Click on the screenshot above to view the "Line Bending Jigs and Formers" animation by Laszlo Lipot
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to view the animation in a new window. A bending jig is anything that helps us bend metal, wood or plastic to a desired angle or form. A bending jig used for line bending thermoplastic sheets should include:
- a former that helps us bend a softened thermoplastic sheet to the correct angle
- a clamp that holds the bent thermoplastic sheet until it cools.
Diagram A above illustrates a simple bending former that may be made by chamfering a piece of timber.
Diagram B above illustrates a steel angle bar being used as a bending former. Note that the edges of both jigs have been rounded where the plastic will be bent. To call them jigs, these formers should have a method of holding the bent thermoplastic sheet until it cools.
Diagram C above illustrates a cooling jig that holds a heated and bent thermoplastic sheet until it cools.
The bending former illustrated above is adjustable. The problem with adjustable jigs and formers is that the hinged part of the jig or former may mark the softened plastic as it is bent. Fixed shape formers are easier to make and are likely to produce superior results.
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