machines/howtos/polygonal-mould-for-sheetpress

title: Polygonal mould for sheetpress slug: polygonal-mould-for-sheetpress description: Plastic sheets made with sheet press don't need to be square. Here we are showing you how to create octagonal mould to create octagonal plastic sheets. The same methods can be applied to create any polygonal mould for the sheetpress (triangle, hexagonal, etc) You can watch the full video tutorial on precious plastic’s youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSZq_9a-XMQ&t=81s Dont hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and suggestions for the mould. You can click on our precious plastic profile for the contact information tags: ["HDPE","mould","hack","sheetpress"] category: Moulds difficulty: Medium time: < 1 day keywords: location: Sukawati, Indonesia

Polygonal mould for sheetpress

Plastic sheets made with sheet press don't need to be square.

Here we are showing you how to create octagonal mould to create octagonal plastic sheets. The same methods can be applied to create any polygonal mould for the sheetpress (triangle, hexagonal, etc)

You can watch the full video tutorial on precious plastic’s youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSZq_9a-XMQ&t=81s

Dont hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and suggestions for the mould. You can click on our precious plastic profile for the contact information

User Location: Sukawati, Indonesia

Steps

Step 1: Gather tools and material

Tools:

Sheet press set Angle grinder Welding tools and materials Jigsaw Sander (for product finishing) Safety gears: welding helmet, safety glasses, mask Marker Ruler

Computer with drafting/drawing software

Material Steel for mold: 2x2cm galvanised steel (standard size =6m) Clean, sorted plastic with types of your choice

Step 2: Draw

Draw the polygon in any drafting software of your choice. This will give you precise information on the dimension of the individual parts/side of the polygon. We have included our drawing in the drive link above for reference

Draw the measurement of your sheepress work area

Offset by 5 cm inwards (space needed around the mould)

Draw polygon according to the area capacity of your sheet press machines

Offset by 2 cm inwards (thickness of the galvanise steel)

Get measurement of dimensions of the mould from the drawing you’ve made

this drawing would also be useful later on when you are calculating the amount of plastic you need to make the sheets.

Step 3: Cut

After drawing and determining the measurements, cut the 20mm hollow galvanized steel according to size with an angle grinder.

Draw the measurement with erasable marker for better precision Cut with angle grinder With whiteboard marker, draw out the 1:1 template of your sheets to make sure the angles and dimension line up and adjust accordingly

Step 4: Weld

With whiteboard marker, draw out the 1:1 template of your sheets to make sure the angles and dimension line up and adjust accordingly.

Weld all the sides to connect the ends together to make your polygonal sheets

Step 5: Finishing

Grind the excess welding materials with angle grinder

This step is crucial to make sure that the mould is completely flat against the sheets. Otherwise you will damage the steel plate and the plastic will bleed outside of the mould because it is thicker than it should be.

Step 6: Make your polygonal sheet

It's time to make your polygonal sheet.

Use the area of your polygon (from the drawing) to determine the amount of plastic needed to make the sheet

See [filtered] sheet press "how to" for a step by step tutorial of making a sheet: youtu.be: youtu.be/TNG2f_hKc_A

Resources

References