This Saturday I will be trying to make a small Vacuum Former for heat forming plastic sheets. Vacuum Forming is a fast and easy way to copy 3D printed parts, provide a smooth plastic shell for finished products or to make your own Storm Trooper helmet.
This will be my first time actually building one of these machines, but they are relatively easy and I have done similar stuff with heat forming acrylic using a toaster oven and home vacuum cleaner. The design will be loosely based on this Instructables tutorial.
For this build I will be using mostly reclaimed wood, two old toasters, and a small shop vacuum. I will be drawing up plans for the laser cutter and in the end I hope to publish a DIY guide to show others how to make a scalable version.