Vacuum Forming, Dyeing, & Tinting a Master Chief Visor

[@Cytik]

YEAH BABY THATS WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR

[@eticket48]

THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! WOOOOOOOO!

[@CameranGatz]

For anyone wondering, yes, this method works with lowes/ Home Depot acrylic and rit dyemore. However, you will have to leave it in the bath longer and will see small signs of warpage if you go over 140°.

[@PlastikGatz]

Are we having second thoughts about this comment

[@reinerbastian9011]

The visors look great. I would immediately buy one. But from other purchases, I already know that customs duties and shipping costs from the US to switzerland cost me around 40 bucks... So i guess on long term i have to make my own visors ^^

[@matteos1304]

If you have some friends in germany you could send it to them, might be cheaper and less of a problem with import duties.

[@brianmarchesi4387]

Do you have a video on making your heating rig? Could you provide some details on that? Really don't want to use my oven for obvious reasons. Thank you for the info in this video, great stuff!

[@Squidigit]

It looks great

[@hellalike]

stoked you guys are making vids!!!

[@larrybland007]

Simply amazing

[@-RedSerpent-]

Really important question! what do you make your mould out of to do the vacuum forming? I'm thinking of 3D printing it in ABS but wondering if PLA would work.

[@Justaspartan]

I just tried with PLA (my friend printed it) and while everything worked great 4th time the visor mold bended inwards probably because of the PETG sheet's temperature. I recommend trying a higher temp plastic like ABS or PETG or maybe bigger infil using PLA but that means more plastic and I'm not sure if it will solve the problem. Good luck!

[@paluffel399]

if youre still interested ASA is the best matetial for it because of the high themperature and easy smoothing with alcohol

[@BuckyMF]

Where did you get the plastic sheets from for the vac forming process?

[@astrophysicistguy]

Amazon baby!

[@BuckyMF]

@@astrophysicistguy Size? Thickness?

[@astrophysicistguy]

@@BuckyMF .06" thick petg. Size of the sheet depends on the size of your vacuum former but a 12" x 12" is plenty big enough if you use the model of the buck that comes with the GA helmet files. Of course you need to make the buck out of something that will withstand heating petg to the proper temp so you make the 3D printed buck out of PLA, then make a mold of that using Smooth On silicon and then make the buck out of resin from that mold. The resin buck will withstand the heated petg when you vacuum form over it

[@shakam.5658]

Where do you get the plastic?

[@ChubbieBehemoth]

Can we get a video of the vac chamber build? I'd like to build one myself, but I need some dimensions lol

[@luisrojas4480]

I recommend using gold headlight wrap instead of dying the visor

[@astrophysicistguy]

Way more nuanced and complex than this dye technique. Ask me how I know. Dying a visor is almost idiot proof.

[@rogermorgan6258]

Hi, how do you stop Clear ptge from going white when heating it?

[@MakerFactory]

I am looking to make this at homr and I was wondering what thickness of PETG sheet you were using? Is it 0.02" or 1/32? Thanks a lot in advance!

[@Fulcrumn9]

.06 inches thick

[@fearlesspit3122]

How do you clone the helmets with the rubber mold?

[@fierceflyer5]

For easier removal from the form used your air. It will blow the plastic from the form easily and quickly

[@aubreyjphilips9481]

With the tinted one can you look through it from the inside?

[@redorblue8124]

how long did it take to heat up the plastic once placed in-between the heaters?

[@kanaancross317]

Now where to get the lights

[@NICKSSHOP]

what size is the visor that you are making because I 3d printed the master chief helmet from halo infinite I can do the visor but I got one problem my machine is not big enough to Risen print the visor I could do it in transparent clear 3D filament I kind of like how you did yours I'm not sure if I doing it in filament how it will look

[@mandalorianknight7002]

Clear filament would be a nightmare 😬 You could potentially cast the visor in clear epoxy. Otherwise you might be able to find someone who would have access to a larger format printer and request that it would be printed with Siraya tech’s ultra clear

[@buckaroosan5571]

What is your vacuum buck made from? Looks like it is printed

[@GalacticArmory]

It was printed, smoothed, then casted in smooth on 65d

[@Scottk2022]

@@GalacticArmorythe mold is made of urethane??

[@booknoi014utube]

Do you reheat and cooldown the dye every soak?

[@Infinitized88]

What is the visor mould made out of?

[@buckaroosan5571]

PETG

[@PeterKNoone]

Very cool. I'm assuming you made my X-Wing pilot visor the same way (without the chrome paint step)

[@astrophysicistguy]

I saw in a 405th Forum tutorial that they used the orange iPoly dye. Have you tried that vice the yellow?

[@christophermcgee3809]

Very nice but I could be wrong but isn't there like a one way glass type paint?

[@planeofexistence7602]

Are you able to see through that?

[@DemonFromSun]

I used the same paint but its not coloring my visor. 🤔 Is there like a reason for that?

[@DemonFromSun]

NVM disregard. I'm an actual dumby. Lol I poured the color intensifier in without the dye at first and didn't realize the dye was squished at the bottom of the packet due to shipping.😅

[@marksherman-wl4ti]

What did you use for the PETG sheet’s frame to hold it?

[@MarkVo-fx2hh]

would led lights bleed through chromed visors? I'm working on a kamen rider knight helmet and he has blue eyes in his visor

[@Uratz]

What's the buck made of ?

[@patrickgraham6257]

If you buy the clear visor can you still dye and tint it or no

[@magnusuvwiik7940]

hi every time i heat up my plastic it starts to bubble does anyone knows whats wrong?

[@IowaMan]

whens the shop tours

[@AssetAssassin]

Could we apply this process to any flexible plastic to make ourselves a visor?

[@TheStigma]

You can in theory vacuform other plastics yes, but this one (PETG) has an ideal mix of properties for the job. Most other plastics would behave very differently, and honestly it would probably just create a mess. Other plastics used for vacuforming is PS (polystyrene), PC (polycarbonate) and ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate). Normal PET (soda bottles) is closely related to PETG and shares many properties, so thats an easy sourfe of some material for some basic experimenting with the principle. You can turn them into sheets without too much work. Building a good vacuforming rig is not a trivial job though. The cost of some proper plastic blanks are pretty trivial in comparion.

[@dpm911]

do you have a tutorial on how to make the visor buck?

[@pedrochavez526]

Do you have to use PETG, or can it PET

[@JZM006]

would you be able to link to me the space heater you used?

[@injectionAI]

i hate that it's so thin. Can it be made much much thicker?

[@TheStigma]

Careful when using plastic polishes like this in the middle of the procest. Most of them (including this one using dimethicone) contain some form of silicone, and it will leave a thin film that can make further treatment (like painting) difficult or impossible. Clearly it hasn't been a showstopper in this case - but anyone who wants to do similar things should be aware of this problem.

[@thelostandthedamned3710]

Second

[@GojiraGuy-xy4op]

First