot water(by boiling method).
Using a special nichrome wire.
Using a metal pipe.

The entire technological process should be divided into two stages. The first stage, the so-called preparatory, the second is the main one, the bending process itself.

Preparatory stage

This stage involves preparation the necessary tool and the workpiece itself.

Depending on which method is chosen, you will need following tools and equipment:

a vice or several clamps for fastening the workpiece;
manual or mechanical cutting tool(it can be a hacksaw for metal, an electric jigsaw);
form for bending (usually a metal pipe is used, wooden block, countertop or other equipment capable of providing the required bending radius);
abrasive material for smoothing the edges of the structure;
container for water;
a source electric current(can be variable or permanent);
soft liners to prevent mechanical marks from vices or clamps on the surface of the part.

Any operation of bending organic glass involves heating it. This can be heating of the immediate bending point or of the entire part, if its dimensions are not large. Various heat sources are used for these purposes.

Using a building hair dryer

If it is necessary to bend a large piece of organic glass or a sufficiently extended part, a powerful building hair dryer is used as a heat source. Its power should be such that it allows you to warm up enough large plot details.

The sheet is clamped in a vice, or if this is not possible due to large sizes use several clamps. With their help, it is fixed to the table top. Mark the future fold line and gradually carefully warm the area adjacent to the future fold line with a stream of hot air. After softening this area of plexiglass, bend is made to the required angle. The resulting part is cooled naturally for the required time.

Hot water curl (boiling method)

This method is considered by professionals to be the simplest and least energy-consuming. For its implementation, practically no special tool is required.

Its implementation is as follows:

the prepared container with water is heated in such a way that the water begins to boil (the size of the container is chosen so that it is possible to freely work with the workpiece in it);
a plexiglass part is lowered into boiled water and kept there for five minutes (the time depends on the thickness of the part);
after the workpiece is well warmed up, it is necessary to remove it and give it the required shape.

The peculiarity of this method is that you have to work with a fully heated workpiece. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for ways to protect against high temperatures.

Using special nichrome wire

This method is considered the most technologically advanced. For its implementation, a special nichrome wire and a source constant voltage... The power of the source should provide heating of this wire to the required temperature.

The process itself is implemented in several stages.

The workpiece must be thoroughly dried. Without this operation, moisture bubbles can form in the bending points, which can cause Negative influence for strength in the place of bending, reduce transparency, significantly worsen the appearance. Drying must be done in accordance with the recommendations given earlier.
The finished part is fixed on the surface of the workbench. A nichrome wire is pulled over the intended fold line. The height from the surface of organic glass should not exceed five millimeters. It is not advisable to apply preliminary marking on the sheet with a pencil, marker, or other dyes. Heating the bend can cause the colorant to diffuse into the surface layer of the plexiglass. It is practically impossible to remove such a strip.
The wire is connected to a DC power source. It will be more convenient to work if the source is regulated. In this case, there is the possibility of a gradual increase in the strength of the electric current passing through the filament, and, consequently, a gradual increase in the heating temperature. It is necessary to achieve a heating temperature of approximately 150 ° C. It is from this temperature that the organic glass is deformed.
Having reached this temperature, the bending line will become plastic and part of the sheet will begin to tilt downward under its own weight. It remains to give the workpiece the required angle. After the completion of the process, it is necessary to allow the finished part to cool down.

Using a metal pipe

This method is used if it is necessary to give the workpiece not just a bend, but a certain radius of curvature, and is also applicable at home. In this case, as the workpiece of the required radius is used metal pipe... For the operation, either the pipe itself or the bend is heated using a powerful soldering iron with a wide tip or a blowtorch.

The sequence of implementation of the technological process is as follows:

A cold sheet of organic glass is placed on top of a pre-fixed pipe. Mark the beginning of the bend.
With help blowtorch or a soldering iron gradually heat up the bend area. When the material becomes soft by hand, the sheet is carefully rotated along the pipe, bending to the desired angle. The use of a soldering iron allows you to heat the bend section up to limiting temperature... This moment is easily identified by the emerging crackle of material.

If another option is used, then first heat the pipe, and then apply a sheet of plexiglass. A bend is made around the heated pipe.

The use of any of the listed methods involves carrying out work with such hazardous factors as:

devices and devices connected to high voltage;
high temperatures;
the possible appearance of fragments when glass is broken (with insufficient heating).

Therefore, in order to protect yourself during these works, you must follow the safety rules.

Advantages and disadvantages of organic glass

Plexiglas has a number of advantages that have contributed to its great popularity. These include:

has good anti-shock properties;
relatively low weight (allows you to create complex and rather bulky structures);
is an excellent dielectric;
has a high throughput in the entire range of the visible spectrum;
sufficiently resistant to atmospheric factors ( high humidity, different types precipitation, low temperatures);
has good environmental performance (when heated, no harmful chemical elements are released);
enough high stability to the effects of mildly aggressive agents;
good ones mechanical properties(it is quite easy to process and amenable to deformation);
has a wide range of colors;
good operational safety (no dangerous fragments are formed in case of damage).

The main disadvantage of this material is its weak resistance to external influences of solid objects (scratches, cuts, cracks form quickly). In addition, the formation of a surface electric charge, due to its electrostatic properties, can be considered a negative phenomenon.

Glass is a material that is often used in everyday life, but, unfortunately, it is often breakable, therefore, today it is increasingly being replaced by a new artificial analogue - plexiglass. Plastic glass is a polymer that is not afraid of mechanical damage and, moreover, is very convenient for processing.

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

Plexiglass properties

Plexiglas contains various polymers. It is they who give the glass strength; polymer glass is even stronger than silicate glass. Plexiglass - light material therefore, when it is used in structures such as roofs, canopies, solid supports are not required.

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

Flexion rules

It is very easy 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, you will have to heat it up, so it is important that the heating area is several times thicker than the material used. For example, if you have a glass of about 6mm, you need to apply heat only on one side, but with a higher density, it is better to use heating from both sides. And the outer side of the product must be heated by the latter.

If you do not have a task to melt the material, and you plan to simply change its shape, give the new kind product, there is no need to use high temperature. For receiving only new form, for example, for pouring into molds, you will need to heat the polymer glass to 160 degrees.

Sometimes, if the plexiglass is improperly processed, bubbles appear, this is the first sign that the glass has not been cleaned before work. Therefore, before work, clean the glass, you can do this using detergents no abrasive particles. Just do not forget to dry it after that, since only after drying can special equipment be used. In order to prevent damage to the glass, you need to move the fold smoothly and evenly. After you heat up the area, it is better to wait a little until the glass heating temperature drops to 60.

How to bend glass?

On the net today you can find many tips about correct finish plexiglass and even watch the guide on the video. But to organize the information, it is better to first read our instructions. If you want to bend polymer glass at home, then this will require the following tools and equipment.

Necessary equipment and methods of bending

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

In order to bend the glass at home, you need to heat it up. And this means you need to find a device that can quickly warm up the required area. For heating glass, various devices are suitable, 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. Let's consider the most simple and convenient ones.

Heating glass can be done with 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 machine made of wood, or we will simply bend it, for example, against the surface of the edge of a table. So, we direct the hair dryer to the area required 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 the outer corner should be bent last. After the polymer glass is bent, you need to leave it to the side for a while to cool.
Nichrome wire can be used to heat the glass surface. For such a process, you need to fix the glass on the edge of the workbench or table, and under it lay a wire from the sheet by 5 mm. - we get a homemade bending machine. Nichrome is connected to the transformer and heats up, after heating the wire, the polymer glass will begin to sag. It is not necessary to "help" the glass to bend, it threatens the emergence of internal stresses.
Sometimes the bend does not have to occur along the entire perimeter plane, or the glass needs to be bent 90 degrees. In this case, you can use a soldering iron. We mark the area with a pencil and draw the soldering irons over it, slightly melting the surface. It is necessary 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 remainder of the pipe around which our material will be twisted. In this case, it is better to use a blowtorch.

In the event that you need to bend a significant area of artificial glass, then the masters advise you to practice on small area... You can decorate your home with any folding technology beautiful crafts from plexiglass.

Often the desire to make their home even more attractive and interesting prompts the owners to use very rare and intricate materials in their work. Previously used for decoration vinyl records and metal alloys, matchboxes and burnt wood, textiles and leatherette, and much more: experienced master will find 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 creativity, skillful hands and certain knowledge from organic glass, you can create truly unique items that will later become your pride and home decoration.

A little about the material

The named material is a polymer alloy with high strength and at the same time maximum ductility (provided that high temperatures are used). Plexiglas contains 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.

New material that significantly expanded the capabilities 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 in demand among handymen.

It is worth noting that completely different intricate gizmos can be created from plexiglass. These can be pretty shelves and fancy shelves, small aquariums or pots under houseplants, semicircular partitions in the room or simple countertops... In this case, in some cases, a procedure for bending the plexiglass at a given angle may be required.

You can carry out this task at home, observing 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 efficiently as possible and without unnecessary waste of material.

So, to form a part of the required size, it is necessary to cut off a piece of material of the desired parameters from the whole plexiglass sheet. This will allow you to get an economical consumption of material at the output and a 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 the plexiglass. Only a soft cloth and natural drying of the polymer cloth. Otherwise, noticeable and unsightly scratches and stains will 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 at room temperature. Or, dry it with a hair dryer 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 area.

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

Important: for correct bending of plexiglass at home, you need to warm up an area of the material 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 an area along the line of the supposed bend, the width of which will be equal to 9 mm. With this thickness of plexiglass, it will be enough to treat with a heat 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 supposed fold.

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

Home bending techniques

Necessary materials

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

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

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

Hacksaw for metal;
Vise for secure fixation of the plexiglass plate;
Thomas for bending (pipe, bar, countertop, etc.);
Abrasive material for grinding the edges of the product;
A little water (to cool the material while cutting).

Preparatory work

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

For cutting plexiglass can be used as hand hacksaw and jigsaw

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

If the material cracks during cutting, don't worry. It can be removed with a little trick: treat the edges of the split with chilled acetic acid. Allow the acetic acid to penetrate deeper into the pores of the material by shearing the plexiglass at the split. Then squeeze the plexiglass at the crack. The material will fuse and the polished crack will not be visible.

Boil flexion

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

Remember to use protective gloves to avoid burns.

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

Using a construction hair dryer

If you have to bend a large enough piece of plexiglass, then use a building hair dryer for this purpose. Its power will allow you to process large area organic polymer material in an extremely short time.

Using 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, follow these 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.