Anyone here heard of making custom plastic parts?

[Pixel_Outlaw]

In our modern world plastics are all around us. Recently I've wanted to get into making my own plastic cases and parts. It would be nice to have some custom NES controller housings and things of that nature. Has anyone ever heard of making custom plastic parts? The average consumer has access to so many modern materials it just kind of pisses me off that plastics aren't one of them. Wouldn't it be nice to design and create small scale parts or simply fix broken ones? Perhaps I'm a bit crazy...

[rain_storm]

The average consumer has access to so many modern materials it just kind of pisses me off that plastics aren't one of them.

PolyMorph, Look it up. It can be purchased in Maplins (UK & Ireland) and Radio Shack (USA) or any electronics hobbyist shop. But there is a drawback to using this material, Unless you are very skilled with using moulds the end result will look ugly. Basically you boil a pot of water and place polymorph pellets into the hot water then wait for the pellets to become completely transparent. At this point the plastic becomes maleable and can be formed into any shape your heart desires. But be quick as the moment it comes out of the water it begins to harden. I use polymorph on nearly all my circuits to save me the bother of finding a housing that will fit the PCB precisely. All I need is a plastic box that is big enough for the PCB to fit into and I polymorph the inside of the box to suit. I wouldnt go so far as to make the entire housing out of polymorph though this is possible. It just wont look as nice

[taj]

Sure I've heard of it. Investors are saying this could be the next big revolution in small businesses.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/fabathome.ars

Some of the current uses dont back up that grand claim but the lego car wheels are a very good example.

Chris

[rain_storm]

Thanks you for that link chris Thank you very much

About a year ago I was considering paying for a 3D milling machine but opted not to buy it since it cost 5,000 euros (Which is actually very cheap for this type of equipment most cost upwards of 15k) I didn't think that I would make enough use of it to justify spending that kind of money, but I would certainly be interested in one of these

[spitfire]

http://www.build-stuff.com/001book_vacuum_forming.htm

Its funny how everyone tends to get the same ideas, independantly, over time.

[rain_storm]

I've seen this book in the back of electronics magazines it is definately an option for making cases and the like and if you want to repair an old controller for example you could use the original as a base for the mold I havent looked into this before but I have a feeling that it would be a whole lot cheaper than the fab@home option.

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look into this polymorph stuff.