STRIP HEATING

Strip heaters are used to heat the Vical acrylic to forming temperature along a straight line so it can be bent along that line. A strip heater is usually an electric heater made from a nichrome wire resistance coil. The wire should be insulated and protected with china clay tubing or porcelain beads and can be further enclosed in a copper, Monel, or Pyrex tube. Flexible Fiberglas­nichrome wire tape strip heaters are also available.

The heater should be equipped with a thermoregulator to prevent overheating the Vical acrylic.

The strip heater should have supports on both sides to hold the Vical acrylic sheet. The supports should be parallel to and above the heater so the heater does not touch the surface of the Vical acrylic. Direct contact with the hot strip heater will destroy or severely distort the surface of the Vical acrylic. Therefore, the material should be kept at least 1/16" from the tube. To form a bend with a large radius, a wider band of Vical acrylic is heated by holding the sheet at a greater distance from the heater or by using a wide strip heater.

For forming material over .250" thick and for fast production, two heaters should be arranged to heat the sheet from both surfaces.

Methods of Heating Acrylic Sheet