Thanks again John, for sharing your knowledge and thanks again to the team at SWSCA, for providing an international forum in which I can learn these new skills.
Ron, sorry I missed your comment... I was in posting mode... sleep? I've almost forgotten that word... ha ha. It's 4am in the morning here, so yes... now I'm going to catch some much needed shut eye... probably going to dream about teeth.
I noticed you made your own vacuum form machine. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your vacuum form information? ...now go enjoy your well deserved sleep!
There are definitely things I would do differently when I do more teeth, but I have learnt so much in the last couple of weeks, and now I'm keen for more! I already have my first commission.
But for now I'm going to relax and savour a hard earned whisky! I raise my glass to the other guys who participated and offered their oppositions, to the team at SWSCA for all the behind the scenes hard work that it takes to produce the live webcasts that are fast becoming my lifeblood, and to you John for being willing to share your skills.
My vacuum form machine is basically an aluminium frame, with a wooden shelf that the vacuum platform sits. I used a secondary aluminium frame (about the size of a large picture frame) that I gaffed my PETG to (not ideal, but it worked for this project). I have my house vac providing the suction and a heat gun (and oven mitt) providing the heat.
There are many improvements I would like to make (like a permanent heat source), a frame that uses magnets to hold itself up to the heat source, so I don't have to hold it, and one that sandwiches the plastic in place and doesn't need tape. Tape was too time consuming as I had to do MANY copies before my vacuumed pieces turned out successful.
As I was using my heat gun, and manually holding the frame with the plastic up, I found it hard to gage the distance the plastic had sunk, and kept getting webbing. I also noticed that my machine seemed to large for the task. I could comfortably fit an upper and a lower set on my vacuum plate, and seemed that I would only get one good one and the other had webbing (I'm sure with a proper heat source, this would be different). So I gaffed over the holes on the base plate to condense the vacuum, then used a smaller picture frame that only the upper OR the lower would sit, and gaffed my plastic to that. It was easier with the smaller frame.
Although I still couldn't get the detailed registration that John seemed to get with his professional grade machine. I put this down to having not enough holes on my base plate for the vacuum and being that the heat wasn't consistent.
But denture glue should help the vacuum formed pieces stick to the teeth better I think. At least my mum swears by it.
Comments
Thanks again John, for sharing your knowledge and thanks again to the team at SWSCA, for providing an international forum in which I can learn these new skills.
Feedback is welcome.
I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your vacuum form information?
...now go enjoy your well deserved sleep!
There are definitely things I would do differently when I do more teeth, but I have learnt so much in the last couple of weeks, and now I'm keen for more! I already have my first commission.
But for now I'm going to relax and savour a hard earned whisky! I raise my glass to the other guys who participated and offered their oppositions, to the team at SWSCA for all the behind the scenes hard work that it takes to produce the live webcasts that are fast becoming my lifeblood, and to you John for being willing to share your skills.
Cheers to you all!
My vacuum form machine is basically an aluminium frame, with a wooden shelf that the vacuum platform sits. I used a secondary aluminium frame (about the size of a large picture frame) that I gaffed my PETG to (not ideal, but it worked for this project). I have my house vac providing the suction and a heat gun (and oven mitt) providing the heat.
There are many improvements I would like to make (like a permanent heat source), a frame that uses magnets to hold itself up to the heat source, so I don't have to hold it, and one that sandwiches the plastic in place and doesn't need tape. Tape was too time consuming as I had to do MANY copies before my vacuumed pieces turned out successful.
As I was using my heat gun, and manually holding the frame with the plastic up, I found it hard to gage the distance the plastic had sunk, and kept getting webbing. I also noticed that my machine seemed to large for the task. I could comfortably fit an upper and a lower set on my vacuum plate, and seemed that I would only get one good one and the other had webbing (I'm sure with a proper heat source, this would be different). So I gaffed over the holes on the base plate to condense the vacuum, then used a smaller picture frame that only the upper OR the lower would sit, and gaffed my plastic to that. It was easier with the smaller frame.
Although I still couldn't get the detailed registration that John seemed to get with his professional grade machine. I put this down to having not enough holes on my base plate for the vacuum and being that the heat wasn't consistent.
But denture glue should help the vacuum formed pieces stick to the teeth better I think. At least my mum swears by it.